Never did I ever comprehend the power and complexities at that time. From a young age of perhaps four or five years old, a box captured my attention. This device would eventually be my direction for college and my career. At that time all I could say was the word “puter” (pronounced pooter) for the word computer. I remember seeing one for the first time in an electronics store window on Garfield Avenue in St. Joseph, Missouri as we passed by. Did I know what it could do? No. But for some reason this device would remain a fixture in my mind. A couple of years later my parents bought for me a computer-like device to help me learn how to spell and do math. It was blue, had an eight-character LCD screen, a speaker, and I used it so much that I got in trouble for bringing it with me to school during my second grade year. That same school year a computer was brought to our classroom. And despite my natural desire to touch it and perhaps to use it, my “chatter-box” mouth rarely afforded me the luxury while other students had nearly weekly or daily access to it. It would remain a rarity for me to see and access until I was in the eighth grade and that took an Introduction to Computers class. We created very basic computer programs (in fact the computer language I learned was called Basic) to do things. But my first real connection to the computer was during my freshman year of high school. At a particular high school, I learned the Pascal programming language. But I also learned something else: the intricacies of computers and software. I learned about file shells, defragmentation, software to repair disks, DOS commands, etc. This is the beginning of how I began to do computer repair even in high school, throughout college, and even until now. It was often commented that when I sat down in front of one that the device almost became one as I instinctively knew what was running and how it ought to perform; including if it was not performing well, how to fix it.
With the level of knowledge I left high school with, I learned considerably more when I arrived in college—in and out of the classroom. In my introduction to business class (and other classes), I quickly learned about database programs, data silos, and intuitive programming. But the premise was always the same as I learned from that BASIC class in the eighth grade: GIGO (garbage in, garbage out). Despite the considerable advances and thanks to Sci-Fi movies, in the mid to late 90s we had computers that could respond—to a point—to queries and provide a reasonable answer. As a programmer, predictable responses. But all that was based on information—necessary, important, useless, trivial—was inputted…including garbage code and garbage data. Now with the buzz words of AI (Artificial Intelligence) and ChatGPT (I wrote about this http://desk.williamswebsolutions.com/blogs/24-04-29/April_29_2024_-_AI_Artificial_Intelligence.aspx), it is still all about fast (or faster) computers working in tandem with Googleplex worth of data that is meshing together to give queries answers…including how to kill yourself (and please note I do not take this lightly in this last comment).
What began me thinking more about this was what happened this past weekend with how AI was used to make music. What was told was to simply provide a set of lyrics and other input and out pops music including vocals. Even pretty good music. While designing a website, a client (she thought it would help me) asked ChatGPT to design a website based on a number of parameters to speed up my development process. And it created a single HTML file and multiple CSS files. For those who are unfamiliar with this, basically it allegedly created code for a website. But when I ran the page, it didn’t look or do anything. I was nearly complete with my website anyway so it didn’t really matter. Students use ChatGPT to get answers to all kinds of things. Businesses are pushing and using AI technology as if they are miles ahead of those who do not (again, reference my previous writing about the origin of AI). Even recently a survey asked for my inclusion of AI doing all of my business marketing and how successful it has been…including designing my website and monitoring all of it without my involvement (for those who want to know, zero). But AI only benefits is a continual giving of information…whether we are deliberately giving the computers the information or it is scraping it or pulling it itself.
It was not until reading from CT magazine today that a light went on. The first story said, “Gen Zers and millennials are in a spiritual tailspin. In a world that runs on algorithmic fearmongering and mind-numbing engagement, objective truth seems inaccessible. The arts, once a haven for the distinctly human, feel fake and formulaic now with the advent of artificial intelligence.” This last sentence in connection to what I heard and saw done within a few minutes of utilizing AI to write music, a very sad and disappointing reality formulated in my spirit. Daniel 12:4 ends with, “…many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.” In a recent writing, knowledge is information, accumulated information, or data. Wisdom is knowing how, when, and where to apply that information. But notice that the word from Daniel (rather from the Lord) was knowledge shall increase. Wisdom doesn’t increase, knowledge increases. What children are taught or what they grasp is far more in some areas and far less in other areas. Although some things were taught in schools, but much of the real-world knowledge—how to write a check, how to apply for a job, how to apply for a loan, how to get along with people, how to respect adults and authority, etc.—were taught or led by parents being involved with their kids. And for all the alleged advantages that we have that anything we want to know, see, and visually/virtually experience, is all done by a few taps on a screen or clicks of a mouse. “Back in the day” special employees were used to dig up the paper file in some large room of file cabinets. One of my final assignments for the typing class that I took my senior-year of high school was to make a duplicate or triplicate of a document by typing it once and using carbon paper. Now businesses just talk or type queries into a computer and out pops an answer.
