What “Intelligence” A.I. Can Never Have

I’ve been watching YouTube videos lately about the use of AI (artificial intelligence), more specifically, “generative” AI. There is a lot of fear about what this technology is capable of and how it will impact the lives of everyday people. Generative AI (AGI) takes data from content programmed into it and other information on the internet (including writing from this blog or any other creative endeavor), and creates new content from it in a fraction of the time it takes a typical person. For a basic example, businesses can have AGI create graphic design work and write text for a brochure to promote its products in a matter of a few seconds, without having to pay an artist or writer.

Traditional AI has been in use for a while now, and that does basic tasks like predictions or algorithms, making it analytical for repetitive tasks rather than creative. I am okay with traditional AI, but generative AI? That’s where the buck stops for me, and it should for you, too. The implications of where this generative AI may lead is problematic, to say the least.

Pictured below is a drawing my son, Josh Quintana, recently completed for his Senior art show at Taylor University. He just graduated with a BFA (bachelor of fine arts). For his artwork, Josh utilizes a digital drawing pen combined with Photoshop to do most of his work, and he does it all by his own hand, carefully paying attention to detail and being thoughtful about what he is trying to communicate. Understandably, he is adamantly against generative AI for creative uses. He wonders about this kind of future and what it holds for his career choice. How will AGI affect the lives of millions of artists, like himself, that are trying to establish themselves?

Machines were supposed to do the things we don’t want to do, like repetitive tasks. But to create art? That is a divinely human thing to do, and one of the ways human beings are created in the image of God. You won’t find other species creating for simply for art’s sake. Perhaps an animal may make an attractive birds nest that looks very beautiful, but it is done to attract a mate — it’s pragmatic. I’ve heard that gorillas do art, but it’s more like a copying behavior taught to them by animal trainers than something self initiated. People are the only species that make art for the simple pleasure of it.

Intelligence involves more than absorbed knowledge, as art communicates the heart. A machine has no heart. It makes me wonder, then, what is intelligence when understood in a Christian worldview? Christians believe that our minds are not just matter. There is more to being human than a product of physical, material processes, formed through billions of years of evolution, mutation, and natural selection. We are not merely “complex electro-chemical activities,” as the atheist must believe. Instead, humans are a divine creation of God. If our minds are the product of blind processes that got lucky, how could we trust them? It should be obvious to most that intelligence is more than merely fast computation. There is something to human consciousness that can never be programmed into AGI because it is an ‘immaterial’ aspect of being human.

But that is not stopping people from using AGI for very personal reasons, things that should be done by people. For instance, the number one usage of AGI currently is therapy. Chat GPT is giving private advice to some despairing individuals, and a few even think AGI has its own consciousness! They are deceived. We must remind ourselves that AI is not bothered by lying, as its been known to do, which should scare the living daylights out of any thinking person. This begs the questions about who is training AI’s moral and ethical decisions? Right now, many of those decisions are being made by a handful of oligarchs controlling the development of AGI. A few rich men own this technology that could drastically affect the lives of literally billions of people. Who made them the kings of our world? No one wants this, and yet right now, plans are in place for creating super-intelligent systems (ASI). This is where futurists or forecasters are claiming that if we don’t put some kind of guardrails on this thing, we may find ourselves living in a world like the movie, Terminator.

Can’t we just pull the plug? No because all of our systems are integrated, from banking systems to the water that comes out of your tap. We are dependent on the “system,” and to unplug would require the cooperation of ALL countries. When has that ever happened?

I am not sure where all of this is going, but I hear that still, small voice whisper to my soul, “Fear not.” God is still in control, no matter how smart AI gets. As Christians, we have access to the Holy Spirit who guides and provides wisdom. We need to cultivate that to be able to navigate this ‘brave new world’ in which we now find ourselves living. I find solace in knowing that one thing AI developers will never be able to program is the Spirit, which God has graciously given to all his believers.

“We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, 
whom God has given to those who obey him.” Acts 5:32

Stay informed on what is happening, and don’t stick your head in the sand praying for the rapture. We are not called to be fearful but faithful. In this New Year, remain close to God, enjoying his peaceful presence. I believe God will direct our path and give me wisdom for these changing times. I pray that for you, too, dear reader. Be blessed in his peace and pray for his wisdom through the generous gift of the Holy Spirit — something AI can never have.

(This blog has not been produced by AI – I wrote it all by myself, so if you find a typo, be glad! Ha ha)