Today on The Middlings, I thought I would bring some old-fashioned fear-mongering to the table. Much like the crotchety old men of yesteryear who fought against the horrors of the calculator, I am going to decry technology. In the same vein as those who fought tooth and nail against the word processor, I am going to hitch my wagon firmly to the panic button. I am in good company, by the way. In a totally unscientific poll of movies that I have seen, I discovered that about 73% of SciFi movies and shows have artificial intelligence of some kind as an enemy. As an educator, I am already seeing the negatives of artificial intelligence, specifically as students flock to ChatGPT and others like it.
The truth is that as technology continues to advance at an exponential rate, the use of artificial intelligence (AI) has become increasingly prevalent in our daily lives. AI is used in everything from personal assistants and chatbots to self-driving cars and medical diagnoses. While there are certainly benefits to using AI, there are also some dangers associated with relying too heavily on this technology, particularly when it comes to exchanging our own intelligence for artificial intelligence. The dangers are what I want to scream from the mountaintops, but I will settle for doing so in the text of this blog.
First, let me state that the Bible makes it clear that things like wisdom and knowledge are worth searching for. Straight out of the gate, the Book of Proverbs states that one of its purposes is to give knowledge and discernment (Prov. 1:5). In fact, the Bible makes the case that one ought to dig for wisdom and knowledge with as much zeal as one would have while digging for buried treasure (Prov. 2:1-5). I understand that one can make a case differentiating between the wisdom of Scripture and worldly wisdom, but all knowledge is moral. We either know obediently to God’s reality or rebelliously against it. What scares me most about the rise of AI is the speed with which people are willing to give up their own intelligence. When I asked a 12th grade student about her critical thinking, she said, "I can just type it into ChatGPT and it does it for me."
Actually, one of the major dangers of over-utilizing AI is that it can lead to a loss of critical thinking skills. When we rely on AI to make decisions for us, we stop using our own judgment and reasoning abilities. This can lead to a lack of creativity and innovation, as well as a decreased ability to think critically and solve complex problems on our own. The Bible calls for us to use reason and to think critically through decisions (Isaiah 1:18; 1 Kings 3:9; Hebrews 5:11-14). Losing this ability would severely hinder our ability to walk wisely in this wicked world. When I asked the director of the Center for Biblical Worldview about this topic, his response was largely the same: a concern that people will stop thinking critically.
Another danger with AI is that we may become overly dependent on it. As AI becomes more sophisticated and integrated into our daily lives, we may start to rely on it for more and more tasks. This can lead to a loss of autonomy and independence, as well as a decreased sense of agency and control over our own lives. Sometimes I feel like I am the only person on the planet that watched Wall-E for the cautionary tale it is.
A third danger is that AI can perpetuate existing biases and inequalities. AI is only as unbiased as the data it is trained on, and if that data reflects existing biases and inequalities, then the AI will also be biased. This can perpetuate discrimination and marginalization, particularly for already marginalized groups. At the heart of this danger is the fact that AI is trained on data. Who controls that data? Over the past few years, much has been said about censorship on the internet. When the world wide web is guarded by massive technology companies and overzealous politicians, how can a Christian trust that even the Bible will be safe from censorship?
Finally, there is a danger that AI can be used to exert control over people. AI can be programmed to make decisions based on certain criteria, and if those criteria are not in the best interest of individuals or society as a whole, then the consequences can be dire. For example, if an AI is programmed to prioritize profits over environmental sustainability, it could lead to catastrophic consequences for the planet and its inhabitants. The consequences of this danger become even more severe when one considers morality. Forget prioritizing profits over the environment. How about when AI determines that an immoral course of action would produce a good result? What moral standards will AI use? Will they be biblical standards or utilitarian? Will they depend upon an absolute moral code, or will they be relativistic?
In conclusion, while AI can certainly be a useful tool, there are also dangers associated with exchanging our own intelligence for artificial intelligence. It is important to be aware of these dangers and to use AI in a responsible and ethical manner. We must also continue to prioritize the development of our own critical thinking skills and problem-solving abilities, as these are essential for navigating an increasingly complex and technological world. As Christians, we must learn to think about technology and AI through a biblical lens.
As a last bid effort to show you the dangers of AI, I feel like I must tell you that the dangers I listed in this article were actually given to me by ChatGPT when I asked it to describe the dangers of artificial intelligence. And when some of the biggest proponents of artificial intelligence wrote a letter calling for a six month halt on AI-related work, I feel like pumping the personal brakes is justified. Part of the letter states, "human-competitive intelligence can pose profound risks to society and humanity" (See this article by Matt O'Brien). Alarm bells are ringing, but is anyone listening?
Reference full link: https://apnews.com/article/artificial-intelligence-chatgpt-risks-petition-elon-musk-steve-wozniak-534f0298d6304687ed080a5119a69962
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