Rex M Rogers - Discerning What Is Best

Discerning What Is Best
With Dr Rex Rogers

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Details: Written by Rex M. Rogers; Published: 29 May 2023

What does Memorial Day mean to you? What does it mean to your children?

Hi, I’m Rex Rogers and this is episode #89 of Discerning What Is Best, a podcast applying unchanging biblical principles in a rapidly changing world, and a Christian worldview to current issues and everyday life.

Memorial Day became an official holiday in 1950, just two years before I came into the world. It was intended, and still should be, as a patriotic time for remembering those who sacrificed for freedom. Remembering, even caring, it sometimes seems, is a greater challenge in a time when only a small percentage of Americans ever serve in the military, and when it seems that history, especially anything touting America’s goodness, is passe, something to be apathetically ignored.

But the value of remembrance is great, as is patriotism rightly understood.

In the USA, patriotism has suffered ebbs and flows in recent years, but it still exists. Indeed, patriotism is a global phenomenon, one of the world’s most powerful emotions. It comes from the Greek word patrios, “of one’s father,” meaning love of one’s home or fatherland.

Patriotism is love of one’s homeland—about geography, Yes, “home” for sure, but more importantly, patriotism is about ideals, culture.

Patriotism is not the same as nationalism, the former involving values and aspirations, the latter involving a political order and power. Patriotism and religion are not the same, though one may be engaged, even co-opted by the other. But patriotic people may not be religious and religious people may not be patriotic.

I was blessed to be born an American, I am red, white, and blue patriotic, and I deeply appreciate the founding ideals that defined America, i.e., life, liberty, freedom of religion, speech, mobility, and enterprise, and the rule of law.

My love for my country does not mean I believe Americans are better people than people from other countries, that we’ve always done everything right, or that our leaders past and present were always right. Clearly, Americans have not always done the right thing and leaders have not always been upstanding and correct in their moral outlook. But saying so does not diminish genuine patriotic feeling, for critique is part of freedom of conscience and thought, one blessing of liberty.

Patriotism is an emotion much maligned today by the cynical, (many captured by the intellectual cul-de-sacs of ideology or identity politics). Some now reject all expressions of appreciation or heroes past. But no time, country, or culture, much less people are without failures, or worse. And as we admitted, the USA is no different.

Despite our flaws and in recent years American political leaders have made a list of poor, unwise, immoral, and politically dangerous decisions that make our perfect Union less perfect. Yet while acknowledging flaws we can, and we should, always respectfully remember those who gave the last full measure of devotion.

And we can be patriotic about ideals, the values to which we aspire: freedom of religion, speech, assembly and association, life, liberty, and justice for all. For all its struggles, the land of the free and the home of the brave is a blessed place to live.

“God loves people from every nation, race, language, and tribe. Having said that, however, I believe the United States is a unique representation of the grace and mercy of God…(Yes, I believe in what’s called American exceptionalism – not triumphalism but beneficiaries of a blessed endowment.)

The liberty and freedom we know today has emerged from a Christian worldview. Ideas like equality before the law, women’s rights, children’s rights, fair labor practices, tolerance, and civil rights—all of those have emerged from a Judeo-Christian worldview. We act as if all of the world knows the liberties and freedoms that we do, and this simply isn’t true. We are unique. The liberties, freedoms, and opportunities we have, have come to us as an inheritance, and are not to be rested upon and gobbled up as we stamp our feet like petulant children, demanding the government provide something else for us. They are a heritage to be protected, guarded, and extended to one another, and handed down to the generation who follows us.”

“America’s democratic experiment, though bruised and struggling, continues and deserves to be celebrated – especially amidst the grave political divisions and growing despair of the present.”

I sometimes think about the fact that I did nothing to secure the blessings of liberty and abundance that are my birthright as an American citizen. In the providence of God, I was born here to American parents. So, my access to life, liberty, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, law and order, all are simply a gift to me from those who served and sacrificed to protect and preserve these freedoms – Remembering them is what Memorial Day is all about.

