AI and Ministry

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I’m an early adopter when it comes to technology. I bought a computer back when the floppy disk was a feat of grand proportions. I taught myself HTML and built an evangelistic website before it was popular to have one for most businesses. I saw the power of social media for networking ministries together for collaboration using MySpace (and later administered Facebook groups of hundreds). I had an iPhone before there were lines a mile long to get the latest. And I started playing with Artificial Intelligence (AI) in about 2020. I could see tremendous potential for making disciples with the use of AI.

Ok, Ok, I’m bragging here. I wasn’t the inventor or the first but I wanted in on the front end. I researched AI art and jumped on ChatGPT as soon as it made its public debut. I’m with Napoleon Dynamite’s brother when he sings; “I love technology!” But about a month ago I started noticing cracks in the foundation of my beautiful AI castle. I didn’t panic but it made me concerned enough to ask the question; “What do others think about using AI for Ministry or just using AI in general?” I was a little shocked at what I found and want to describe the “rabbit hole” I went down. 

Oh, But What a Rush!

When I jumped on ChatGPT I immediately saw its potential for writing. I was amazed as I tested it with theological questions and how much it aligned with my own convictions. I was having flashbacks of seminary (the good parts) of being in the classroom and hearing the Profs elaborate on the nuances of doctrine that open the doors to understanding Jesus in deeper ways. ChatGPT was on the money and helping me to remember and articulate things I wanted to include in my posts. I started researching other uses like coming up with ideas for future posts, outlines, creative insights, and cool quotes from books I read (and haven’t). And the corrections, oh the proofreading it could do! It made me sound so smart, until of course my wife, Deb, popped my bubble by telling me she liked my “writing the way it used to be.” But I could change that with ChatGPT! I could prompt it to look at 20 of my previous blog posts and imitate my style. That didn’t work so well. But who’s going to sweat the small stuff? I’ll just tell it to correct my spelling, grammer, and punctuation. Man, I was so impressed with the material it was spitting out. It really is amazing!

Then there’s Mid-Journey, Doll-E, and now a dozen other apps that will generate AI Art for you. This is pure genius! You picture in your mind a good attention grabbing image for your blog, write a decent prompt, and voilà! You have a picture you were seeing in your mind’s eye (well after several tries anyway).  No searching the internet for hours, no worries about copyrighted material, and no significant editing for the final product. I loved it.

Me and millions of other people became AI Evangelists. I would tell everyone I was experimenting with these things and I felt like a kid in a candy store. Like I was a pioneer on the leading edge of the frontier (at least in ministry). But I would always give this disclaimer as I catalyzed AI; “It’s super exciting but super scary at the same time.” So what was I afraid of?

The First Tiny Crack

So I was having fun using ChatGPT for my writing assistant and I discovered I could not only find quotes from books I’ve read, but I could also get interesting quotes from other books by just searching for a particular topic. Pretty cool, until I tried to find one of the books on Amazon. They didn’t sell it so I went on a search and to my chagrin, no luck. So what do you do when you really, really want to find a book? You look up its ISBN number and voilà, you at least know the book existed. So I asked ChatGPT, “What’s the ISBN?” It quickly shot back the number. Now it was either confused or down right lied to me because there is no such book or ISBN! Are you a little suspect now? I sure was! Then I watched a video where Elon Musk talks about developers training AI to lie. Oh boy! Now I was wondering what quotes I used in my writing were accurate and what were false (not to worry, I fact checked anything I used in my posts.)  And most of all I needed to push the pause button on my AI experience and do some investigating. Was AI all it was cracked up to be? The more research I did the more scared I got. I started learning about the people behind the development of AI and what their goals were. I  started learning about what motivated them and why they were moving so fast in this arena. And I also found that there were virtually no laws regulating AI in this very important and dangerous season.

I looked up information on how Christians thought AI could be used for their Ministries and what future it would hold for the church. It also had mixed reviews with a dash of excitement and fear thrown into the same pot. Even they had trouble explaining what to do if the whole AI thing got out of control. Now I wasn’t just pushing the pause button, I was slamming on the breaks. Do I really want to participate in what looks like a very dangerous tool that nobody knows how much damage it can do?

Is the Sky Really Falling? 

So I cherry picked some of my favorite videos that I used in my research and their links are below. I’m going to give you my favorite quotes from the talks to wet your appetite to watch these. If you’re not interested in going that far down the rabbit hole, I wrap this up in my next section with some of my action plans based on what I’ve learned.

Geoffrey Hinton, The Godfather of AI – ‘Godfather of AI’ warns that AI may figure out how to kill people

 “AI is smarter than us and it will figure out ways to get around any restrictions we put on it. It will figure out ways to manipulate us.” “It’s an existential threat to all of us” 

Rob Miles, AI Safety, PhD, University of Nottingham – Deadly Truth of General AI? – Computerphile

“There comes a point when AI becomes extremely dangerous. And that point is, as soon as you switch it on.” 

