Artificial Intelligence

Elon Musk is a really eccentric dude. He often voices warnings regarding the dangers of artificial intelligence (AI) for the human race. Advancements in AI are rapidly approaching the point where it will be hard to find a job that can’t be performed better by a computer or robot than a human. New jobs will need to be created, but will this expansion happen at the pace of our advancements? He doesn’t believe so, and I agree.

Funny how there is a fear of something that is artificial, not real, unreal. When I hear the word artificial, I always think less than, not more than or better than. How can something that is artificial be a threat or concern? Mankind has always largely been able to control our creations.

And yet--AI is becoming so advanced that it calls into question reality. What’s real and what’s not? And if something is real to you, even if it’s artificial, then it’s real (to you). I think of Wilson, the volleyball that kept Tom Hanks from sinking into the depths of loneliness in the movie Cast Away. Wilson became real to him and when Wilson was lost at sea it was a loss that felt deeply real and human. Perhaps that’s the biggest threat. Not the potential job losses, but honoring and worshipping our replacements. Isn’t that as ancient as the stories from the Old Testament: “They worshipped created things over their creator?” 

I was chatting recently with a friend about the advancement of our smartphones. We chuckled as we imagined bringing a smartphone into the culture 100 years ago. It would blow everyone away - a device that could take high resolution color pictures and videos, surf the World Wide Web, and be able to answer any question you asked it in a matter of seconds. I imagined the people bowing down to this godlike device or perhaps burning me at the stake for witchcraft.

We have become so advanced in such a short time. Our phones (I’m writing this on my phone right now) have become extensions of us. Have our lives become algorithms more than true life rhythms? What’s with the incessant scrolling, the likes, the post after post after post? Are we living our lives assisted by technology or is technology living itself through us? Am I using it or is it using me?

I read a story about a guy who developed an app that would auto reply to any text based on the algorithms of his past text. The idea was to achieve cyber immortality. Shortly after he developed his app he died. Now his girlfriend texts him and receives similar responses as if he never died. Did he have a premonition? If I had his number, I would text him.  I’m sure his cyber self would be happy to provide an answer. So was that technology to aid him or did it eventually replace him?

When I was young I used to dream about a robot that would clean my room. Just yesterday I was waiting in the lobby at the dentist’s office when an acquaintance walked in and proceeded to tell me how his company has developed an advanced robotic cleaning machine that he is pitching to businesses. It only took fifty years, but my boyhood dream was realized - yesterday!

We have now leapfrogged our dreams of what the future might look like. I literally cannot imagine what the future is going to look like, even 10 years out. People like Elon have a much better lens to peer into the future. He predicts an intelligence that compounds on its own ability to learn at such a rapid pace that it will soon surpass mankind’s ability to control it. He sees a takeover akin to the movie I, Robot. Farfetched? I want to say yes, but look back 30 years and imagine today. You never could have imagined it, could you? Me neither.

How is our faith affected by the tech at our fingertips? Thankfully technology can’t answer a prayer or heal a limb. But it can be an artificial workable limb, and advancements have allowed the deaf to hear and don’t even get me started with genetic cloning. The Bible warns of worshiping created things over the creator (Romans 1:25). Imagine reading those words in the first century. The temptation of worshiping wooden or stone gods is a temptation that is hard for us to contemplate. But not nearly as hard as that first century generation trying to imagine our multifaceted tech gods. If ever there was a generation in danger of misplaced worship, or a generation so distracted that God is pushed to the far corners of our consciousness,  it is ours.

There are multiple ways to construct a god, and not all of them are physical. The Jewish religious leaders in the first century had constructed an artificial god crafted from man-made rules forged to look holy and religious. Over time they believed their god was the real deal. Conveniently this god allowed for selfishness, greed, and wickedness as long as it was hidden and the ‘rules’ were followed to the letter. Just stay within the boundaries and practices of these rules and the stuff under the surface was just fine.

Imagine their shock when Jesus pulled back the facade of their artificial god, exposing the stench of their hidden lives. Similarly, we hide our idolatry behind the guise of efficiency, connectivity, and globalization. But when Jesus pulls back the curtain on our lives, are we replacing a connection with Him with an artificial reality? Do we check in with God as often as we check our notifications? Do we feed our sense of validation, worth, and identity with a version that is fake and fleeting? Take a moment and consider if the artificial intelligence at your fingertips is serving you, or stealing from you. Be mindful of the past artificial gods, and be on guard against the many tech gods swirling around us seeking to impress and to pull us away from the creator of all - the one, the only, true God.