{"id":41194,"date":"2024-07-15T01:24:15","date_gmt":"2024-07-15T07:24:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/?p=41194"},"modified":"2025-03-17T10:08:23","modified_gmt":"2025-03-17T16:08:23","slug":"the-promise-of-ai","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/adulthood\/the-promise-of-ai\/","title":{"rendered":"The Promise of AI"},"content":{"rendered":"

Click here<\/a> to listen to this article.<\/em><\/p>\n

As I type this, there is an Asian man eating noodles and staring at me. It\u2019s unsettling, but not because a stranger\u2019s stare makes me uncomfortable.<\/p>\n

This man is completely artificial. He doesn\u2019t exist except as a collection of pixels and bytes on my laptop, but I can\u2019t tell that by looking at him. My senses tell me I\u2019m looking at a recorded video of something that happened in the real world. He \u2014 or rather, it <\/em>\u2014 is the product of computer-based artificial intelligence (AI), and as of this writing, represents a new threshold in the technology\u2019s ability to produce realistic content.<\/p>\n

In fact, AI tech has gotten so good, you\u2019d be hard-pressed to discern whether the article you\u2019re reading right now came from the mind of a human being or was produced using a few prompts and a chatbot. GenAI \u2014 that is, artificial intelligence with the ability to generate content like images, audio, video, or text \u2014 has the power to blur the lines between what\u2019s real and what\u2019s make-believe. Purveyors of the technology tell us it will solve many of society\u2019s difficult problems.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a powerful tool to be sure, but right now it\u2019s not exactly clear if GenAI will help humanity or if it will be used to oppress people on a scale heretofore unseen. I keep looking around for Ian Malcolm, Jeff Goldblum\u2019s character from \u201cJurassic Park,\u201d to say, \u201cYour scientists were so preoccupied with whether they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

From Babel to the bots<\/h4>\n

The Bible is an ancient book. There are no cars, computers, or cell phones \u2014 and certainly no artificial intelligence. You might think it has little if anything to say about how (or how not to) adopt a new technology. However, the early chapters of Genesis contain a true and tragic story about a technological advancement that changed history forever: the baked brick.<\/p>\n

You probably know the story. In the plain of Shinar, the people tried to use the new brick to build \u201ca tower with its top in the heavens<\/a>.\u201d It would be a place where heaven and earth came together, just as Eden had been. The tower of Babel wasn\u2019t just an audacious building project; it was an attempt to return to paradise apart from the Lord. And though God had told humanity to \u201cfill the earth<\/a>,\u201d the brick allowed the people to build high and wide, so they could ignore God\u2019s command and instead settle down (see Genesis 11:4<\/a>).<\/p>\n

To us, the heated mud brick seems a practical but harmless invention. But as basic as it was, in the hands of sinful human beings it held the potential to keep men and women from the life God created them to live. Artificial intelligence, though infinitely more complex than a brick, holds the same peril. Though no one is saying AI will open up a way back to Eden, some have gone so far as to suggest AI could become a new digital god<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The truth is, nearly every new discovery or invention is itself morally neutral. It\u2019s how we use it that matters. And for every advancement, there\u2019s a tradeoff to consider; it\u2019s up to us to decide whether the bargain is worth it. Before cars, travel was slow and time-consuming, but people walked more and fewer suffered from obesity. Before mobile phones and social media, we didn\u2019t have the world at our fingertips, but we also didn\u2019t have rising depression and suicide rates, especially among teens<\/a>. You get the idea. As we stand at the dawn of the age of AI, we can take a moment to decide how \u2014 or even if \u2014 we should adopt this new technology.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s important to remember that our purpose in life is not to go with the flow but to walk in step with God. After all, \u201cour citizenship is in heaven<\/a>,\u201d and we are meant to be \u201cambassadors for Christ<\/a>.\u201d We\u2019re not supposed to be at home here. Our values and our priorities are supposed to reflect the kingdom of God, not the kingdoms of this world. Therefore, our approach to AI should be aligned with our blood-bought identity as God\u2019s children, not the latest talking points from Silicon Valley.<\/p>\n