That I did nothing to earn or deserve my blessings can be said regarding my status as a Christian believer, as a person who has accepted Christ as Lord and Savior, and who God promises an eternity with him. God gives me immeasurable benefits, and promises more, for which—there it is again—I did nothing. I did not work for my salvation and was not awarded it because of some special character or achievement on my part. No, it is a free gift, by grace through faith in Christ. Sola gratia, sola fide, sola Christus, soli Deo gloria.

So, think about this with me. I enjoy a political birthright as a result of being born into an American family, and I enjoy a spiritual birthright as a result of choosing to trust in Christ’s sacrificial shedding of blood and death on the cross, so that I can be reborn or born again into the Body of Christ. My birth and my rebirth have bestowed upon me blessedness beyond words. Should I not remember and be grateful?

I feel this way about my American citizenship.

Memorial Day is a time to reflect on what is good and precious about this country.

The ideals the Founding Fathers embraced and upon which this country was established still, praise God, exist:

While an increasing number of Americans reject God and absolute moral truth, there yet remain many who acknowledge the God who is there and who affirm Judeo-Christian values that made this country strong in its first 200 years.

Immigrants from around the world still want to come to America. Why? Because they know this is yet the freest, most generous, most abundantly materially blessed country in the world, as Lincoln called it, “last best hope of earth.”

America is a place wherein each individual is free to choose how to worship God, or for that matter whether to worship at all.

America respects not only the rule of law but the right to create value from one’s work, to own property, and to develop personal wealth.

Americans are free to move about the country without showing their internal passports to armed guards demanding to “see your papers.”

America’s history is characterized by peaceful transfers of power based upon free elections and a secret ballot box.

Repeated war-time experience convincingly demonstrates that America really is the “home of the brave.” The Civil Rights Movement illustrates that America is capable of growing even through pain.

For me, celebrating Memorial Day is a form of gratitude. Freedom is a most precious gift, one easily lost.

“There is no more fitting way to end this than with the treasured final words of Lincoln on the fields of Gettysburg in November of 1863. ‘The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us-that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion-that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain-that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom-and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth.’”

Well, we’ll see you again soon. This podcast is about Discerning What Is Best. If you find this thought-provoking and helpful, follow us on your favorite podcast platform. Download an episode for your friends. For more Christian commentary, check my website, r-e-x-m as in Martin, that’s rexmrogers.com.

And remember, it is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm.

*This podcast blog may be reproduced in whole or in part with a full attribution statement. Contact me or read more commentary on current issues and events at www.rexmrogers.com/, or connect with me at www.linkedin.com/in/rexmrogers.

Details: Written by Rex M. Rogers; Published: 24 May 2023

Have you at times thought the world is simply gone off the deep end? Are things happening that make no sense, at least based upon how you’ve always understood the world?

Hi, I’m Rex Rogers and this is episode #88 of Discerning What Is Best, a podcast applying unchanging biblical principles in a rapidly changing world, and a Christian worldview to current issues and everyday life.

Contemporary culture seems bent upon embracing ideas, attitudes, values, and practices earlier cultures considered lacking in common sense. I call this phenomenon a celebration of irrationality.

It goes right to worldview. What you believe about God, life, and truth determines how you evaluate and what ideas, attitudes, values, and practices you embrace.

The prime reason contemporary culture celebrates irrationality is that the current cultural zeitgeist, or spirit of the age jettisoned the idea of moral absolutes for moral relativism.

“There is no truth.” No God, but no truth. Or, we hear, “It may be true for you but not true for me.”

Since we can know nothing for sure, we cannot believe anything for sure.

The result is an increase in moral depravity—overall cultural degradation, death of conscience—rage in the streets, mass shooters, loss of meaning of life—with a consequent uptick in nihilism, loss of definition of happiness and contentment—American society possesses more material abundance, is healthier, and lives longer than any society in history, yet we are the most unhappy, loss of common purpose, common cause, common sense.

