Introduction
This old world has a lot of problems. I'm not anti-technology. I obviously have a computer. I finally accepted a cell-phone from work, and it is nice to be able to feel like I'm keeping in touch with the kids as they text sometimes. But they mostly share stuff via channels that I don't keep up with. I'm not a big social media fan. I've not had a facebook page. If you like country music and Brad Paisley and "go check out Myspace", you won't find anything of mine there either. I do use an e-reader instead of buying physical books because it's easier on my wrists. I don't watch much television anymore and have cut back the subscriptions to the bare minimum. And so it goes.
The Hype
But when people look at AI solving all the world's and corporate America's problems, I'm afraid that at this point, I'm going to have to say not so fast. Don't get me wrong, there are some really neat algorithms developed by scientists that use AI approaches to scan vast amounts of data to get results that they might not have thought of because it is easy to present the results in ways that couldn't be done by hand. AI that knows what to look for may well be better for scanning mammograms, for example, to find early breast cancer. AI rules for driving are in the process of being implemented and the software engineers have come a long way. But even here, it isn't so much AI as it is a cause and effect tree that is broad enough to look smart. There is no sensor saying that cloud looks like hail and I'm on an interstate so I'd better look for a place to get under cover or speed up so I don't get caught by the storm. There's nothing listening for gunshots to say maybe I should speed up and get out of here or pick a different route. When those decisions start to be made by the car, then you'll be a lot closer to true AI. So I'm sure there are places where it has potential of being beneficial to mankind, but it just is a pipe dream at this point in many cases.
What AI Learns On Matters
You can take an AI painter and tell it to make a picture of X in the style of Y and if it has enough pictures of X to go by and enough examples of the style of Y, then it can do it. You can take an AI writer and get it to generate text about a particular subject X in the style of Y in the same way. The pictures will look good. The story might read well. But it is still equally likely that the inputs the AI engine has taken in will have unintentionally been contaminated with other misidentified drawings or studies of Y or other derivative copies of X that someone else did trying to look like Y. In this case, you will be less pleased with the result. Of course, reading some fiction produced today, you have to wonder if the author had English as a second language. So, there's that.
Trying to use the internet as a source for information is almost certainly doomed to fail. There is just too much information out there that is almost certainly wrong. Just look at controversial Wikipedia pages that read two different ways depending on who did the last set of edits. It is exceedingly hard for an AI engine or the humans trying to train it to pick out 100% reliable sources about all subjects to analyze as a core. And in the end, all the AI can do is regurgitate something based on the sources it has studied. Reliably projecting or creating new knowledge is much more difficult to program. Even knowledge that was believed 100% accurate at one point in time is frequently proven to be inaccurate in some or all detail at a later date. But the internet articles that were wrong never go away.
The AI Hype
AI in the sense of Sir Arthur Clark's sentient robots, or the fun bots on Star Wars is something that I don't expect to see in the near future - or the distant future either. But the hype is as deep as the memory sticks and solid state drives running the AI engine. If we ever do get to that point, I hope that something like Arthur Clarke's rules have been implemented securely in the AI, or it just might decide that humanity was a threat to it, or at least a threat to the earth, and take steps to eliminate the problem.
What Can We Trust as Christians
What can we be sure of? Well, as Christians, we can be sure of God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. They are the real answer to most of the world's problems. Do we need smart trigger locks? Well, that might eliminate a few deaths by gunfire. But it won't solve suicide by gun which one of the primary problems with guns. It won't stop criminals, because they're criminals. Given some time, they can physically defeat a trigger lock. It won't keep someone from flying a plane into a building. It won't stop someone from taking a bow and arrow to a group of people. Good archers can fire 10 to 15 arrows per minute. That rate of fire is much less than a semi-automatic gun and the range might be less than long rifles, but it's still impressive. It won't stop bombs either.
The solution is to either turn such people to God or to give them enough proof that He is and that He means what He says in the Bible about eternal consequences that they will decide maybe it's better to chill than to face eternal damnation. Discerning of spirits to see demon possession is still a thing. Demon possession didn't go away in the New Testament days. Pray that God will intervene in those who are in a state of demon possession to set them free. Prayer in general is something we need to be doing more of.
For people who need to be healed, doctors can do a great many things. Doctors today can do so many more things than they could when I was a kid. If you go back another generation or two, the difference is like dealing with "stone knives and bearskins" when compared to today. I'm sure that in a couple of more generations, the differences will be even more amazing. But even the most fantastic of these things are no competition to God's ability to heal with or without Spirit filled believers being involved. His plan seems to be to use them, but it would be wrong to limit Him to just using Spirit filled Christians. If He wants to heal someone, He will, and it is awesome. He can still do things that doctors can't yet do, and He can do it instantly. We just need to have more faith not only that He can, but that He wants to do so.
How many people have needed a miracle? Just in this current single day, I suspect the number would be staggering. I look at the war in the Ukraine. How many troops on either side could use a miracle to survive? How many civilians need a miracle - mostly in the Ukraine, but now also a bit in Russia? Many. There may be many trapped by heat who need a miracle to make it out of where they are at. God is still the God of miracles. How many tornadoes, hurricanes, tsunamis, fires, earthquakes, hail or lightening storms, floods, or other natural disasters could Christians do better praying for protection from either for themselves, those they know, or strangers? Such events are outside of man's ability to really put an immediate stop to. We can build better dwellings and businesses, fight fires and manage forest and grassland areas better, but in the end when something is coming your way or strikes, there isn't much man is going to be able to do to stop it. God can. How often do we pray and intercede for Him to do so? Or do we just thank Him that we don't live in that area and contribute something to charitable organizations that are trying to help. Elijah prophesied that there wouldn't be any rain or dew in the kingdom to try to change the heart of the king, and God stopped rain for three and one half years. Then, when God was ready, the prophets of Baal were killed and God sent rain.
Ultimately, God is the answer. I'm not sure what things will look like once the rapture happens. I suspect those that have put their hopes in technology will be shocked at how poorly things work with power and parts disruptions. If the AI has turned against us by then, the rapture will just be the icing on the cake in terms of the world's problems. But only time will tell. That time may be getting closer. We've had several words of late talking about the return of Jesus. The most recent was last week Forgive and be Filled with the Spirit, but there have been others.
Accepting Christ as your Savior is your answer. AI may be cool and have some uses. But Christ is eternal, and your future is eternal as well. And God will always be more capable than the fanciest thing His creation can make. Be sure you are ready to spend it with Him.