AI, also known as artificial intelligence, has recently become more popular. While many people are aware of the threat that it brings to mankind, not everyone is paying attention. Rather than rallying against it, they are rallying for it—and this includes Christian communities. Christian ministries and organizations should be wary of many aspects of AI since it can cause many creatives to lose their jobs and their creativity.
Even those who do not have creative jobs are at risk of losing their profession. Many have already thought and expressed aloud, “What will my job be if AI starts doing what I can?” As believers, we need to be careful when it comes to AI because it poses many risks.
It is within a Christian’s freedom to choose if they want to use AI or not, yet it is important to also understand the dangers it accompanies. Even though the world is always pushing for “progress,” how can we be sure that AI is actually a positive change?
Before rallying behind all that AI presents, please pause, understand, and reflect on these 5 dangers:
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1. Job Loss
As discussed, many people will lose their present jobs, such as media jobs, tech jobs, legal industry jobs, market research analytics, finance jobs, and teacher jobs, just to name a few. As we can see, many of us are at risk of losing our jobs to AI. By losing our jobs to AI, we will have to enter a not-so-ideal career path, or we might face unemployment for a long period of time.
If a person is unemployed for any period of time, they are at risk for poverty. As someone who grew up in a state of poverty and is surrounded by others who live in poverty every day, it is not a good place to find yourself. Granted, being frugal and being poor are two very different things. The former can help you when you need to manage your finances; however, the latter gives you no room for basic necessities.
Instead of having enough resources, you will come up short each month. This is especially true if you have a family. Despite my mother working every day, her job did not pay enough due to outsourcing, and we were faced with not having enough supplies, resources, and food to last the entire month. If this is what it was like before AI, imagine what we are going to face with AI completely eradicating jobs. Before anyone invests in or rallies behind AI, remember that it may do away with your job and pose financial stress.
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2. Lack of Creativity
Due to AI writing and creating content, many people will begin to lose their creativity. We easily lose the skills we don't consistently practice. Since we don’t have to rely on our own creativity and ideas, in time, our creativity will die out. Humans will no longer be creative beings because we have passed all creative projects over to AI. AI does not have the human touch as humans do; therefore, it cannot truly connect to the reader, watchers, or admirers of art on a personal level.
Even though some forms of AI are trying to become more personal, such as ChatGPT, it is still not human. AI are robots programmed by humans, but they are not humans themselves. If you are someone who truly loves creativity, coming up with your own ideas, and art, know that AI will slowly do away with all of these things.
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3. Danger of Superintelligence
Many individuals have already warned of AI having the capacity to be more intelligent than human beings. This in turn can cause AI to be more powerful than humans themselves. While some might think this is straight out of a sci-fi novel, it can become a reality very soon.
Superintelligence will give AI the ability to become unstoppable and uncontrollable. Rather than ignoring this truth, we need to understand that it does pose a major risk. As Christians, we also have to acknowledge that even though AI is not mentioned in the Bible, that doesn't mean God automatically approves of it. We have to weigh it against the Bible with what we do know to draw a conclusion.
Within the Bible, God never says anything about robots or AI because these things did not exist during biblical times. However, when we look at the dangers being presented by AI, we can see that God would not endorse something that would be a threat to humanity. Not to mention, AI could quickly become an idol, which is something God forbids (Exodus 20:4-5). An idol is anything we place above God, and this can include AI if we keep setting it as the most important thing in our lives or some kind of “savior” for humanity, as many have proposed.
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4. Threat of Plagiarism
There have already been reports of people using ChatGPT to write college papers as well as theses; therefore, we can see that plagiarism goes hand-in-hand with AI. Ethical concerns do not need to be overlooked because they have consequences both with God as well as your school and government. Plagiarism is a crime that will be punished by your school, which could be expulsion, or by the government, which could include imprisonment or fines.
As believers, we must always follow God in what we do. How can we say we are following God if we are endorsing and using something that promotes unethical behavior? In no way are we truly following God if we are endorsing technology-based plagiarism. Despite many people trying to claim AI has many positive benefits, I don't believe they outweigh the negatives. As believers, we need to be cautious and understand that AI will bring many ethical concerns.
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5. Unhealthy Dependance
There have been many modern advances, such as washing machines, ovens, and cars, which have truly helped us, yet we have become dependent on these things. Instead of washing our own clothes, using a fire to cook food, or walking everywhere we go, we now depend on these devices. While there is nothing wrong with these things, we have to tie the connection with AI.
AI does not innocently give us these modern conveniences. Rather, it causes us to be dependent on it for our creativity and intelligence. As one can see, this will cause many problems for us in the long run. In no way do we need to depend on anything or anyone, except God Himself. Everything else will ultimately fail us.
Dependence on AI will start to make us less creative and less intelligent. We do not need to give up the gifts and talents that God has given us to us to go along with the times. AI will cause major problems for society and humanity. Rather than just going along with whatever someone says, weigh the matter for yourself. Look into, reflect on it, and truly see what AI will do. The Lord reminds us to be as innocent as doves, yet as shrewd as snakes (Matthew 10:16).
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Originally published Monday, 01 April 2024.
