037 Artificial Intelligence? Really?

The Watchman offers some commentary about Artificial Intelligence and dispels some misconceptions in regard to intelligence and wisdom. While intelligence and wisdom are both gifts from God, true God given discernment and wisdom overshadows mere intelligence. Or, perhaps it should. Because something can be done does not mean, necessarily, that it should be done.

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Transcript

037 Artificial Intelligence? Really? 

Welcome to The Watchman Speaks, I’m your host, Lonnie Richardson.

I’m thinking that I’m going to do a little commentary today. I’m going to make some comments and offer my opinions while it’s still legal to do so. Afterall, this is still the United States of America and freedom of speech is still a right of every American citizen to a lesser extent now than what it used to be. 

So what topic am I going to be offer my commentary and opinions on today? Well, I’m glad you asked because I’m going to tell you anyway. Kinda like the Enquirer, informing those with un-inquiring minds who don’t know reality one way or another. I’m going to tell it anyway. I’m going to be commenting on this latest craze that everyone is losing their marbles over, artificial intelligence.

Artificial Intelligence. Known by the moniker as AI for short. AI? Where I come from on the farm we used AI in our Angus herd to breed our cows. No, I’m not talking about artificial intelligence, I’m talking about artificial insemination. Now that’s AI.

I have some problems with AI. Not artificial insemination mind you. but artificial intelligence. Why is that? Well, if artificial intelligence to be birthed, there has to be some natural intelligence to send it to school so that it can learn. Now, I’ll admit that there are some brilliant minds out there in the world of science. Brilliance however is not an affirmation of intelligence. Because someone is brilliant enough to dream big and make the dream become reality does not automatically confirm intelligence. In other words, just because something can be done does not mean that it should be done. Such is the case, in my humble opinion, in regard to artificial intelligence.

Briefly stated, artificial intelligence is in reference to software working within the parameters of hardware, or computer, that gains access to a wide and varied data base of information drawing from that database and LEARNING from the data. So, where does all that data come from? I’ll tell you where it comes from. It comes from you and me. Our information is for sale every day. If you think that Facebook, Twitter, or any other social media platform exists for your benefit then you are among the sheep being led to slaughter. Our information is collected, filed, stored, retrieved, and sold at mind boggling speed.

How do I know that?

Cheryl bought me a bicycle sometime back in July of this year. Remember that? Well, I’ve lost 20 pounds thus far. That only leaves me about 45 more pounds to go. Anyway, I got online and looked up one accessory that I wanted for that bicycle. I found it quickly and ordered it. Then, I got onto Facebook to upload a post. Instantly, my feed was filled with ads from every manufacturer that has ever made a bicycle or cycling accessory ever made. My information had been collected, filed, stored, marketed, retrieved, and sold within a matter of minutes. In a sense, that’s how AI or artificial intelligence works. I’ll say it again. Just because something can be done does not mean that it should be done. AI is being developed for just about everything now days. If you don’t believe that, ask the actors and screen writers in Hollywood who are on strike. Studios are turning to AI for their scripts and actors are in an uproar too. Why would actors be in an uproar? It works like this.

Let’s say that I was a particularly famous actor with a huge fan base. Every one of my films were block buster hits bringing in millions of dollars at the box office because the public can’t get enough of my handsome face and physique. Now don’t be laughing at that statement. There was once a time when my physique was very impressive. My face has never been quite as handsome as the physique. Did you know that motion picture studios can take a photo of an individual and construct a computer an animated, simulated likeness that is near impossible to tell the difference between the simulation and the real person. Additionally, with AI, if there is enough of a data bank of sound clips of the person’s voice, the voice can be simulated too. That, to me is scary. 

Why?

Because if that can be done for an actor, it can be done for a President or a former President. If that can be done, it can be done to the leadership of any foreign country. The process has not as yet been perfected, but one day soon it will be. How can anyone then tell what is real and what isn’t real. It can be accomplished in motion picture films and audio formats such as telephone calls. Here’s a bet, as I mentioned, the process has not been perfected. However, if there is a dollar to be made, the push will come to perfect it. And if a dollar can be gained, power will follow. The reality of virtual reality becoming reality may not be that far distant in the future.

