In Depth:  Artificial Intelligence

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A Wesley hymn on penguins?

A Wesley hymn on penguins?
Matt MacGregor Matt MacGregor

Would you sing a hymn written by a computer? I wonder how you would back up your answer to that question. I suspect the instinctive answer of many would be ‘no.’ But why not?

The answer cannot be because a computer won’t be good at it. AI technology probably became a better songwriter than you some years ago. I took the liberty of asking ChatGPT to write a hymn in the style of Charles Wesley about penguins:

South Korean Christians turn to AI

South Korean Christians turn to AI
Luke Randall Luke Randall

Tens of thousands of Christians in South Korea have added technology supported by artificial intelligence (AI) to their spiritual diet, reports the Financial Times.

Many young Protestants in particular have started using AI-supported Christian apps, which has freed up pastors’ diaries to spend more time focusing on caring for members of their churches on a pastoral level.

AI – our unnecessary angst?

AI – our unnecessary angst?
Nicola Laver Nicola Laver

If you’ve seen Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning, you’ll know the hunt is on for the key to a powerful sentient AI entity – a villainous entity that threatens to unleash god-like omnipotence over the entire world.

It’s a timely movie, illustrating the potential (if fictional) power of artificial intelligence; it’s prescience wasn’t lost on me (I watched it the same night I’d finished the first part of this article).

Bible translation: AI and other reasons to be joyful
the Bible in action

Bible translation: AI and other reasons to be joyful
Jeremy Weightman Jeremy Weightman

‘At last, it is like the heart of Christ is open to the Godié people.’

So said Bible translator Jean Dada at the recent launch of the Godié New Testament in Côte d’Ivoire. This is a typical reaction when people get the Scriptures in their own language for the first time: suddenly, they gain a depth of understanding not possible when reading in their second, third or fourth language.

AI – souless, risky, misunderstood…?

AI – souless, risky, misunderstood…?
Nicola Laver Nicola Laver

So I went on the search engine Google and typed in ‘AI’ (Artificial Intelligence).

Ironically, and paradoxically, that very search engine is itself a form of AI, of course.

Countdown to killer robots?
politics & policy

Countdown to killer robots?

James Mildred James Mildred

In December last year, OpenAI launched Chat GPT-4. It’s the most advanced chatbot yet, employing cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI).

You can ask it any question and it will come up with an answer, because it has access to a colossal amount of data. This extends even to the finer points of Baptist covenant theology, as I discovered recently.

Theologians debate super-fast rise of AI technology

Theologians debate super-fast rise of AI technology
Nicola Laver Nicola Laver

‘Mitigating the risk of extinction from Artificial Intelligence (AI) should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war’ – so stated a single-sentence open letter to the world, signed by global experts.

The message was circulated on 30 May, signed by hundreds of top AI experts and other key figures including Bill Gates, OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman and the chief executive of Google DeepMind. They signed the statement with the aim to ‘open up discussion’. There have also been calls for regulation of AI.

Artificial intelligence, ChatGPT & the nature of God

Artificial intelligence, ChatGPT & the nature of God
Cassie Martin Cassie Martin

Have you ever tried asking your Alexa, Cortana or even Chat GPT to ‘open the pod bay doors’?

Without exception they will reply: ‘I’m sorry, Dave. I can’t do that.’ [When proofreading, we tried this on Siri and the answer was ‘Oh, not again!’ (en subs)] This is, of course, a reference to HAL, the ship’s computer, from the film 2001: A Space Odyssey, which famously goes rogue, developing a personality and priorities of its own.

The lively oracles of God are the most valuable thing

The lively oracles of God are the most valuable thing
John Stevens John Stevens

In recent weeks there has been a plethora of concern about the dangers of AI. One is the fear that AI will create new religions.

Israeli public intellectual Yuval Noah Harari recently told a conference in Switzerland: ‘In the future we might see the first cults and religions in history whose revered texts were written by a non-human intelligence. Of course, religions throughout history claimed that their holy books were written by unknown human intelligence. This was never true before. This could become true very, very quickly, with far-reaching consequences.’

The rise of AI
editorial

The rise of AI

As evangelical believers, we marvel at the rapid advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and recognize both the potential threats and benefits it brings to our world.

The rise of AI signifies the incredible capacity of human intellect and innovation, reflecting the marvellous creative power bestowed upon us by our Creator.

New ChatGPT AI: ‘fear not’

New ChatGPT AI: ‘fear not’
en staff; christianscholars.com

New online artificial intelligence (AI) tool ChatGPT which is taking the world by storm should not be viewed with suspicion, a Christian academic expert says.

Microsoft’s ChatGPT (available at chat.openai.com/chat) has attracted millions of users across the globe since its launch just a couple of months ago. Google is launching a rival AI system called Bard.

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