By Julie Ferraro | FāVS News
On a recent rainy Sunday, I watched a video recording of a conference held at Farm Street Church in London, England (actually the Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception, Mayfair), titled, “AI, Faith and Ethics at a Crossroads: Discerning the Way Forward.”
I didn’t have to watch long before the international presenters – Jen Copestake, the Rev. Michael Baggot and Matthew Harvey Sanders – confirmed for me why I refuse to use AI in any capacity, and encourage others not to do so.
AI is Everywhere, But…
I am, admittedly, often confronted with the excuse, “But AI is already integrated into the programs on my computer,” as with common social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, marketing programs like Constant Contact, website creation software like WordPress, Zoom and even Gmail.
To me, that doesn’t matter. Nor, frankly, should it matter to anyone else.
As highlighted in the London conference, not only by the presenters but referencing Pope Francis’ “Antiqua et Nova: Note on the Relationship Between Artificial Intelligence and Human Intelligence,” “The Christian tradition regards the gift of intelligence as an essential aspect of how humans are created ‘in the image of God’ (Gen. 1:27).” No computer, regardless of how thorough its programming, can replace that.
In fact, as has been seen with quite a number of recent examples of AI’s use in the public sector, much of the programming amounts to the old saying, “garbage in, garbage out.” In my own reviews of AI-generated transcripts from Zoom meetings, or even “closed captioning” on videos, certain terms are not recognized by the AI program – as with the encyclical Laudato Si’ which came out “loud otto see” or the term “cenobitic” which appeared as “systematic”. All a person needs to do is watch a video where the transcription appears on the screen to realize that the words appearing in bold print don’t match what the speaker is saying, thanks to the shortcomings of AI.
It’s terribly unnerving to hear about college professors who are encouraging their students to use AI when compiling their term papers or theses for classes – though many still object to its use, and run checks to ensure submissions are neither plagiarized from other sources or generated by AI. The whole point of the education system is to stimulate young minds to think for themselves, after all.
Another point of contention raised at the Farm Street Church conference: that AI, in conjunction with robotics technology, will eventually have the capacity of replacing – or replicating – humans’ physical appearance to the point that the fake is indistinguishable from the real.
For me, what is of greater concern is the rationale that AI chatbots and the like can make it possible for those who are aging or lonely to have a companion, when other human beings aren’t available.
My question: with the surplus of human beings on this planet, why aren’t we available to companion each other through life? What have we become that we don’t have time to spend with others, being present, being of service to others in need?
Where have our priorities gone wrong?
How many people have already lost their jobs after being replaced by AI, with the prospect of how many more? With the excuse of improving the world, AI is creating a whole new level of poverty, while marginalizing thinking human beings in favor of computer-generated tripe (and, believe me, I could use far stronger language to describe it)!
Also, if we allow AI to determine the “facts” of any situation, and accept those “facts” without questioning the source, what will we become, as a whole?
As a thinking, creative human being, I see no practical use for AI beyond the desire of some people to want their lives made “easier,” to not have to think, to not have to create new phrasing for a fundraising letter, for instance, to not double-check the spelling or grammar of a presentation… to let someone else do the work for them.
By giving in to those sorts, we denigrate the entire species, and will eventually wind up the subjects of AI, rather than its masters, reliant on a compilation of computer chips to guide us through life, rather than the tenets of faith – primary among which is love and respect of one another.
We must seek out how we humans have lost that priority of showing love to others, ensuring dignity and care for all – and the planet – and restore it, setting aside this preoccupation with escaping our duties through AI and focusing on what really matters: the human connection.
Thanks you for giving good theological and sociological reasons for resisting the lure of AI. I am upset that every time I turn on the compute, I am enticed to use AI, as if I can’t think and write for myself.