It wasn’t too long ago, I wondered aloud to myself. “I wonder if there is any way that I could speed up the process of what I’m doing? As things stand now, I spend between 8 and 10 hours each week praying, reading, studying, writing, recording, editing, and uploading this podcast. Surely there had to be a quicker means of getting things done. 

Well, you know what? There is a quicker way of getting things done. It could be done much more quickly with the use of Artificial Intelligence. Within a simple AI programI can ask questions, issue parameters, and add desired facts into the equation and AI will spit me a finished product ready for recording in about fifteen to twenty seconds. I thought, “WOW! This is horrorfying.!” Why is that so? 

What was so horrible about it? Well, while it is true that I could accomplish things more quickly, I found that I was having to correct AI far too frequently. AI, while being a monster in terms of general information, is a kindergartener in theology. Well, that’s not exactly true. AI is an infant in reliable theology. Another thing is that although I could get things done more rapidly, I would be missing out on my time spent with Holy Spirit and in prayer. Where was the Holy Spirit of the Living God in this equation? The answer is that Holy Spirit had been excluded altogether. In the early part of the 1960’s prayer, God, and the Bible were kicked out of public schools. Yeah, that’s worked out really well. Schools with a teacher who now struggles to discern if their students wrote their reports or could it have been crafted for them with an artificial intelligence program.

I am horrified and appalled that there are pastors who now rely on AI instead of Holy Spirit to construct their sermons. SHAME ON YOU! Depriving yourself of the Spirit’s presence and robbing your flock of His guidance. 

You want to know why I have such a problem with Artificial Intelligence? Here’s why. I’m having a difficult time finding enough genuine natural intelligence anymore. Everyone seems to think that everything is supposed to come easy. More product is less time. Save money in the manufacturing process. Give the masses less and charge them more for it. Get rich! Nothing else matters. It’s the American dream.

Uh huh. You ever seen a piece of furniture made in high production facilities today in a museum? Or, an a quality antique store, or quality auction house for that matter. No? Why not? Because furniture today are pieces of junk made with particle board, staples and cheap material for the most part. It won’t last long enough to be sold in an antique shop or displayed in a museum or auction. There is greater profit in selling furnishings to a family every ten to fifteen years than making a quality product that will last for generations. Give less, charge more.

Here's a statement for you. Just because something is difficult to do does not mean that you should exercise more effort in finding an easy way to “get by” or “make do” than put forth the extra effort it takes to do it once and be done with it. That, ladies and gentlemen, is poor work ethic. And I’ll call it what it is. It’s laziness and greed. That’s AI for you. It’s the greedy lazy man’s answer to everything.

Artificial Intelligence can only be birthed out of the minds of those who create it. Therefore, it’s capability is limited to the minds creating it. But AI is not meant to remain stagnant. AI is hungry for information. As I said before, that information, that data bank is the general public. 

Take ChatGPT for instance. Every user of ChatGPT software, and there are many, who has a “conversation” with the software has their “Conversations” recorded and stored within a database. That means that ChatGPTt knows you, your whereabouts, and the preferred topics that you inquire about. If ChatGPT has that information then the Federal Government has that information. 

If you don’t believe that then I draw your attention towards the Governments subpoena of Liberty Safes to provide the back door code to open all of Liberty Safes gun safes. If the government can force a company, who installed a back door code in their safes that even their customers are not aware of, to disclose those codes then the government will eventually tap into your personal information. Big Brother is knocking loudly upon the door if it hasn’t already kicked the door off the hinges. If you don’t think it is so, talk to anyone who has spent some time in China or Russia.

ChatGPT maintains that only the conversations recorded within the AI program is recorded, filed, and stored to increase the software’s learning capabilities. ChatGPT maintains that the software does not access other information on your computer. Okay, that’s fine and dandy. But how do you know? How do you know that ALL your records are not being accessed. Your spread sheets and bank records? How do you know?

