Artificial Intelligence?

Have you played with this new phenomena called “Artificial Intelligence?”  It is impressive!

I asked ChatGPT to write an essay in the style of the Monday Morning Minute.  It produced several paragraphs which totalled 750 words.  The theme (I did not suggest one) was “Change.”  And it made the following assertion (which, obviously, is a complete fabrication) as if I were talking:

One of my own experiences comes to mind. A few years ago, I faced a career crossroads. I had grown comfortable in my position but felt an undercurrent of dissatisfaction. The thought of leaving my job was terrifying; the security and familiarity were hard to let go of. However, after much contemplation, I decided to embrace change and pursue a new path. It was a leap into the unknown, but looking back, that decision opened doors I never knew existed, expanding my skills and my network.

To be clear, this “experience” never happened.  It is artificial (hence, “artificial intelligence”).  Nonetheless, the script produced by ChatGPT surprised me with the correct use of grammar and the choice of vocabulary.  It does sound a little bit like me.  With a little more computational power (you won’t be surprised to know I used the free version), it might produce a convincing facsimile of a Monday Morning Minute.  However, since I didn’t write it, it would still be a fraud.

This is a growing concern in our society.  With the proliferation of tools that can produce convincing copies and reproductions, how do we know when something is genuine and authentic?  Anything of value has always had its fraudulent copies.  From works of art by the grand masters to works of literature to historical artifacts, misrepresentation and misdirection have always been present.  What is alarming now is the speed and ease with which copies of almost anything can be made.

Belief systems are no exception.  Out of curiosity, I again took turned to AI and asked, “How many religions are there in the world?”  It replied that an exact number is impossible to determine, but a generally accepted statistic (no idea how this was compiled) was 4300.  With such an impressive number of religions/forms of spirituality/belief systems, what characterizes an authentic faith?  Since many of these belief systems make claims that stand in contrast with one another, how can we know what is real and true?

Fortunately, our task is not to “prove” that we are “right.”  Our faith in Jesus Christ will cause alienation (John 15:21).  Jesus was clear about that.  It will also authenticate the work of God in us as people observe the maturation of our beliefs and change in character.  That is why Jesus confidently said, “They will know you are My disciples because you love one another” (John 13:35).  It is why Peter was able to assert that representing Christ well will result in people asking for a reason for our hope (1 Peter 3:15).  James, the half brother of Jesus, said the authenticity of God’s work is seen in the compassion and care for the vulnerable and disenfranchised, especially in the community of faith (James 2).  Paul emphasized unity (Ephesians) and forgiveness with reconciliation (Philemon).  These kinds of transformations are possible only by the work of the Spirit of God in us individually and collectively (Galatians 5).

We will never argue anyone into the Kingdom of God.  These things are understood and accepted as true because the Spirit of God does a work in someone’s heart.  We can, however, be “witnesses” (Acts 1:8 - to be evidence provided in support of a truth) to the ongoing work of the Spirit of God as observed by others.  Paul gives us an impressive list of “evidences” in Romans 12.  When people observe this - and experience it from us - there can be no doubt to the authenticity and truthfulness of the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Thankfully, our goal is not perfection.  That will only happen in eternity.  However, in this reality created by God, we are privileged to be authentic artifacts of God’s grace.  The transformation produced by the Spirit of God cannot be duplicated by any other process.  There is nothing artificial about it because it is God’s intelligent work in us.