technology

does AI really know?

Posted on by Grace Day

I have some concerns about artificial intelligence. Today, I came face to face with these concerns in the car wash. Yes, you read that correctly. It was in the car wash that I was confronted with one of the many facets of AI, all of which I try to avoid if possible. I mean, just the name should be a red flag, right? “Artificial intelligence” as opposed to real or genuine intelligence. Since when do we prefer artificial anything over the real version of that same thing?

Coca-Cola was marketed as “the real thing.” Phrases such as “keeping it real” or “get real” or “he’s the real deal” are popular for a reason. Chefs prefer and use real ingredients over artificial substitutes. In the world of fashion, only the real thing is of value. Imposters or copycats of designer footwear, handbags and clothing are called knockoffs. They are mere imitations of the real thing and have no value of their own. We can have real relationships in person but online it is hard to know if we are communicating with a real person or if we are chatting with AI. Can “artificial” aka “fake” people really satisfy our need for connection and community? I think not. But back to my car wash experience.

I am driving a new car which has many features that my old car of many years did not have. Just fyi – I was happy with my old car, but it gave out. So my new car and I are going through the car wash and my car becomes alarmed, thinking I am too close to the car in front of me as we move forward through the wash. My car starts beeping, signaling me that I am in danger because I am too close to the car in front of me. But there is nothing I can do. Once my car is on that conveyor belt like thing, it is put in neutral, and I have no control over our progress as we proceed through the wash. Every time we would move forward, my car would panic and start beeping frantically, assuming we were going to hit the car in front of us. I guess my car didn’t know that the car in front of us was moving forward at the exact same speed as we were moving forward.

I and my car were in no danger, but my car did not know this was the case. I attempted to reassure her, but to no avail. After all, my car’s intelligence is “artificial” not “real.” I can’t reason with her or point out to her that we are not out on the road but in a car wash. We are not on a collision course but riding on a conveyor belt for cars. My car has no wisdom or understanding or adaptability. She has only pre-programed instructions for how to interpret the world around her. I guess I should be glad her windshield wipers didn’t start up automatically in the car wash because she thought it was raining. Her wipers would have gotten entangled with those car wash tentacles that come down out of nowhere and clean your windshield.

At any rate, I was relieved when we finally exited the carwash and my car’s frantic beeping ceased. Now I’m wondering – is this what will happen every time I take my car through the car wash? She has no “real” intelligence, no ability to learn or to change behavior based on past experiences, no memory. I don’t think I can ask the car wash workers to allow an empty space between me and the car ahead. That would not be good for their business, as the lines are usually long and they need to keep cars moving to get as many people through the wash as possible during their hours of operation.

I must resign myself to the fact that my car’s intelligence is “artificial.” My car is not going to learn new behaviors, nor is she going to listen to reason or be able to “read the room” and adjust her behavior accordingly. She will do only what she’s programed to do – nothing extra or spontaneous. Maybe that’s the draw of AI, its predictability. But I like the spontaneity, flexibility, adaptability, tenacity, courage, kindness and humor of real people. You just can’t get any of that with “artificial” intelligence or pretend people. And why do we even call it “intelligence”? Isn’t intelligence the ability to learn and grow and change as we interact with those around us in meaningful ways?

But you know, even in Old Testament times, people preferred the artificial to the real. Remember the Israelites? Their very real, living God led them out of slavery in Egypt into a land He had promised to them. God parted the Red Sea right in front of their eyes. He traveled with them through the wilderness in a pillar of fire by night and a pillar of cloud by day. The fire lit their way at night, the cloud protected them from the hot sun by day. And yet, first chance they got, while Moses was up on the mountain, the Israelites made a golden calf for themselves and proceeded to worship it. Why?

God was and is real. The calf was artificial. It was man made. It was not alive. That golden calf could not hear them or see them. It could not watch over them or care for them. In fact, the calf didn’t care about them at all. They couldn’t have a relationship with the calf like they had with their Heavenly Father, Creator God – a living God who knew them by name and watched over them faithfully. Why would they trade in that very real relationship for one-sided worship of a lifeless statue they made themselves? Who gives up a real relationship with a living Being only to replace it with a non-living statue substitute? Who prefers the artificial to the real?