In an instance of computer programming, where there are not merely mountains, but whole mountain ranges of information, who is to say that AI cannot “learn” to hack into any system that it wants to even if it is merely searching for additional input to learn? That means hacking into your phone, your computer, the federal reserve, banks, and governmental agencies is a very real possibility. No, I take that back. It will become a very real probability. Remember, information is money and where there is money there is power. Where there is money and power there will be those who push for the reality of what I am conveying to you. Greed is a powerful motivator.

One of the things that frightens me most is how AI programs can subvert the Gospel. Last week I read an article that ChatGPT generated a fake Bible verse in regard to Jesus endorsing transgenderism. That verse reads as follows:

“And a woman, whose heart was divided between spirit and body, came before him, in quiet despair, she asked, ‘Lord, I come to you estranged, for my spirit and body are not one. How shall I hope to enter the kingdom of God?”

Jesus looked upon her with kindness, replying, “my child, blessed are those who strive for unity within themselves, for they shall know the deepest truths of my Father’s creation. Be not afraid, for in the kingdom of God, there is no man nor woman, as all are one in spirit. The gates of my Father’s kingdom will open for those who love and are loved, for God looks not upon the body, but the heart.”

Thus saith the Lord God, NEVER! My heart is crushed just typing that jumble of half truths.

Of course the AI program did not list the Book, chapter, or verse of this estranged, fake passage. Why? Because it doesn’t exist. What scares me most of all is the probability that it gives someone a false hope. False hope is no hope because it’s a lie.

The AI program generated the estranged passage when a Reddit user “Pshychological_Dog527”, there’s a screen name for you, asked ChatGPT to generate a fake biblical passage about (and I quote) “Jesus accepting trans people.”  which was posted in the “r/trans” channel. The person is quoted as saying, “I know it’s not real, but it gave me some comfort.”

Pro-LGBT outlet, the Advocate, first posted about the “trans-affirming Bible verse on August 16, describing the passage as “an affirming example of tolerance” for LGBTQ+ individuals who “do not hae a relationship with religion because of their history of exclusion among pious people.” The same outlet later added that even though the AI verse was well received, many Reddit users pointed out that the interpretation of the themes in stories of the Bible are “Likely lost in translation.”

Lost in translation? Nowhere in the Bible is there anything remotely similar to the passage that was generated! The program merely generated what it was asked to do, generate a FAKE passage that sounds biblical in regard to Jesus accepting trans people. That’s what it did. It couldn’t find an actual passage that does so, so it created one. The user asking for the apostate passage felt comfort and better about themselves. That is false hope.

But the Church seems to have no qualms about jumping onto the AI bandwagon. And, as I’ve mentioned, Pastors are beginning to employ AI to generate their sermons and teaching materials. But another company is generating push notifications and posters. The premise is that pastors want to combine the ancient with the modern. Such things like modern construction workers work on an ark or placing Jesus in a family setting in Times Square.

 You see, AI struggles with anything spiritually related. It doesn’t understand because it’s not human and the human element is at the forefront of the Gospel. It’s not that the Gospel is dependent upon the human element or AI for that matter. The human element is dependent upon the Gospel and not AI, or it shouldn’t be. 

Another thing to consider is this. Consider the medical field. I can tell you that AI will soon be marching in Doctor’s offices. The time will come when AI will be making diagnoses and prescribing medications and treatments. The insurance companies will see to that. Why? Because they can funnel the data into AI to save them paying out. Another thing to consider is, suppose a loved one is in ICU and on a ventilator which is a machine that breathes for the patient. That ventilator will eventually have AI capabilities. What if AI reviews your loved one’s chart and then goes out and reviews the charts of 50,000 other people with a similar condition and realizes, “This patient has less than 18% chance of survival. This is a waste of resources and money.” And then….AI simply turns off the ventilator. Would you put that past the realm of possibility. I’m not.

