Is it possible for human beings to have authentic relationships with an artificial intelligence? How does the increasing presence of AI change how humans relate to one another? 

Those are two of the questions Dr. Doreen Herzfeld, a distinguished professor of science and religion at St. John’s University and the College of St. Benedict, will pose at a public lecture at Å·ÃÀÊÓƵ on Thursday, Feb. 20. The event, titled “The Artifice of Intelligence: Embodiment and Relationship in a Robotic World,” is set for 7 p.m. in the Centrum, Knutson Campus Center.

Herzfeld, who is also a senior research associate at the Institute for Philosophical and Religious Studies in Koper, Slovenia, holds degrees in computer science and mathematics, along with a doctorate in theology.

Her recent books, “The Artifice of Intelligence: Divine and Human Relationship in a Robotic Age” and “In Our Image: Artificial Intelligence and the Human Spirit,” explore the humanity’s relationship both with AI and, through it, with one another.

The lecture will be followed by a Q&A session.

The event is free and open to the public.