Technology has truly changed our lives over the years!
My wife and I recently toured an open house for sale and laughed when we saw a landline phone with push buttons on the wall.
Back in the 60s, the character in the Dick Tracey cartoon show talked into his watch. Today, it is a reality with Apple, Google and Samsung smartwatches.
A buddy of mine was saying his first experience with computers was back in the 70s while working at a firm that had a large sized room to accommodate all the mainframe hardware. The room also had special cooling equipment separate from the building’s HVAC to keep the computer systems from overheating. Today, his Android phone is a million more times more powerful than the Apollo 11 guidance computers and his phone turns itself off if he leaves it in the sun too long.
I used to go to the drugstore to get my photos developed. Today, I take photos with my I-phone getting the photos instantly and the ability to edit and enhance the pics with a touch of my finger. I’m no longer as well versed on my times tables because I use the calculator app on my phone, or if I am in a rush and no one is listening, I just ask Siri.
I remember when my parent’s car only had one side mirror mounted on the driver’s side. My 2022 F-150 has cameras on the rear, front, and the sides. It even projects a view from the top of the vehicle to show me where I am in the parking space. The hi-beam lights and windshield wipers automatically come on when needed. Yes, I am aware we have self-driving cars now, but I am not ready to give away that much control.
Now we have the onset of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Although very primitive, AI first appeared in the 1950s. But it is becoming the preferred instrument of choice due to the time it saves in analyzing significant amounts of data that would take a human weeks to accomplish.
But is AI a positive or negative tool for humanity?
I think the answer is the same for firearms and the internet. Firearms in the hands of a good person are for the most part safe and useful tools. In addition to hunting, they are tools for protecting one’s self, family and loved ones. However, we know all too well what a firearm in the hands of a bad person can do.
The internet has become an invaluable tool in the hands of good people for communication and research. It has become an amazing tool for freedom across the world. No longer are we restricted to the selective narrative of government and big media. We are free to search and discern what is truthful.
But there are those who misuse the internet: pedophiles use it to lure and victimize children, politicians use it to present their false narratives, and adulterous spouses use it for private chats. The pornography industry has exploded due to the internet.
The social media sites can become very addictive to the young and the old. According to Grok (AI), people spend an average of 2.5 hours per day on social media. I texted this meme to a family member and he said “that’s my wife!” 🤣
Artificial Intelligence is revolutionizing internet search. In lieu of researching what employers are looking for in a resume, you can give your employment history to AI and it will write your resume helping you to get more interviews. Rather than searching websites for the many “things to do” when visiting a city, AI will do the searching for you. For example, I spent hours trying to find suitable “Stay and Play” golf resorts in western NC while traveling to a wedding. It was exhausting because I had to sift through all the websites disguising themselves as “stay and plays” but they were actually tee-time booking sites for participating golf courses with nearby hotel accommodations. Upon asking Grok, it gave me the “actual” resorts offering both golf and lodging within several seconds. AI is amazing at doing the tedious grunt-work for you.
Much like firearms and the internet, the litmus test of whether AI is a positive or negative tool relies on the heart of the person using it. Bad hearted people are going to do bad things but the answer is not to throw the baby out with the bath water. Firearms, the internet and AI are important tools in the hands of the right people. Unfortunately, the challenge will always be to keep them out of the hands of the wrong people and that will be an ongoing battle we have to accept. Let’s face it, we live in a fallen world.
The challenge for “good” hearted people
There are “good hearted” family and friends in my life. They are all decent people who are law abiding citizens, productive members of society, and generous individuals who are willing to help others where they can. But not all of them are “believers”. As technologies like the internet and artificial intelligence continue to advance, I fear they will further distance themselves from God. We live pretty comfortable lives compared to those who lived before us. Self-driving cars, food delivered to our doorsteps, and we have hand-held and wrist wearable communication devices that are powerful computers. Countless GPS apps navigate us to wherever we desire to go. AI is advancing technology so quickly that it may be only several more years before paraplegics, the deaf and the blind will be able to walk, hear and see again. That would be a wonderful achievement. However, it makes me fearful and sad that people might come to a point and think, “who needs God?”.
It reminds me of the story “The Tower of Babel” in Genesis 11:1-9. The story is about a group of people under the rule of King Nimrod who migrated to an area that is now known as present day Iraq. They had advanced to the point of being able to make bricks and secure them together with bitumen and they said “let us build ourselves a city (Babel) and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves…” Basically they were telling God, they didn’t need Him anymore. They did not have to be obedient. They no longer needed God’s help or His blessings. They were becoming self-sufficient. They wanted to put their mark on the world by building a tower to the heavens. During the time of the Tower of Babel, all the people spoke one language. God put an end to the Tower of Babel by changing their one language into many languages. The people could no longer communicate and work toward their common “anti-God” goal.
- Have we allowed technology to be the “bricks and bitumen” in building our Tower of Babel?
- Does the internet allow us to be self-sufficient to the point we ignore God?
- Will we still place our full trust and confidence in His Holy Spirit for discernment, or will we turn our reliance on human-made AI?
- How will mankind cope if God says “enough is enough” and He eliminates our ability to have technology in this word?
In the right hands and the right hearts, technology has a lot of useful purposes in this world. Would God take it away from us due to actions of several bad actors? God is sovereign and nothing happens without His permission. His will be done on earth as it is in heaven, right? Perhaps God is allowing our advancing technology for His purpose which He is not ready to make known to us.
The Real Concern…
How do we ensure that today’s citizens do not go the way of the citizens of Babel? If it was so easy for them to lose their sense of humility with their limited man-made technology; if they placed a false sense of independence on bricks and bitumen, then woe to today’s humans who live in a world of artificial intelligence.
The word “artificial” means “produced by humans rather than occurring naturally”. Artificial Intelligence is defined as “intelligence created by humans to mimic natural intelligence”. Natural intelligence refers to “human” intelligence. So whose intelligence are we talking about? The programmer’s intelligence, and not just their intelligence, but their intelligence guided by the posture of their heart. Programmers live in a world of zeroes and 1s, a world of logic that is inherently opposed to faith. Not all programmers are atheists, but the bend is certainly there.
We have quite a dilemma brewing. If “good” people as defined by human standards, come to depend on AI for everything, and AI is created mostly by humans who are non-believers, how does God prevail with humans? It can be a challenge for believers too. Will a believer have the patience to wait on an answer from the Holy Spirit when they can get it instantly from AI?
The Answer is Prayer
Let us pray that mankind does not allow technology to be our Tower of Babel. We must pray for the developers of AI that they build it in agreement with God’s will and His purpose. Let us pray continually for everyone, especially our “good-hearted” unbelievers to join us in turning towards God, to be filled with His light, and to choose to live their lives in agreement with His will. -Amen!
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