By Father James Lentini
Pastor, Immaculate Conception parish, Marydel, Md.,
Church of the Holy Cross, Dover
Recently, I was compiling some information about various parishes. In my notes, I cited Holy Cross as being the oldest parish in Delaware “south of the canal” — founded in 1870. However, I wanted to double-check myself on that, so I went to Google and typed: “What is the oldest Catholic Parish in southern Delaware?” After a few seconds, Google, instead of just giving me search results, kicked in with its “artificial intelligence” (A.I.) system. It responded with an answer:
“St. Peter the Apostle Church in New Castle, Delaware, holds the distinction of being the oldest Catholic parish in southern Delaware.”
Okay, wrong county, so A.I. was unhelpful. So, I tried again, “What is the oldest Catholic Parish in Kent County or Sussex County, Delaware?” The A.I. system responded:
“St. Joseph Catholic Church in Dover, Kent County, Delaware, holds the distinction of being the oldest Catholic parish in the county.”
Okay, St. Joseph’s is in Middletown, not Dover, and it is in New Castle County, not Kent. Again, unhelpful. But then, additional text appeared telling me that the oldest parish in Sussex County was Holy Cross (it is, in fact, in Kent County). Again, unhelpful (times ten).
I despise A.I. More on that later.
A Brief Encounter with A.I. In Arkansas, a lawyer, Tony Pirani, is being fined for using artificial intelligence to write his court briefs (arguments submitted in writing to a judge). Evidently, the lawyer deemed himself too busy to write his own and had A.I. do it. Well, evidently, A.I. — creative little devil that it is — cited, in the brief, court cases that never existed, and case law that was imaginary. A sharp-eyed judge caught this, and Mr. Pirani got called on the carpet before the Judicial Office of Professional Conduct. Mr. Pirani denies wrongdoing in the lawsuit, but admits to using A.I. to write his court documents (and as Dr. Phil would say: “How’s that working out for you?”)
Did I mention I despise A.I.?
Technology Can Be Good. I will confess, I am a tech guy. Going way back to the days of the Tandy TRS-80 and Commodore 64, I have always had an affinity for computers and technology. At their best, computers and technology help man to carry out tasks more efficiently and help in assisting one in his labors. Thus, my Mac computer and iPhone help me in my work.
Technology Can Be Scary. But A.I. is something other than that. For those who don’t know what I am talking about when I say “A.I.” (artificial intelligence), let’s bring you up to speed. Artificial Intelligence is a computer and/or web-based simulation of human intelligence; technology using A.I. is designed to think and act like a human — it can learn, solve problems, and make decisions. In other words, A.I. isn’t there to help us; it is there to replace us.
Technology Can Be Intrusive. My first taste of a benign A.I. was about 10 years ago, when I dabbled briefly with a Samsung phone (soon after which I went running back to Apple). That phone from Samsung had a digital assistant built in, called “Bixby.” Bixby looked at all you did on your phone. It read your emails and texts. It tracked where you went, what you bought, and what you watched. It listened to your speech patterns when you phoned, etc. It then began to inculcate a cyber version of you by compiling all this. One night, I was sitting in my room at about 10:15 pm, reading a magazine, and my phone lit up and spoke something like: “It’s 10:15 pm, shouldn’t you be going to bed now?”
An Apple for the Preacher. What? The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. This phone is spying on me. Another day, I was re-reading an article and was apprised that “You have read this already.” Well, that was it. I contacted Samsung and informed them that even though I was Catholic, Bixby needed the death penalty. I was informed that I could not uninstall Bixby, but I could silence him … I meant to say it (technology is an “it,” never a him or her). However, I was informed that Bixby would still be on my phone. Back to Apple, I went.
The A.I. Invasion. Now, Apple is launching A.I., as are Microsoft, Google, and others. Microsoft’s Co-Pilot (their version of A.I.) suggests writing tips and revisions for emails (not spelling or grammar correction — which is good; but rewriting or changing message, tone, or style). On all my devices, I have A.I. disabled wherever possible. I hobble it, I block it. To be clear, I am not a Luddite; I do want to use technology, I just don’t want technology to use me.
Why is this topic of A.I. in a pastor’s column, you may wonder? What does this have to do with our faith? A.I. has a theological, philosophical and sociological overlay that has a lot to do with our daily lives and human dignity.