The A<\/em> in AI<\/h4>\n

The opening chapters of Genesis introduce us to God, the Creator of the heavens and the earth. Everything that was or is or ever will be \u2014 it\u2019s all His. He thought it up, brought it into being, governs and sustains it. Reality belongs to God, and He created it so that we would flourish in it. In other words, we were made for that which is real.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve probably discovered that the best things in life are real. Homegrown food is better than the processed alternative. Authentic relationships are better than phony ones. Live music made with real instruments is better than the fabricated stuff. We know this deep down; our hearts crave things that are real. And yet we are constantly seduced by artificial junk.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been this way since the garden. The serpent posited a world where Adam and Eve could know good and evil and be like God. The devil\u2019s temptation was really a subtle invitation to an alternate reality, one our first parents could create for themselves, independent of their Maker. This seduction continues today with fantasies born of pornography, the false promises of wealth and fame, and the seduction of worldly power. What do all these alternate realities have in common? They put us in control. But this is God\u2019s creation; He is in control. We only find God\u2019s perfect rhythm for our lives when we submit to His good rule.<\/p>\n

Now consider GenAI. It promises to put each one of us in control so that we can create whatever we want in an instant. It\u2019s echoing Satan\u2019s garden lie: \u201cyou will be like God<\/a>.\u201d As it is today, modern life runs roughshod over God\u2019s created rhythms, and plenty of us find ourselves burnt out, exhausted, and wondering when we lost the plot. Sadly, some have even discovered they\u2019ve become too busy to follow Jesus the way they\u2019d initially set out to. Because the world of AI is so big, practically infinite in its capacity, the potential for its use to pull us further out of sync with heaven\u2019s song is immense. The more we allow the machines of this world into our lives, the more difficult it will be to step away.<\/p>\n

Robbed of our birthright<\/h4>\n

Since God is a Creator and we were made in His image<\/a>, we too are creators. It\u2019s in our DNA. We won\u2019t all be sculptors or playwrights, mind you, but we all have a God-given calling to make or improve things. This penchant isn\u2019t limited to certain professions or personality types. Every last one of us is a creative<\/a>. It\u2019s part of what it means to be human. I would even say it\u2019s our birthright as God\u2019s offspring.<\/p>\n

GenAI, however, can step in and do the creating for us. All it needs is the right prompt, and voila! <\/em>\u2014 an essay on the migratory patterns of humpback whales in the style of C.\u00a0S. Lewis, or a digital facsimile of a new Beatles song, or even a video of an Asian man calculatedly eating noodles.<\/p>\n

Sure, it\u2019s easy. But easy<\/em> is never the point of creativity. There is joy in the struggle, and we sharpen our skills as we try and try again. We become masters of our craft as we practice it over years and decades. But if GenAI means no one must do the work anymore, we\u2019re in danger of giving up a piece of our humanity. Like Esau, who traded his birthright for a bowl of stew<\/a>, we\u2019re about to trade ours for a bowl of easy<\/em>. It wasn\u2019t a good deal for Esau, and it isn\u2019t a good deal for us.<\/p>\n

I realize there are some who will accuse me of only looking at the negative aspects of AI. If I am, it\u2019s only because there has been so little critical thinking on the subject, especially from the church. To be fair, AI has plenty of life-giving applications. In recent years, Bible translation<\/a> has been given a shot in the arm by the technology, speeding our mission to reach every last people group on the planet with the Word of God. People living with disabilities have been helped by the technology as well. For example, dozens of quadriplegics are piloting an AI-based wheelchair<\/a> that moves based on facial expressions. AI is being used to conduct complex medical research<\/a> and also to crack down on human trafficking<\/a>.<\/p>\n

These are wonderful developments, and we should stand up and applaud them. However, there is a big difference between the careful, targeted application of a new technology and widespread proliferation without caution. What\u2019s a blessing in one area may be a curse in another.<\/p>\n

Silicon Valley isn\u2019t asking our permission to put AI into, well, just about everything. But you and I still get to choose how and when we\u2019ll use it. So let\u2019s be sure to ask some good, soul-stirring questions before we partake. Here are a few suggestions:<\/p>\n