Apparently sometimes we real humans do. We prefer the unreal – aka – the artificial to the real thing. Why? Is it because we think this gives us control? Interacting with a golden calf, or any man-made statue or object for that matter, provides no surprises and puts us in charge. The inanimate object cannot challenge its maker or do anything on its own. Actually, “interacting” is too strong a word. An inanimate object provides no reciprocity. It does not “interact” with anything or anyone. It is not capable of forming relationships because it is not alive.

But just as today we are dealing with man-made AI, our ancestors, centuries before us, dealt with their own artificial inventions, much to their detriment. We read about how this played out in Romans –

“For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.” (Romans 1:21-23)

The result of their decision?

“Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator – who is forever praised. Amen.” (Romans 1:24-25)

They exchanged truth for lies, a relationship with a Living God for worship of an inanimate object – a statue that couldn’t talk back or reciprocate their feelings in any way. They exchanged the real for the artificial. And it left a void that needed to be filled. We continue to try to fill that void today with things of our own making BUT – nothing we make for ourselves, nothing artificial, can ever fill that space in us which is designed specifically for our Creator to inhabit. Only the real thing will do. My Heavenly Father is the real thing.

“He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” (‘Ecclesiastes 3:11)

My heart longs for the real thing and will be satisfied with nothing less. God has made it clear there are no substitutes for Himself.

“I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say; My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.” (Isaiah 46:9-10)

“I am the Lord, and there is no other; apart from Me there is no God.” (Isaiah 45:3)

“It is I who made the earth and created mankind upon it. My own hands stretched out the heavens; I marshaled their starry hosts.” (Isaiah 45:12)

there is no substitute for the real thing – I don’t want the artificial/man-made version of anything – I want the real thing – we all do and that’s what our Heavenly Father wants to give us – something real and lasting – a reconciled relationship with Him through His Son, Jesus, who said as much when He said –

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10)

I don’t fully trust AI – but then it’s not real – it’s artificial. It’s man made. I desire only what is real, what is eternal.

“My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.” (Psalm 84:2)

“O God, You are my God, earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for You, my body longs for You, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” (Psalm 63:1)

no artificial substitutes will do

sincerely, Grace Day

face to face

Posted on by Grace Day

The room was full of people and yet it was strangely quiet. I looked around but couldn’t make eye contact with anyone. I asked a question and was a little put out that no one answered until I realized that no one heard me. The explanation for this is not hearing loss, but the fact that if not wearing headphones, which are obvious, most had earbuds in, which meant they were listening to something or someone else, rendering them oblivious to their present surroundings, which included me. Everyone seemed to be “otherwise occupied.” Translation – they were all looking intently at their phones.

Whatever happened to the popular mantra – “be fully present where you are”? or “be fully present in the moment”? It seems to have been replaced with “don’t engage with those physically present with you – it could be difficult, draining or downright dangerous.” The cyberspace world is more comfortable for people today, I guess. Maybe because it is more easily controlled? (I can make a quick exit at any time with the added bonus of blaming it on technology if I need to throw someone under the bus) Maybe it’s because cyberspace requires less of me than personal interactions do? Or is it because people say things online that they wouldn’t say in person, face to face, with cyberspace’s anonymity and distance providing cover from any immediate consequences?

Do we now relegate reality to something to be avoided in favor of cyberality? Ok – cyberality is not officially a word, but new words get added to the lexicon every day. I submit “cyberality” as a new word for this year. Actually, this is long overdue. We are spending increasingly more time online, or in cyberality, than ever before. This leaves us less time to spend with the people who are physically present with us in the moment, or at best our attention is divided between the two worlds – cyberality and reality. We are rendered both more connected and more isolated simultaneously as we choose to spend more of our time online and less of our time interacting in person with the people around us, whether that be at the dinner table, at work or wherever we are.

