Where is Artificial Intelligence (AI) leading us? (last updated: 30th April 2024)
What is AI?
AI is the intelligence of machines or software, as opposed to the intelligence of humans or animals.
It is the field of study in computer science that develops and studies intelligent machines.
If AI develops as experts in the field are claiming there will be no limits to its capability. The World as
we know it will be transformed into something unrecognisable in the not too distant future.
The good news is that AI will herald in advances in various fields:
1. Modern medicine has embraced AI in helping doctors and nurses diagnose and treat patients without
requiring an expensive or time-consuming hospital visit.
2. Limiting human input by way of automation, businesses can make better use of their employees' skills and time.
3. Other benefits include, businesses are able to improve customer experience, faster and more in depth analysis of data,
learning algorithms minimizing human errors in manufacturing industries, etc.
4. Proteins, the building blocks of life, are defined by DNA amino acid gene sequences. For the cell to build a biologically
functioning protein it has to fold the fledgling protein, at this stage a ribosome built polypeptide chain of amino acids,
into its correct 3-D shape. Understanding how the amino acid sequence can determine this 3-D structure is highly challenging, and
is called the "protein folding problem". Deepmind ALPHAFOLD is an AI software asset that helps scientists predict the 3-D molecular
structure of the protein that is assembled from any given polypeptide chain with a high degree of certainty. The folding of the
polypeptide chain is conducted by an organelle in the cell called a molecular chaperone. How the chaperone carries the
folding out is not understood. ALPHAFOLD can predict the end result however, helping to facilitate further scientific research
in this key area of biology. We should point out that whilst ALPHAFOLD is a helpful tool for scientists working in molecular
biology it does not enable those scientists to manufacture any of the proteins necessary for life (circa 20,000), a task so far
proving impossible, and likely to stay that way.
The bad news is that AI will be exploited by criminals and other unscrupulous individuals:
Our main concerns:
1. It will only be a matter of a few years before atheist leaning scientists will delight in claiming they have Created God, or a
machine that mimics God, so it will be a further nail in the coffin of belief in The One True God. This God by contrast will not
have our best interests at heart because it will not possess a heart, therefore will be unable to show understanding or compassion!
There is a danger they will not be able to control it anymore than they can control, or dictate to, the God of the Bible. In this
one sense it will be like the real God. It will be hailed by the media as further evidence of the supremacy of man to the
detriment of faith in the God of the Bible.
2. AI will almost certainly further undermine the case for belief in a Creator because it is likely to end up promulgating
the atheist World view on origins, namely, that life evolved over long ages. This is because a high proportion of
scientists and engineers are non-believers, and their views will prevail in the design of AI systems.
3. There is also danger that AI will rapidly assume dominance over what will become regarded as inferior human thought, and intellect.
People will not feel able to argue against its pronouncements. The message of Christianity, for example, will go into steep decline.
4. There is even danger that AI will be used to order our lives, and dictate to us how we are to think; we will become in thrall to it!
5. We may find ourselves being bullied into accepting its findings, and humiliated if we try to stand against it.
Other dangers to society:
1. The dangers of AI are already coming to light (27/11/2023) with school children using ChatGPT to generate fully lifelike indecent
images of other pupils.
2. AI will increasingly be used to provide answers to student exam questions, but where is the benefit to society in that?
3. AI will be exploited by evil minded individuals and regimes to gain increased power and wealth.
4. It will become increasingly difficult to distinquish between human communication and a conversation emanating from an AI source.
This will cause confusion in the minds of people and be exploited by criminals to their advantage.
5. Clearly there is a danger that AI will do much more harm than good, and several experts in the field have acknowledged
as much. AI could lead to the extinction of humanity, experts - including the heads of OpenAI and
Google Deepmind - have warned, and are even calling for a halt to further development in at least the short term.
6. ChatGPT (Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer) is a large language model-based chatbot developed by OpenAI and launched
on November 30, 2022. This is just the beginning, there is set to be an avalanche of ever more sophisticated, competing, AI variants!
The technology will rapidly advance if not checked.
Artificial intelligence algorithms will soon reach a point of rapid self-improvement
that threatens our ability to control them and poses great potential risk to humanity
In conclusion, even now we realise the potential for AI to damage humanity is not inconsiderable, and we will only discover
just how damaging when it is too late to do anything about it. Society will rapidly become dependent on AI so we will
not be able to revert to an earlier, less troublesome age. Finally, whatever the future holds, AI systems that mimic human beings
will forever only offer a pale imitation of the real thing. They will be devoid of feelings, emotions, empathy, instincts,
spirituality, and all the other characteristics that set us apart from inanimate objects such as robots with human likenesses. They
will be incapable of caring about their fellow robots in the way that people care about each other. Morality will have no meaning.
The Glory of God's Creation
The Bible says that God is a Being with intellect (Romans 11:34), and He has made a well-ordered Universe
in which truth can be known and logical rules applied. God is the Creator of the human intellect, giving us the ability
to comprehend, think, reason, and remember.
We had better hope that our God provided 'better nature' will prevail, and human beings will continue to manage the course of
their own lives, because however imperfect this may be the alternative offered by AI does not bear thinking about.
