What Would Jesus Do With
 |
There has been some discussion within ACW about AI along with a very thoughtful blog recently by Annmarie Miles. Here is another take on the subject.
What would Jesus do with AI? Remember the 90s bracelet with
WWJD? My version may seem an odd question, but it is a question that keeps
niggling me.
Without wishing to dumb down a very complex subject (which
is far too complex to do justice to in this short blog) putting it very simply,
one way AI develops is through being fed material to learn. This material is
created by humans. For creatives and writers, our work is often being used
without our permission or knowledge – or remuneration - to achieve this. The stark
reality of the volume and damage to creatives has led the Society of Authors GB
decision to launch a logo for use to state a book has been written by a human
and not AI. Businesses are using AI for various tasks to cut costs and some individuals may choose to use it to create work that is not their own. On the
wider worldview scale, it does not look any better. AI centres are being built instead of homes,
and the environmental impact of these centres to run is ecologically worrying, i.e.
use of fresh water to cool the computers used and energy to run them, is
increasing.
The key here is that AI needs humans. (at present) We are
the originators of the material they feed on. It learns to do tasks such write
a description of a house or providing information for questions in a search
engine via humans imputing information for them to process. And who made us? God, so perhaps my question
is not quite as ridiculous as it sounds.
Like many things humans have created it can be used for good
or bad. Fire can warm or destroy. Ideologies create peace between communities
or war. Science can provide cures and equipment to enhance someone’s life or be
used to develop chemical weapons to main and kill. What determines how these are used, as
history has shown, is down to human choices.
As Christian writers, how and where we choose to share the creativity - and free will - God gives us might just be our biggest leverage. Not asking ChatGPT to write your blurb, or putting a tricky passage of writing through an AI critique engine, or using it to design a book cover, are just some ways alongside the larger-scale actions like SofAs. I am not saying that AI does not have a place within the creative process; some are great aids: grammar checkers, virtual mood boards, just in how we use it. Perhaps we need to redesign the ‘90s branchlet to WWJDWAI – but by a human, of course.
Comments
Post a Comment