BUT – cyberality, cyber relationships, all the time we spend online – none of this seems to satisfy us. Instead we are lonelier than ever. We continue to long for more. Which makes sense because we were created for more. We were created for relationship by a personal Creator who created you and me specifically for relationship with Him and for relationships with each other. Job gave voice to this innate desire of ours to know our Creator, when he said –

“I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end He will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see Him with my own eyes – I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!” (Job 19:25-27)

Job longed for the face to face encounter with God, as we all do if we are honest about our deepest desires, those we dare not voice even to ourselves. Ecclesiastes gives us a clue as to why this is so –

“He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” (Ecclesiastes 3:11)

You and I were created for personal relationships, relationships born out of and sustained by face to face encounters. Anything less leaves us longing for something more than what cyberality provides. Paul describes our plight this way in Corinthians –

“Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face.” (1 Corinthians 13:12)

I wonder if today this verse would more accurately read “now we see but a poor reflection on a phone screen or a computer screen”, since this seems to be a primary mode of interaction with others, too often replacing face to face interactions. This explains why you and I can be lonely in a room full of people. You or I may be present with others in body but that is all. If I am, or those around me are, gazing intently into phone screens, they become as invisible to me as I am invisible to them, as long as we remain focused solely on our phone screens.

Remember the old expression “phoning it in”? It means giving a half-hearted effort, going through the motions or doing the bare minimum. This expression is said to have originated in the 1930’s as a joke among theater actors who had such a small role, they said they could call on the phone rather than appear on the stage in person. How ironic that today we allow our phones to substitute for in person interactions we would otherwise have. We “phone it in” in our personal relationships.

My Heavenly Father does not want me to “phone it in” when it comes to my relationship with Him. After all, He didn’t “phone it in” – He left heaven and came here in the flesh, in person – in the person of Jesus Christ. He came to give you and I the face to face interaction that we desperately needed to experience. John tells us –

“The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)

The face to face experience – that is what you and I were created for. This is what we long for. This is why the poor reflection of a mirror or of a phone screen, cannot ultimately satisfy our longing for real relationships. Only the face to face encounter can do that. King David knew this to be true. (way before phone screens even existed) Must be why he said this to God in a psalm –

“Because I am righteous, I will see You. When I awake, I will see You face to face and be satisfied.” (Psalm 17:15)

King David was satisfied with the face to face, something that our online, cyberality experience can never truly do for us. Real life relationships are harder, more painful but ultimately more rewarding and more satisfying. Jesus came to give us the face to face experience at great cost to Himself and great benefit for me and for you, dear readers. And now we have this to look forward to –

“Now the dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Revelation 21:3-4)

no more “through a glass darkly” or “poor reflection in a mirror” or phone screen cyberality relationships – just the true reality of the face to face in God’s glorious Presence! I will gladly trade in my phone screen for that! How about you?

sincerely, Grace Day

how did we do it?

Posted on by Grace Day

How did we bring a whole country into being without the aid of cell phones or the internet or of telephones of any kind at all? None of those things existed at the time our country came into being, because they hadn’t been invented yet. Yes, I’m still thinking about the recent cell phone outage and how it affected people I know. Mostly, this event got me to thinking more about life before cell phones, which got me to wondering how we ever accomplished anything, let alone all that we did, in a pre-cell phone era. And for that matter, how did we survive at all before the invention of the telephone? Yet we humans did survive, we thrived actually.

Sonnets were written and symphonies composed, cathedrals and castles were built, masterpieces were painted and great novels were penned, plays were performed and the stars were studied in hopes of persuading them to give up their long held secrets. Teaching was done in person. Aristotle had his pupils as did Plato and Socrates. This format of studying under a particular teacher in person for a significant length of time was a way for knowledge to be passed on and expanded. Jesus, Himself, used this method. He had twelve disciples plus a few others that followed Him as He traveled, and He taught them many things as they journeyed with Him.

Education was personal. Knowledge was passed on person to person. Today we “google” things that we want to know. We don’t have to have a conversation nor a debate about various theories or hypotheses or the important issues of the day when we “interact” with Google rather than engaging with a real in-person human being. Google doesn’t talk back. And if it did, we could just click to another screen or shut our device down. (is this akin to walking away/stomping off and slamming the door in real people interactions?) Could it be that’s why we prefer Google to human interaction? No drama. We control the “conversation?” – if you could consider “Googling” to be a conversation in the first place?