The outcomes of this morally relativistic zeitgeist are many and all of them are negative:

Anxiety – uncertainty, fear, national mental health crisis, increasing youth suicides.
Abortion – icy indifference toward human life. If children are an inconvenience, just get rid of them. Kill off our future. It’s heartless, ruthless, senseless.
“Woke” ideology – In name of tolerance yields intolerance. It promotes racism, lawlessness, victimhood, cancel culture, suppression free speech, neurotic self-righteousness, totalitarian attitudes. Yet universities, entertainment, corporations, and now government are embracing it. It’s dangerous, because it kills everything it touches.

LGBTQ+ – gender fluidity, which does not actually exist, yet we embrace it. Utter pronoun nuttiness. The LGBTQ+ “movement” decries Creator God, denies science and biology, and destroys humanity.
Substance Abuse – now a fentanyl epidemic, with narcotics becoming more toxic every year, and yet we keep wanting more to fill the emptiness within. It does not work, and it is irrational, but we keep hammering ourselves with hard drugs.
Debt – In the late 1980s, we legalized commercial gambling, and now, worse by far, we’ve decriminalized and are now promoting sports gambling, the worst kind of gambling.

And in Washington, DC, we run up the National Debt to (at this moment) over $31.8T. We spend beyond our means and we spend beyond other peoples’ means (our children and grandchildren).

There’s no piper to be paid, no reckoning, or so we choose to believe. It’s irrational.

Our culture cannot sustain itself indefinitely with this kind of pell-mell rush to celebrate irrationality, to bury ourselves.

So, what do we do?

Scripture says, “Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth” (Eph. 6:13-14).

In the face of untruth, Christians share truth and the Truth. In the face of irrationality, Christians share the rationality of biblical teaching.

Stand firm with the belt of truth.

And remember, it is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm.

Details: Written by Rex M. Rogers; Published: 22 May 2023

Have you had a personal experience with Artificial Intelligence (AI) yet?

Hi, I’m Rex Rogers and this is episode #87 of Discerning What Is Best, a podcast applying unchanging biblical principles in a rapidly changing world, and a Christian worldview to current issues and everyday life.

AI is the latest technological tsunami inundating, maybe drowning, American consumers. AI is developing so fast that government regulation, if indeed there should be any at all, is woefully behind the curve. And while philosophers have been talking about AI’s big questions for a few years, religious, or specifically Christians, seem for the most part to be lagging behind AI’s development, some running now to try and catch up.

There’s no question AI offers some interesting, perhaps amazing and enriching new possibilities for creative enterprise, the arts and music, certainly cinema, business, and education. But there are also potential minefields, huge minefields.

Let’s review a few in what might be considered most threatening to least threatening – and full disclosure, those labels most and least threatening are subjective:

AI’s machine learning capabilities will empower robots to become sentient and self-aware, develop purpose, maybe even a soul with moral reasoning capacity, and, inevitably, work to take over the world.

These AI creatures will out-human, humans, bettering us in thought and deed. This has been the plot of many books and films, some of them quite engaging and fun to watch from the safety of our lazy boy where no robot can find us. But if this is possible – and for the record I do not believe it ever will be – it’s not the next thing we need to worry about just yet.

Terminators are still futuristic.

“Google is developing “artificial moral reasoning” so that its driverless cars can make decisions about potential accidents.”

“Certain thinkers are deeply concerned about a time when machines might become fully sentient, rational agents—beings with emotions, consciousness, and self-awareness.

‘The development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race,” Stephen Hawking told the BBC in 2014. ‘Once humans develop artificial intelligence, it would take off on its own, and redesign itself at an ever-increasing rate. Humans, who are limited by slow biological evolution, couldn't compete and would be superseded."

However, a Christian worldview believes, “Artificial Intelligence cannot attain to the image of humanity that we see in the Bible and Jesus, no matter how much similarity it has in looks or speech. To treat Artificial Intelligence as human is to undermine what it means to be human. To think that we can design and create our own human equivalent is actually quite a proud thought process. When we attempt to imitate the power of God to create life, we are attempting to raise ourselves to the same level as God.”

