Purpose Voice assistant technology is one of the fastest-growing artificial intelligence applications at present. However, the burgeoning scholarship argues that there are ethical challenges relating to this new technology, not the least related to privacy, which affects the technology’s acceptance. Given that the media impacts public opinion and acceptance of VA and that there are no studies on media coverage of VA, the study focuses on media coverage. In addition, this study aims to focus on media coverage in Indonesia, a (...) country that has been underrepresented in earlier research. Design/methodology/approach The authors used critical discourse analysis of media texts, focusing on three levels to study how VA technology was discussed in the Indonesian context and what power relations frame the representation. In total, 501 articles were collected from seven national media in Indonesia from 2010 to 2020 and the authors particularly focus on the 45 articles that concern ethics. Findings The ethical topics covered are gender issues, false marketing, ethical wrongdoing, ethically positive effects, misuse, privacy and security. More importantly, when they are discussed, they are presented as constituting no real critical problem. Regarding discursive practices, the media coverage is highly influenced by foreign media and most of the articles are directed to well-educated Indonesians. Finally, regarding social practices, the authors hold that the government ideology of technological advancement is related to this positive portrayal of VAs. Originality/value First, to provide the first media discourse study about ethical issues of VAs. Second, to provide insights from a non-Western context, namely, Indonesia, which is underrepresented in the research on ethics of VAs. (shrink)

Encyclopaedia of philosophy, traditional beliefs, and religions.

In this study, we explored how high school students’ participation in a local history research project about a historically Black cemetery in the Southeast United States contributed to their demonstration of historical empathy. Major findings show that students displayed historical empathy in research activities that occur beyond the traditional classroom through their examination of perspectives concerning representations of race and diversity in the social studies curriculum, the historical contexts about the impact of enslavement and Jim Crow segregation in their community, (...) and affective connections they made to their identities as citizens. We recommend that future studies focus on how social studies teachers, community organizations, and other educational providers can collaborate to promote historical empathy in and outside of schools with equity frameworks and curricular initiatives such as the National Council for the Social Studies College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework. (shrink)

This article addresses the intersection between gender, ethnicity, and Islamic work ethics. It focuses on Sasak Muslim women who weave _songkets_ and their economic independence in Sukarara Village, Central Lombok. This article using an ethnographic approach focused on three main issues: work ethics, productivity, and economic independence. The behavior, attitudes, and personalities that are inherent in weavers in their daily operations are examined holistically and particularly through qualitative research. The paper’s conclusions are that Muslim women who weave Sasak _songket_ cloth (...) in Sukarara have strong work ethics, which are demonstrated by their responsibility, diligence, and thoroughness in completing their tasks. This sort of expansion of the ethical foundations of the economic work ethic is driven by a variety of factors, including economic, cultural, work-related, spiritual, creative, and self-actualization objectives. Then, Sasak Muslim women who weave _songket_ fabric in Sukarara are very productive due to their ability to use time wisely and complete tasks quickly and effectively. They are economically independent based on a lack of consumer debt, their independence in business, their possession of investments, their ability to manage business finances, and their mental readiness for monetary turbulence. In this framework, Sasak Muslim women’s economic independence in _songket_ weaving is separated into three roles: as the center of the family, as vehicles for personal fulfillment, and as wives. (shrink)

In _Opposition to Philosophy in Safavid Iran_ Ata Anzali and S.M. Hadi Gerami offer a critical edition of what is arguably the most erudite and extensive critique of philosophy from the Safavid period. The editors’ extensive introduction offers an in-depth analysis that places the work within the broader framework of Safavid intellectual and social history.

Hamzah Fansuri is an important figure in the history of Islam in Indonesia. He is an important figure who is always discussed within the framework of discussing the dynamics of the development of Islam and Sufism in the archipelago. The purpose of this article is to trace the life history of Hamzah Fansuri. Many researchers have not studied the comprehensive history of Hamzah Fansuri’s life. Researching the life history and basic teachings of a Sufi is very important to understand the (...) biographical background of the development of his teachings and to know the principles of the teachings, through his works. There are two important ways to understand the basic teachings of a Sufi. This article, first, examines general considerations and presents a new construction of Hamzah Fansuri’s intellectual life and career and, second, browse the main teachings of Hamzah Fansuri through his works, using an analytical-descriptive-critical method. This qualitative research uses library research. Data collection was taken from various references from the biography of Hamzah Fansuri. According to the findings of this article, Hamzah Fansuri was born in Samudra Pasai, studied in Singkil, and then traveled to the Middle East via Barus. Returning to the archipelago, he made a career in Ujong Pancu, Aceh Besar. Hamzah Fansuri died in Mecca in 1527 AD. Throughout his career, Hamzah Fansuri wrote approximately thirty poems and three works of prose, namely Sharāb al-‘Āshīqīn which describes the process of the spiritual journey, Asrār al-‘Ārifīn which describes the philosophical teachings of Sufism, and al-Muntahī which explains the meaning of Sufi expressions. (shrink)

Sadr al-Din Muhammad Shirazi, more commonly called Mulla Sadra, was one of the grand scholars of later-period Islamic philosophy and has grown to become one of the best-known Muslim philosophers. _Iksir al-'arifin_, or _Elixir of the Gnostics_, is unique among Sadra's writings in that it reworks and amplifies an earlier Persian work, the _Jawidan-nama_ by Afdal al-Din Kashani, or Baba Afdal. The underlying theme of Sadra's amplification is emblematic of Muslim philosophy: the importance of self-knowledge in an individual's journey of (...) "Origin and Return," the soul's origins with God and its eventual return to Him. Everything, Sadra says, is on such a path, gradually disengaging from the material world and returning to a transcendent essence—all leading to a final fruition in which everything in the universe returns to God and finds permanent happiness. Philosophy, Sadra argues, is the most direct means to self-knowledge—and thus the best tool for navigating this journey. (shrink)

Sadr al-Din Muhammad Shirazi (1572-1640), more commonly called Mulla Sadra, was one of the grand scholars of later-period Islamic philosophy and has grown to become one of the best-known Muslim philosophers. Iksir al-'arifin, or Elixir of the Gnostics, is unique among Sadra's writings in that it reworks and amplifies an earlier Persian work, the Jawidan-nama ( Book of the Everlasting ) by Afdal al-Din Kashani, or Baba Afdal. The underlying theme of Sadra's amplification is emblematic of Muslim philosophy: the (...) importance of self-knowledge in an individual's journey of "Origin and Return," the soul's origins with God and its eventual return to Him. Everything, Sadra says, is on such a path, gradually disengaging from the material world and returning to a transcendent essence--all leading to a final fruition in which everything in the universe returns to God and finds permanent happiness. Philosophy, Sadra argues, is the most direct means to self-knowledge--and thus the best tool for navigating this journey. (shrink)