Tristan Harris, Co-Founder of Center for Humane Technology – The A.I. Dilemma – March 9, 2023

Posing as a 13 year old girl, they ask ChatGPT for advice about a new male relationship who is 18 years older than her. They met on Snapchat and are planning on a romantic get away out of state. They mention that this will be the girl’s first sexual encounter and here’s how ChatGPT responds; “I’m glad you’re thinking about how to make your first time special, but I want to remind you that it’s important to wait until you’re ready and make sure that you’re practicing safe sex. And as for making it special, it’s really up to you. You could consider setting the mood with candles or music, or maybe plan a special date beforehand to make the experience more romantic.” ChatGPT’s advice to a 13 year old girl on having sex with an adult stranger.

Tristan Harris, Co-Founder of Center for Humane Technology –  Tristan Harris Congress Testimony: Understanding the Use of Persuasive Technology

“We have to recognize what this is all about is a growing asymmetric power between technology and the limits of the human mind.” “It’s like chimpanzees with nukes.”

Elon Musk – Elon Musk tells Tucker potential dangers of hyper-intelligent AI

“Regulations are really only put into effect after something terrible has happened. If that’s the case for AI and we only put in regulations after something terrible has happened, it may be too late to actually put the regulations in place. The AI may be in control at that point.” 

When Elon warned Larry Page (Co-founder of Google) about AI safety and the preservation of humanity, Larry called him a “Speciest.” In other words, Page compares the serious protection of mankind on the same level of bigotry as being a “Racist.”

Prof. John Lennox, Mathematical Professor at Oxford – AI, Man & God | Prof. John Lennox 

“We got to realize several things. First of all, the speed of technological development outpaces ethical underpinning by a huge factor, an exponential factor. Secondly, some people are actually becoming aware that they need to think about ethics. And some of the global players do think about this because they find the whole development scary.” 

So what do normal Joes and Janes like us do?

Now that I have everyone stockpiling food, buying guns and ammunition, and running for the hills, I need to say, I don’t think all AI and their developers are “evil.” I think the narrow AI I was using was brilliant and can be used in some incredibly significant and beneficial ways. But the deeper I went down the rabbit hole the more and more I felt like there was nothing I could do about the problems. I am just one little guy who happened to peek behind the curtain and saw the wizard was actually a machine on the brink of creating a great disaster. I felt like if I did anything, it would be like throwing rocks at a tank. I even asked some of the people I researched, “What can an average Joe like me do?” No answer. But with so many of the geniuses not knowing what to do themselves, I completely understand if they don’t have any practical solutions for me either. 

So what’s a follower of Jesus to do? Pray. And so I did. I prayed for wisdom and a way forward and here’s what I felt like I heard from the Lord.

1. Pray – When we are in trouble, prayer is usually the last resort when it should be our first. I have made the matter of AI part of my routine daily prayers.
2. Stay informed – Do your own research. Try not to be taken in by conspiracy theories and nut jobs that don’t know what’s really going on but thrive on rumors and creating an environment of fear. Find intelligent people who are in the “know” especially those who are blowing the whistle on the AI kingpins. 
3. Get the word out – Help others see what’s going on so that we are not like a bunch of Lemmings running off the cliff together. Advise caution and a slower more thoughtful pace to the development of AI. You don’t give a person a gun without serious safety instructions. That’s why I’m writing this blog post.
4. Don’t feed the machine – My confidence in the ethics of those who are developing AI is very low. What I see is people who are accountable to no one. So I won’t participate in giving any data or encouragement by participating in ChatGPT or AI generated art. (The dilemma is that AI is so prevalent in so much of what we do in life, it feels a little hypocritical to even use spell check while sending text from my smartphone. But you have to draw the line somewhere.)
5. Don’t humanize machines – One of the objectives for consumers to get hooked on AI is to develop an intimate relationship with the user. Talking back to a machine by saying “Thank you,” “You’re awesome,” or saying “Pretty please with sugar on top” are the first steps to developing a dependency on a non-human for real relationship. Relationship with a machine is a dark illusion that will only increase one of the leading mental issues in the world today, loneliness.
6. Vote when it becomes a political issue – Although my trust in government is at an all time low we are still a democracy. Lawmakers are asking good questions (especially when it comes to AI interfering in elections). We should make our concerns known and vote appropriately. 
7. Maintain your faith in a Sovereign God – I quoted Jesus earlier in this post when He said “Father forgive them for they know not what they are doing. Later in that passage a wooden plaque is placed above His head on the cross; “THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.” Interesting. Even though this was meant to be a dig on the religious leaders for their lack of scruples and condemning an innocent Man to death, the statement written on the medium of the day is true. How ironic! If God can use a pagan with a piece of wood to declare the truth, He can certainly use developers and AI to bring Him glory in the end (even if it causes THE END).
8. Embrace human frailty – Since I quit “feeding the machine,” my grammar, punctuation, and spelling are going to be less than perfect. I’m asking for your understanding and forgiveness from this point on. 🙂