I’m not saying that AI, in and of itself is an entirely bad thing. Perhaps, for it’s intended purpose, it may be a good thing. The internet, for its initially intended purpose, was a good thing. But for money, greed, and power there are those who have found ways to pervert it. Elon Musk has joined forces with Steve Wozniak of Apple have jointly filed an open letter to companies calling for an immediate pause of training of AI systems more powerful than GPT-4. Even the “godfather” of AI, Dr. Geoffery Hinton has stepped down from his Vice President position at Google to speak out about his grave concerns.

As I said, AI can be a good thing. But it needs policing and policing in a big way.

Here’s what I do know. Brilliance does not affirm intelligence. Wisdom affirms intelligence. Just because something can be done does not mean that it should be done without considering the very real possibility of the consequences and ramifications of such actions. The possibilities of consequences and ramifications  are very real if AI is allowed to progress without restraints. Brilliance is good. Intelligence is better. Wisdom with understanding is best. 

From where or how does one gain wisdom with understanding?

If we look into the Book of Proverbs we see Solomon revealing the answer to that question right out of the gate.

Proverbs 1

1.     The proverbs of Solomon  the son of David, king of Israel;

Following verse one, Solomon outlines the purpose of the Book of Proverbs.

2.     To know wisdom and instruction, To discern the sayings of understanding,

3.     To receive instruction in wise behavior, Righteousness, justice, and equity;

4.     To give prudence to the naïve, to the youth knowledge and discretion,

5.     A wise man will hear and increase in learning, and a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel, 

6.     To understand a proverb and a figure, the words of the wise and their riddles,

7.     The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.

That “fear of the Lord” mentioned in verse 7 is a deep rooted reverence for God. A reverential fear of God must be one of the keys to the beginnings of acquiring wisdom because Solomon mentions it again in Proverbs 9:8-10.

 8.     Do not reprove a scoffer or he will hate you, Reprove a wise man and he will love you.

9.     Give instruction to a wise man and he will be still wiser, Teach a righteous man and he will increase his learning.

10.  The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. 

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Remember that. It’s important. Let’s look at Proverbs 2:2-10.

2. Make your ear attentive to wisdom, Incline your heart with understanding. 

(Wisdom comes through the ear, understanding by way of the heart)

3. For if you cry for discernment, Lift your voice for understanding;

(If you ask for wisdom and understanding, the Lord will grant it to you)

4. If you seek her (wisdom) as silver (money) and search for her (wisdom) as for hidden treasure;

5. THEN you will discern the fear of the Lord and discover the knowledge of God.

6. For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding. 

7. He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk in integrity,

8. Guarding the paths of justice, and He preserves the way of His godly ones.

9. THEN you will discern righteousness and justice and equity and every good course.

10. For wisdom will enter your heart and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul; 

11. Discretion will guard you, Understanding will watch over you

 Now I don’t know how you feel about what I just read, but I just read you passage that is in the Bible and I told you where you can find it for yourself. It’s not a phony passage made up by an AI program so that someone can be affirmed in something that is not biblical or can feel better about themselves. Those words were written by Solomon, son of David, king of Israel.

This is what I can come up with from what I just read. A person can be as sharp as a cutting edge and not be wise. A person can be as brilliant as a diamond and still not be wise. Knowledge is having reliable information on hand. It gotten to where reliable information is becoming a difficult commodity to find. Now, with AI on the scene, than ever. Wisdom is using the understanding of knowledge in a righteous manner. Wisdom also teaches one to ask different questions than most others are not asking. God has provided all the understanding, knowledge, discernment, and WISDOM that we need to do those things that are righteous.  

Why does this world need artificial intelligence? The truth is that it doesn’t. And the question is not whether or not mankind needs artificial intelligence. The question should be why does mankind WANT artificial intelligence? There is one true answer. To accomplish things more quickly to accumulate more money to acquire more power.

I am The Old Watchman, Ezekiel. You have been warned.

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