But I digress. I am lamenting the loss of certain things like land lines, love letters via snail mail and phone booths. I mean, where is Superman going to execute his quick-change magical transformation if no phone booths are available? Consider that somehow, with hard work, sacrifice, with the courage of exploration and of standing up to tyranny from overseas, with hand written documents (the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution) and in person meetings – a new nation emerged without the aid of cell phones, or of any phones for that matter, or of the internet; none of which existed at the time.

Stores operated, businesses prospered, scholars were educated, crops were grown, goods were transported, things got done, productive lives were lived – all before the advent of the cell phone and the internet. How did we do it? Now I can’t imagine life without the convenience of instant connectivity to a world wider than the one in which I physically reside. But most of human history has been lived pre cell phone and pre internet. Most of my life has been lived pre these things as well. How did I do it?

How did I learn? How did I write a research paper? Does anyone remember card catalogs and libraries full of actual books you can hold in your hands? Remember having to look up by hand and consult multiple sources to support your hypothesis before you could write your paper? Remember typewriters and carbon copies? Remember waiting on your camera’s film to be developed? Newspapers, books, my school assignments – they could all be held in my hands. These are tangible things.

Now assignments are submitted electronically. I sure hope “the cloud” keeps everything I give it safe and secure. I can’t really visit “the cloud.” It’s an intangible being? idea? I liked being able to hold my finished paper in my hands, the weight of it assuring me of its worth. I would make back up copies – that was security. Now if the internet goes down, where is my access to all the information it keeps secure until such time as I might need such information? Do I trust the internet to tell me “the whole truth and nothing but the truth?”

How did we do it? How did we do life before the internet and cell phones? How did I find my way in this world? Remember maps and atlases and verbal directions? Somehow we all got to where we were going, including sporting events, concerts etc. without cell phones. How did we do it? How did we survive and thrive before modern technology?

Human history is a rich and riveting tale of successes and failures, of invention and innovation, of cowardice and of courage, of doubt and of faith, of deceit and of truth, of greed and of generosity, of hate and of love, of evil and of good – all waging war in every human heart and in every human society simultaneously. The battle continues to this day. Although things may seem drastically different in today’s cultures which have the advantage of cell phones and of internet access, much remains the same because human nature hasn’t changed. There truly is “nothing new under the sun” as King Solomon said so long ago.

How did we do it? How did people build the pyramids or the Colosseum or the Acropolis? How did Magellan sail around the world. He certainly had no modern technology to guide him. How did the pilgrims sail the ocean and settle an unknown land without the aid of any of our modern devices? The pioneers had no cars, only covered wagons to carry them and their possessions into new territories. Still, they undertook the journey from the comfort of the known to the uncertainty of the unknown and new communities were created as a country full of the promise of freedom continued its formation.

How did we do it? Like the seasons on our calendars, our individual lives have seasons, just as human history has seasons. Because human nature doesn’t change, we seem to repeat those seasons, repeating the mistakes of our predecessors rather than learning from them. Consequently, we see history repeating itself, proving Solomon right when he said, “There is nothing new under the sun.”

How did we do it? How are we surviving as a human race today? Generations from now, they may be asking the same question about us – how did we do all that we are doing now, the good, the bad and the ugly, during this time in human history without whatever new inventions will be commonplace by then? How did we survive? Only by God’s great grace and infinite mercy alone, it seems to me. And that has been true for every generation since Adam and Eve first inhabited that oh so perfect garden.

God is sovereign over all things, including the affairs of men. That truth is very comforting in such an uncertain world. In Daniel we read this –

“Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are His. He changes times and seasons; He sets up kings and deposes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.” (Daniel 2:20-21)

As I look back over human history and wonder how people survived all that they did (the holocaust for example) or how they accomplished all that they did without the modern conveniences and technology of today, I am reminded of these words in Ecclesiastes –

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8)

that pretty much says it all – and we know that – “He (God) has made everything beautiful in its time.” (Ecclesiastes 3:11)

sincerely, Grace Day

cyber silence

Posted on by Grace Day

I am not an AT&T customer, but recently some who do use this cell provider experienced an “interruption” in their service. This lack of connection, although not unduly lengthy, caused great concern to the many people who use this carrier and who depend on their phones daily for communication, for business, for news, for directions, diversion, entertainment and updates of all sorts. According to individuals who were affected, with whom I spoke (in person) during this “service outage”, it was not a good experience to say the least. They could not conduct business as usual, could not contact family, friends, co-workers or others they needed to speak with, couldn’t make plans or let others know of plans that had changed. The people affected by this break in their cell service talked about having feelings of isolation and of anxiety during this period when they were without cell service.

