AI…

Oh, the tangled web it weaves.

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

At the end of the day, AI is just that….artificial. I have to admit that while I kind of despise the whole premise, I myself am not free of its claws. Why? Because it is so enmeshed in everything. Starting with social media… it’s entrenched with it, and I am a Facebook/Instagram user. So there’s that. And our friend Alexa, for all intents and purposes, is a bot and I am regularly asking her to add 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.

I’ll admit that there are a few aspects I use and enjoy. Google searches, social media minus the built-in features of rewriting, GPS (is that even AI?), and talking to my friend and yours, Miss Alexa! (I’m telling you it feels like it’s in everything) But that’s where I draw the line. I refuse the extra, And by extra, I mean ChatGPT among other additional facets. This is a personal choice. And an unapologetic one. I will not obtain the app or ask it things. But it’s more than just ChatGpt that I’m weary of. It’s the voice cloning, image generators, predictive algorithms and the list goes on. The scariest of which is the fact that people are embracing this inanimate non-living system and allowing it in to so many parts of their lives. It’s kind of like a takeover. And it is just scratching a mere surface.

Another full stop for me is using writing assistance. AI can reword anything you’d like. Some folks are writing full books, posts, blogs and letters with this inhuman intervention. It can be very misleading. So, my purpose is to continue on and to think and write for myself. I do however feel the need to end each blog with “AI free”. I really dislike having to. But it’s something I feel is needful as others may think…“hmmmm, is that AI altered?”

By golly, the fact that we have to validate our originality proves that things have Run Amok. The world is starting to lose control with 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, that’s more than disconcerting.

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. I’ve never been a SciFi lover but my friends, this is no movie!

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 the answers lack experience and emotional knowledge. And it can also gather content that can be unbiblical and biased.

At the end of the day, I tread lightly as it is again lacking humanity. And without inducing fear, it’s taking over. 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.

A resolve…

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

Balance is key. We don’t want to throw the baby out with the bath water. 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.

Yes, I suppose there is some good. For example, it can create an itinerary for a trip, or give you a superb recipe or research something that saves you time. But for me, that’s as far as we should allow. Parts of it can be beneficial but so many more things are dangerous. People get excited when they have AI rewrite something perfectly for them. Isn’t this great? It may sound good, but it’s not your words.

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 complementing, and not originating. And always fact checked.

And though my permission and approval of what each reader chooses to do is unwarranted, my encouragement is to never give up on your humanity. Sounds dramatic, I know. But truly, it’s not that far fetched. We are creations designed by God. Keep thinking for yourselves and maintaining your purpose and meaningful humanness.

To sum up…

AI is here to stay. We have the choice in what we participate in and how much. There are negatives and positives. I personally feel the negatives outweigh the positives. But it’s part of our world now. My desire is to resist the extras and not let it get out of control, in my world anyway. You can decide yours.

I guess in a nutshell, some things will go as far as allowed. Be careful what you allow. God created us and our brains for so much more. We were made with empathy, creativity, discernment, ability and emotion. And though AI might be used from time to time, use discernment over convenience. Don’t let it take away your God given identity. And humanness.

God Bless,

Tanya

AI free