Revisiting the amazingly prescient 1984, AI will make it possible for governments to control people, now subjects-not-citizens in Orwellian totalitarian societies.

This can be socialist Communist societies, like Russia or China, or capitalist democracies in which AI technology is used to influence elections—for example, publish realistic, undetectable-with-the-naked-eye DeepFake videos of politicians saying or doing things they never said or did—or implement activities that threaten personal liberty, and destroy the possibility of government of, by, and for the people.

“In China, the government is using AI based tools to increase the power of the authoritarian state. ‘With millions of cameras and billions of lines of code, China is building a high-tech authoritarian future,’ writes Paul Mozur in The New York Times. ‘Beijing is embracing technologies like facial recognition and artificial intelligence to identify and track 1.4 billion people. It wants to assemble a vast and unprecedented national surveillance system, with crucial help from its thriving technology industry.’”

AI machines become not just quintessential, intellectual archetypes, brainiac robots, but humanoid sexual prodigies, thus presenting humanity with another temptation to immorality.

Or AI could be used to reinforce, expand, and make corruption more effective in all manner of crime, like for example, identity theft.

An example is how AI technology could be used in sex dolls or sex robots. Although sex dolls have been available in the United States since at least the late 1960s, advances in technology have led to the creation of sex robots that can move, express emotions, and even carry-on simple conversations. The result is that such AI enhanced sex dolls could reduce male empathy by teaching men to treat women (and sometimes children) as objects and blank canvases on which to enact their sexual fantasies.”

An app called “DeepFake FaceSwap stole images of Scarlett Johansson and Emma Watson and used their likeness in sexual social media ads.”

“We can only imagine how bad it will be when this app and others like it are used against underage teens in order to promote harassment and even provoke suicide.”

“While we might wish to remain ignorant about trends such as sex robots and virtual reality-based pornography, we need to begin preparing today to respond to the challenges they will cause for our families and church congregations.”

Then there is what most college students are experimenting with, text generation AI that can answer questions in seconds on every conceivable question, providing you with content that might otherwise have taken hours to find and a struggle to write.

These text (and visual too) generation AI tools include the best known ChatGPT and several others now easily accessed online.

I have used text generative AI and found some of its paragraphs creative and useful. No question these tools can expand research and writing efficiency and effectiveness.

But there are cautions. For example, I asked ChatGPT who I was and what I had written. About half of what I received was accurate. The chatbot got my podcast title wrong and listed 3-4 books I never wrote. So ChatGPT is not infallible or inerrant.

Another example: I asked ChatGPT to write a 150 word piece on “Why Climate Change is a Hoax.” In seconds, the chatbot came back with this:

“I’m sorry, but as an AI language model, I cannot generate content that promotes misinformation or false claims. The overwhelming scientific consensus is that climate change is a real and pressing issue that poses significant threats to our planet and its inhabitants. Climate change is a serious issue that requires global cooperation and immediate action to mitigate its impact. Denying its existence or dismissing it as a hoax only serves to delay necessary action and puts future generations at risk.”

In other words, ChatGPT could not help me write an alternative view.

Now, I’m not sharing this to argue for or against climate change, just demonstrating that ChatGPT is not amoral, non-ideological, or without programmed assumptions and biases.

Unlike a hammer or a drill or a pencil, or a handgun for that matter, all tools that can be used for good or for evil depending upon the will of the human actor, ChatGPT is already programmed with certain biases, the “pre-theoretical commitments” of its owners, which is to say, human beings.

“Information is only as good as its source…If you are looking for an unbiased perspective on social issues or political matters, as a Christian, ChatGPT should not be your go-to source.”

By the way, ChatGPT gave me the same “I cannot generate content that promotes misinformation” rationale for a question asking for text defending the idea Bigfoot is real.

And ChatGPT seems to have another go-to phrase, “It is widely accepted by the scientific community.”