For those of us who lived most of our lives (and quite successfully I might add) in a world without cell phones, it now comes as a surprise, (or maybe shock would be a better word?) just how dependent we have become on our phones in such a short time. Today, our phones keep us continuously connected to the world around us. We no longer have to wait for the evening paper to get the day’s news. We have it instantly. Conversations that used to take place in person or not at all, now take place online via text or twitter (X) or Facebook or some other social media platform. Life is now lived in a very public cyberspace rather than in the very personal face to face.

And that’s the thing about cyberspace – it doesn’t have a face. It can’t provide the personal touch that we all long for even if we won’t admit to it. We can’t gaze into Cyberspace’s eyes. We can’t see Cyberspace smile or scowl or frown at us during our conversation. Cyberspace doesn’t give hugs or high-fives. Emojis simply do not measure up to in person interactions which are filled with human emotion. Emojis are one dimensional. We humans are multi-dimensional beings created body, mind and spirit in God’s image. Emojis don’t actually have emotions or feelings of any kind. Ironic right?

Some nameless, faceless entity in cyberspace may know all about me – may have all my personal info, but this is not the same thing as actually knowing me personally. This is not a reciprocal relationship that Cyberspace and I have. Not even close. Cyberspace may have all the “goods” on me, but I know nothing about them, probably because “they” are not a person! Therefore, “they” are not knowable. (even though “they” claim to know me) I can’t have a real relationship with Cyberspace. But many of us have settled for a life lived in the one dimensional realm of cyberspace, rather than in the very real world of face to face, person to person human relationships.

And while I’m on the subject, let me just say that not only does Cyberspace not have a face, it also doesn’t have a heart. This is why cyberspace is such a poor substitute indeed for the infinitely more satisfying face to face, real time, shared experience of spending time with other people (who do have a heart) instead of with one’s phone. Today many of us continue spending time with our phones, even while we are physically (but not mentally or emotionally) present with other people. This overly close, may I say even co-dependent, relationship many of us have with our phones, may explain the angst, the fear, the unsettled uncertainty, the anxiety and the feelings of isolation and depression many people experienced when they were without their cell service during this recent, unexplained interruption in service.

We were created for connection. We ignore this truth at our own peril. We are designed for connection with our Creator, God, and for connection with each other. It is these connections with other human beings that allow us to form the bonds of community. We were created to live in community with others, not in isolation. Maybe that’s why not having cell service, even for only part of a day, brought on such strong reactions of anxiety and fear. People felt isolated and alone. We have neglected the power of the personal for so long in favor of the cyberspace experience, that when cyberspace fails to function, we are at a loss as to how to proceed.

Many worry that there will be more interruptions of cell phone service in the future, leaving us disconnected and anxious each time. We have no control over the nameless, faceless “they” that has the power to shut down our phones, thereby disconnecting us from everyone and everything we count on to get us through our day. But in these uncertain times, I have the assurance that there is one with whom I will never lose communication – my Heavenly Father. “He will never leave me nor forsake me.” (Deuteronomy 31:8) No cell service blackout can sever this connection!

The earthly powers that be, may be able to shut off human communication systems, BUT they can do nothing to shut off or to prevent communication between myself and God nor can they interfere with communication between God and His people. That’s you and I, dear readers. (“We are His people, the sheep of His pasture.”) This truth is the hope that sustains and drives out all fear.

I don’t need working cell service in order to talk to my Heavenly Father. He is not “just a phone call away.” God is already here with me. He is omnipresent. He abides in me and I in Him.

“For in Him (God) we live and move and have our being.” (Acts 17:28)

He “knows the way that I take.” He will not lose track of me even when I get “off track” for whatever reason.

My Heavenly Father hears me. “Before a word is on my tongue, He knows it already.”

Cyberspace may go silent, but the heavens never do, nor will they ever go silent. God is always speaking. I just need to listen.

“Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10)

even when there is cyber silence, there will never be heavenly silence –

“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.” (Psalm 19:1-4)

sincerely, Grace Day