AI…

Oh, the tangled web it weaves.

No heart. Devoid of Holy Spirit. Lacking soul. Mindless. Without human experience.

At the end of the day, AI is just that….artificial. I have to admit that though I kind of despise the whole premise, I myself am not free of its claws. Why? Because it is so encompassed in everything. Social media is entrenched with it, and I am a Facebook/Instagram user. So there’s that. And our dear friend Alexa is, for all intents and purposes, is a bot and I am regularly adding to my shopping list and beckoning her to play music or answer a trivia question. Even a simple Google search is now in cahoots as it is implemented into every internet search. So am I a user, yes I suppose I am. To some extent. I’m a reluctant participant. A forced user so to speak.

But, let me create a picture of balance. We don’t want to throw the baby out with the bath water. I will honestly admit that there are some benefits. For example, let’s look at AI like fire. Fire keeps us warm and cooks our food but it can also cause horrific burns and destroy homes and forests. But we are not going to get rid of it because of the negative effects. We keep the good. So the positives are clearly there for certain usage. But the difference between the two is fire is a necessity and if I may be so bold to say….AI is not.

Carrying on. There are certain aspects I use because there’s no choice in our modern world as it’s really taking over. But, I refuse to use the extras! I will not download ChatGPT or ask it for answers. A personal choice. But it’s more than just ChatGpt that I’m weary of. There is voice cloning, image generators, predictive algorithms and a ton more. What I just mentioned scratches a mere surface.

Another full stop for me is writing assistance. AI can reword anything you’d like. Some are writing full books, posts, blogs and letters with this inhuman intervention. It can be discouraging. So why even author something, right? Nope….I’m continuing on to think and write for myself. I do however feel the need to write “AI free” at the end of each blog. I really dislike having to. It’s like I’m taking credit for something I wrote just in case some may think “hmmmm,that’s AI altered.”

By golly, it really has “RUN AMOK”! The world is starting to lose control to this supposed “benefit”.

My Take…

I’m certainly not going down a judgmental path with how each of you may feel or with your individual take/usage. It’s all very individual. I’m just sharing my take. Here is my unsolicited opinion.

For one thing, I find it disturbing that you just don’t know what’s authentic online. Is it true? Did they really say that? Was she really in an accident? It is so easily manipulated that people are misrepresented. We are living in a deepfake world and for me, it’s a hard to swallow. When something appears as it’s not, I am just not a fan.

Second, and more importantly, I want to use my brain! The more humanity looks for “easy” answers, the more reliant it becomes. We need to think for ourselves. A “bot” world is not ideal in my book.

Next, and most vital is it lacks empathy and emotional connection.  AI cannot feel the Holy Spirit, or have a relationship with Jesus. Or with others on a human level. This is a machine we’re inquiring of. Does it have answers? Yes, of course it does. But it can also gather content that can be unbiblical.

At the end of the day, I tread lightly as it is again lacking humanity. And without inducing fear, it’s taking over. But it’s a thing, a soulless nothing. It’s not going to prompt you to pray for someone, it doesn’t provide discernment or experiential advice, and it isn’t going to reach out to that friend with a phone call without being told to. So how do we move forward?

My resolve…

So I think the larger question is how can we use AI rather than be used by AI?

Because let’s face it, it’s here to stay.

Balance is key and again, discernment is vital. We should strive to never have it become a replacement for human creativity, conversation, writing, test taking, and on and on. Critical thinking and doing your own research is important.

My feeling also is that if it needs to be used, it should be for productivity (brainstorming or summarizing) rather than creating. Let’s not “become intellectually lazy by reducing the value of human effort”. Its usage should always be geared for truth and that the generated content is honest. And always fact checked.

So if you must use it, then do. But my encouragement to each reader is never give up on your humanity. It is what makes you, YOU! Continue to be creative, smart, and a critical thinker. And don’t allow yourself to ever lose the personal human touch of communication.

Some things will go as far as allowed. Be careful what you allow.

To sum up…

There’s negatives and positives.

I personally feel the negatives outweigh the positives.

But it’s part of our world now.

And I will resist the extras.

When used, discernment over convenience.

Again, a personal choice.

I guess in a nutshell, God created us and our brains for so much more. We were made with creativity, discernment, and emotion. And though AI might be used from time to time, don’t let it take away your God given identity. And humanness.

God Bless,

Tanya

AI free