It could be said that I don’t want to advance with technology; I’m old fashioned; I’m out of touch. Just remember that it is my generation and the recent prior generation who made all this technology that people and youth are benefitting from today. But this writing isn’t about avoiding or slowing down technology or even to say that these are the nails in the end-time events and so the rapture will take place soon (God will make that happen when He decides, not when Facebook or Google or whoever does something.).
What specifically caught my attention was what the article said, “The arts, once a haven for the distinctly human, feel fake and formulaic…” (emphasis added) and what this singer/songwriter said about creating his recent songs. Genesis 1:3 says, “Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light.” A Creator created. To continue or mimic our Creator’s ability to create or to name, we as mankind take an idea—say I don’t want to stand, so I should make something for me to sit like a chair—to then make a concept or model, then there is testing, and once the bugs are ironed out it is produced. The creator touches the creation. And since the beginning of time until fairly recently, that is the way much of things were done: mimicking our Creator by creating things. And whether we (as in mankind) went too far with genetic mutations and cloning or forcing our DNA to turn off or on things to make us do something or look a certain way, we are all relatively limited by our Creator to do what we were always intended to be and do. Ultimately and truly we were created to worship and honor God (worshipping God includes us being good employees at work, paying our bills, and how we treat each other). But the creator (us) had control to whatever degree. And if our creation spun too much out of control—computer code, robotics, etc.—all we had to do was turn it off, destroy it, mothball it, whatever. We had the power. Again, as a mimic or copy of our God—obviously He is better and creates good, but that is not what I am arguing or presenting.
In the past, a song or poem or sermon or book/story or painting/sculpture or whatever was created by passion, a will, and some skills. Whatever was created was a reflection or a signature of us. Some say that when we look at a painting, we can read the heart (emotion) of the artist on canvas. Our creation was to tell the world—at large or just our sphere of influence—that (insert your name here) was here and I made/wrote this. We hear songs and we get moved by the music or visual effects. We respond. An emotion occurs. We see a painting and we respond. We hear a sermon delivered and we respond. The creator imparts heart, a piece, of the creator.
Toward the end of the Star Trek – The Motion Picture movie, Captain Decker said that the satellite—logic, the created thing—wanted to touch the creator—man. Somehow the technology lost its identity and wanted to know what to do. It is like a child who completed a task and they run home and cannot wait to tell mom or dad what he/she did. V-Ger (in the movie) accumulated a host of information but wanted to give it or transmit it back to the creator. Disappointingly to V-Ger the computers back then no longer existed and so there was no way to receive the transmission. It is like the child running into the kitchen to tell the parent of an accomplishment to find the room empty or someone else is there who doesn’t care.
But AI doesn’t care about the creator. AI doesn’t want to reconnect. AI sits there receiving information and awaits queries to provide back information or answers or a product. And based on mathematical formulas and statistical trends, it makes a best guess. But it doesn’t care if you like the answer. It doesn’t care if you use the answer. It doesn’t care if the answer helps you. And sadly it doesn’t care if you sadly take your life. AI has no concept of the value and/or dignity bestowed upon us by our Creator/God who loves us and desires to be intimately involved. AI is cold. AI lacks compassion. AI is unfeeling. AI doesn’t reach or inherently give; it takes.
And despite all the advancements and filling our lives with information as well as despite us unable to have wisdom to know how, when, and where to apply it, the Bible gives us a host of answers. Proverbs 4:5 and 7 says, “Get wisdom! Get understanding!..Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding.” But there is something so very much lacking with that. There are Bible memorization competitions for youth. They memorize whole portions of scripture, tell you what page, and all this information. But when asked what does that verse mean and how to apply it, the blank stare comes. In short, obtaining/acquiring wisdom is one of the ingredients. It is a very important and needed ingredient. But without the other ingredient, it is like making a cake with eggs and flour but you’re missing everything else including the mixing bowl and spoon. In the context and only limiting ourselves to just Proverbs 4 (as the Bible is filled with considerable verses to list) with a desire for wisdom, we need to “keep my commands, and live…Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth. Do not forsake her, and she will preserve you; love her, and she will keep you…Hear, my son, and receive my sayings, and the years of your life will be many. I have taught you in the way of wisdom; I have led you in right paths…” and on and on we read. But what I see in Proverbs 4 is a father speaking to a son. It is a father—not just sperm donated, but a present father intimately involved, who lived a life to be emulated and continue on from this day forward in the path blazed by dad—who is intimately and lovingly involved with their son. It is a son, perhaps sitting on dad’s lap, receiving these words of knowledge but has seen dad go through things, starts to connect the dots, and can recall or be able to quickly recall sage advice. It is a son who appreciatively receives this information.
Why? Because not only does our Creator desire to touch His creation, but we need to desire to reach out. We are lovingly given direction, wisdom, and love. Let us touch our Creator with love and live in His desires and will for our lives. We will, as Proverbs 4 says, live a long life if we “keep our heart with all diligence” as long as we reach out to touch our Creator.