God: Real Intelligence. God is the supreme intelligence in the world. We, created in his image and likeness, can imitate or reflect that divine intelligence. Thus, mankind, uniquely, is able to come to know God. Our creativity, our compassion, our righteousness, our understanding come from being in the likeness of God. We reflect his divine intelligence, in small measure, but can never match or exceed it. Hence, God alone can engage in creatio ex nihilo: creation from nothing.
A.I.: Trying to be God. The problem with “artificial” intelligence is that it is trying to be like God. It is a creation of man that is supposed to not just help man but be better than man. Currently in its infancy, it still makes mistakes (as I noted at the start of this column), but working as intended, it is designed to become nearly sentient and capable of making decisions and choices. Only man is to share in God’s creative power.
Don’t be a Nimrod. The closest Biblical analogy that I can invoke to describe the folly of A.I. is the Tower of Babel. The building of the Tower of Babel was initiated by the appropriately named Nimrod (a Mesopotamian king). The point of the tower was to reach into the heavens and place man on par with God, making himself an equal partner. Of course, that didn’t end well, as relayed by scripture:
Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves … [a] tower with its top in the sky, and so make a name for ourselves… Then the Lord said: If now, while they are one people and all have the same language, they have started to do this, nothing they presume to do will be out of their reach. [So God acted to] “confuse their language, so that no one will understand the speech of another.” (Genesis 11:4-7)
As that passage of scripture ends, we find that “the LORD scattered them … and they stopped building.” (Genesis 11:4-8)
On the Road to Dystopia. A.I. is the 21st-century man’s Tower of Babel. As A.I. takes the form of robotics, man won’t be needed in manufacturing. As A.I. takes the form of crunching data and making decisions, humans won’t be needed in financial advising, banking, and government decisions, among other areas. As A.I. takes the form of a creator — making artwork, writing stories, making poetry — man won’t need to exercise his creative power anymore. You can find A.I. artwork and fake photographs all over the internet even now. As A.I. dictates what is and isn’t true or right, and if we start to listen to it, humanity will be led down a computer-generated reality where reality and fiction are indistinguishable. Yes, I know this sounds like a plot from a dystopian novel, but I can’t help that, because at its core, this is where A.I., by intention, is meant to bring us: to a world where we don’t need God or neighbor and A.I. will replace both.
Fake Friends. Years ago, the term fake friends referred to friends who weren’t truly loyal (i.e., fair-weather friends). That term has taken on a new meaning: In a recent YouGov survey, it was found that 25% of young adults believe that A.I. has the potential to replace real-life romantic relationships. Some 43% of young people either would like or be open to befriending a chatbot (having an A.I. creation as a friend). Only 57% of young adults are uncomfortable with or reject the idea of an A.I.-created friend. 10% see a benefit of having an A.I. generated romantic partner over a real one, while another 22% say there may be a benefit to that. We’ve come a long way from the 1965 musical statement: “People who need people are the luckiest people in the world.”
Dignity of Labor. Up to this point in human history, technology has been used to assist people in completing tasks more efficiently, making their work more productive, and ensuring tasks are completed more accurately and safely. Sometimes that technology displaced people from their jobs, though it usually served simply to help with man’s work. But now, with A.I., for the first time, technology is rearing its head not to say that it can help us do our work, but rather to tell us — God’s children — that we are no longer needed. Anything that tells us that does not fit in the Christian framework. There is a value to man’s labor. When a person finishes a task and sees a job well done, he or she sees that labor as worth the effort. The sense of pride in achievement is there. A.I. can potentially strip away that dignity of labor, if left unchecked.
False God of Technology. The first commandment tells us not to worship false gods. Today, people, young and old, are worshipping their phones. In the way that a different generation would not leave home without their rosaries, or perhaps without their wallet or keys, this new era finds people addicted to their phones. It finds people unable to leave their house without their phone, terrified that they will be out of contact with technology, or unable to find their way to or from somewhere. Want to see the new Golden Calf, the new pagan idol of the day? Look no further than that phone in your hand — it has become a god to many. You don’t believe that? A 2018 survey found that one in ten millennials would rather lose a finger than give up their smartphone, while 23% would give up one of their five senses rather than give up their smartphone. Holy smokes! We need to be careful where we go next with technology.
Am I getting rid of my Mac, iPad or iPhone? No. I find them useful. But, at night, I turn them off. I don’t put my phone on vibrate; I turn it off. I turn off my computer and iPad. It is just me and God, the created and the creator — a relationship based on love. Technology, specifically A.I., is not a relationship based on love… it is NOT a relationship at all. It is only about making use of something. The only question for us, at the end of the day, when it comes to A.I., is whether it’s you or the technology being used. Let us pray!
