Artificial flowers can be beautiful.
Some have gotten so convincing that we find ourselves touching them to see if they might be real. But even with the best of those copies, we swap the words “fake flowers” for “artificial flowers” without a second thought.
Perhaps we should make that same word swap for “artificial intelligence” by calling it “fake intelligence.” Even when it is very sophisticated and impressive, AI does not actually think. It is empty of the ability to ponder things through or understand intangibles like faith, hope or love.
It’s too easy to forget that since for decades we’ve been influenced by creative artists to view robots, massive computers and AI as something more than they are.
Several members of our staff were treated to a fascinating talk on Large Language Model/Artificial Intelligence last week at the Northern Illinois News Association awards banquet. We learned that AI is lightning fast as it draws from lots of information that has been “fed” to it. It forms sentences based on mathematical probabilities of what word most likely would follow the previous word — a bit like our cell phones trying to second-guess the next word in our texts.
But AI has no idea what the words mean. No wonder we hear of AI making things up in glitches that are amusingly called “hallucinating.” More and more we hear that AI sometimes provides flat-out false information, makes inappropriate statements and screws up people’s minds (young and old) when they expect it to give them insightful feedback on the deeper questions of life.
We’ve heard the phrase “garbage in, garbage out” to refer to people attracted to less-than-stellar information, people and behaviors, who end up without foresight, hindsight or any inner ethical compass that welcomes wisdom.
Unfortunately, AI has been filled with social media drivel, prejudiced commentary, and a certain amount of unethical and pornographic garbage — along with input that is factual. Would more of that better input help? Our speaker said the bulk of the nonsense already fed to AI simply outweighs the good and true information we now might put in, hoping AI will somehow choose from what is true. He noted that AI will continue to provide false information and nonsensical responses because of how the Large Language Model works.
Of course, AI has some good uses. My brother found AI helpful this week when he was looking for a part number that he couldn’t find in a company’s catalog. I keep hoping for AI cameras at intersections, so we stop getting stuck at red lights that don’t change until long after the side streets have emptied.
But conversational AI needs to be fact-checked always, and we need to set aside the numerous entertaining, artistic portrayals of robots that have long been portrayed as having human characteristics, abilities and feelings. They don’t.
Conversational AI will not have good answers to our deeper questions about life. We certainly can’t expect it to be human with genuine capabilities such as love, feelings or wisdom. News reports on how machines are being used to keep people company are worrisome. It is fake, even when it is convincing.
When news stories make AI look like it is poised to take over, we can continue to return to what is true, beautiful, holy, wise, and human. God and His Church offer both a haven of sanity and good direction for our human lives. AI simply does not, and cannot, comprehend things like the teachings of Jesus even if it composes sentences about Him or images of Him.
Through the artificial, hopefully we will become more appreciative of the authenticity of being human. We are coached by some in society to ignore God’s gifts to humanity, including hearts that love, spirits that create and have foresight, souls that hope and grow in understanding themselves and even are bold in reaching out to encounter God.
Real flowers do wither and die, but few would argue that fake flowers are always preferred. Let us better appreciate real intelligence and wisdom and not expect artificial intelligence to be able to take its place.
