Artificial intelligence, particularly language models like ChatGPT, have made significant strides in recent years, transforming the way we live and work.
While there are certainly benefits to this technology, it is important to recognize the potential dangers that come with it. From misinformation to privacy concerns, the unchecked proliferation of AI could have severe consequences for our society.
In this editorial column, I will examine these dangers and call for greater caution and accountability in the development and deployment of AI technology.
What if I told you that the first three paragraphs of this column were entirely generated by the language model, ChatGPT. A quick ten-word prompt provided me with a ready-made opening for a column on the dangers of the same application that I used to write this.
Odds are, you have heard of ChatGPT. And if you haven’t, you would have heard of it from someone other than myself fairly soon.
To sum it up, ChatGPT is an “artificial intelligence chatbot developed by OpenAI and launched in November 2022.”
“They (AI Chat Bots) are doing their work based on searches across huge amounts of written information,” Art White, professor of computer science and engineering, said. “And they’re able to collate what appeared to be reasonable answers, but they’re not really reasoning.”
It can do impressive things. Type a short prompt, and the bot will provide you with something that is likely to surprise you in both its accuracy and its authenticity.
What if I wanted it to write an opening to an article about a 76-72 Taylor basketball win over Indiana Wesleyan?
It can do that.
In a highly anticipated matchup between two of the top teams in the Crossroads League, Taylor University emerged victorious over Indiana Wesleyan University, 76-72. The game was a thrilling back-and-forth affair, with both teams trading leads throughout the contest. In the end, it was Taylor's clutch shooting and tough defense that sealed the victory, sending the home crowd into a frenzy. With this win, Taylor solidifies its position as a top contender in the conference and sets its sights on bigger goals as the season progresses.
It can provide code for programmers (I won’t provide an example because sifting through python or C++ script on a newspaper could be difficult).
Taylor actually had to enforce an A.I. policy within course syllabi and its plagiarism policy.
It reads, “Examples of major infractions include taking significant portions of text from any source with no attribution or having a peer or AI software help write the paper.”
Professors were also encouraged to add class policy on AI software like ChatGPT.
“Professors have kept us in the loop with new things that are developing in our classes, whether or not it was entirely relevant to the course material,” junior computer science major Nathan Erickson said. “In courses like machine learning and Intro to AI, we have explored more into the technology”
The question is, how do we deal with this new technology, not only at an academic institution, but as Christians?
“I don’t think people should be panicking,” White said. “I think they should be educating their students about what these tools are and what they can and can not do.”
Unprecedented technological innovations are nothing new. And the church attempting to find answers to them is also nothing new.
John Dyer’s book, From the Garden to the City, reads, “While God's words are eternal and unchanging, the tools we use to access those words do change, and those changes in technology also bring subtle changes to the practice of worship. When we fail to recognize the impact of such technological change, we run the risk of allowing our tools to dictate our methods. Technology should not dictate our values or our methods. Rather, we must use technology out of our convictions and values.”
For example, smartphones have effectively permanently altered the way that we access both God’s words and in many instances, have changed the way we worship. If we aren’t aware of this change — it can be easy to fall into a pattern of allowing our phones, rather than our convictions, to influence our life and our worship.
It can be easy for the Christian community to be behind on technological advances. We don’t have clear answers on such technology and instead of being proactive, we can become reactive. It’s almost as if we can wait to see what the world around us does, in regards to something like smartphones, before collectively deciding if their usage is ethical and God-honoring.
But, that’s a whole other topic.
However, this is a request to all of us to seriously consider AI technologies like ChatGPT. When we read our syllabi in February, few of us probably took that section seriously. But its influence on the world around us will only continue to grow.
Talk about it with brothers and sisters in Christ. Contemplate why your professor has brought it up in class. I applaud the university’s attempt to be proactive, rather than reactive, when it comes to this.
Don’t mindlessly follow what the world says about this new technology. Deeply consider what, if any, impact this could have on your worship and your faith — and attempt to recognize that ahead of time.