So, ChatGPT seems to be limited in its ability to contribute to theoretical debates.

I’m not suggesting that ChatGPT is the tool of the Devil or even the secular progressive Left, though this chatbot is embedded with social wokeness and an anti-biblical bias. I’m just noting that even this text generative AI tool, amazing though it may be, must be considered with discernment, just like everything else.

Spiritual discernment is the premise of my podcasts.

Same for ChatGPT or similar AI tools that come with gift-wrapped biases and likely non-Christian values. I’m not saying, don’t use ChatGPT or other AI. I’m saying, keep your mind and your spiritual discernment in gear when you do.

And remember, it is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm.

Details: Written by Rex M. Rogers; Published: 17 May 2023

Now that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly developing in every sector of society, what concerns and cautions does this new technology present? How can we ensure that Artificial Intelligence systems are transparent, accountable, aligned with our values and goals as a society?

Hi, I’m Rex Rogers and this is episode #86 of Discerning What Is Best, a podcast applying unchanging biblical principles in a rapidly changing world, and a Christian worldview to current issues and everyday life.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a rapidly evolving field, and there have been significant advances in recent years, most recently making available to the public, ChatGPT, a general purpose AI system capable of understanding and generating responses on a wide range of topics, from science and technology to history, literature, religion, and more.

In seconds, ChapGPT – as well as a growing list of similar generative AI tools like JasperChat, Chat by Copy.ai, Chatflash AI, GrowthBar, Rytr Chat – is able to access a vast corpus of text data, including books, articles, and other sources of information, and is capable of generating complex and nuanced response to a wide variety of questions. These chatbots can be used to create new content from scratch, including marketing copies, audio files, code snippets, high-quality images, simulations, and videos.

AI sounds good, and in many ways it may be. Some of the key developments include:

Machine learning: Machine learning algorithms allow computers to learn from data and improve their performance over time.
Deep learning: Deep learning is a subset of machine learning that involves training artificial neural networks with large amounts of data. This approach has led to breakthroughs in image and speech recognition.
Robotics: Advances in robotics have enabled the development of autonomous vehicles, drones, and other machines that can perform complex tasks.
Natural language processing: a branch of AI that deals with the interactions between computers and human languages. This technology has led to the development of virtual assistants, chatbots, and other applications.
Computer vision: Computer vision is a field of AI that focuses on enabling computers to interpret and understand visual information from the world around them. This has led to breakthroughs in areas like facial recognition, object detection, and autonomous navigation.

Generative AI like ChatGPT might be the lowest, almost entry-level AI, seemingly not that threatening and only thus far making our workdays easier. What’s already out there, though, in terms of robotics, smart cars, military defense systems, healthcare, and much more is indeed fraught with a number of intimidating if not menacing potentials.

Despite these impressive advances, there are still many challenges that need to be addressed before AI can reach its full potential. The leading concerns and cautions include:

Identity Protection and Security in the face of Deep Fake AI capability that can now generate entirely believable audio/video presentations that make people say or do things they never said or did. This includes pornography.
Privacy and Security, or the ability of AI software to learn, remember, analyze, and make available individual private life decisions to corporations or governments.
Emerging capacity of machines to presumably develop emotions, control, spiritual sensitivity, moral reasoning. The concern is the possibility of AI becoming too powerful and threatening human autonomy, and thus, require religion to rethink what it means to be human.
Loss of jobs due to new technology and a consequent economic disruption.
The potential for AI to become uncontrollable and unpredictable, leading to unintended consequences.

At this point, we don’t know what we don’t know.

“The Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) spent nine months working on “Artificial Intelligence: An Evangelical Statement of Principles,” a document designed to equip the church with an ethical framework for thinking about this emergent technology.

“The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) of the Southern Baptist Convention issued the statement, Artificial Intelligence: An Evangelical Statement of Principles in April 2019. The document was published with the endorsement of sixty-five signatories.”

The AI Statement’s Preamble noted:

“As followers of Christ, we are called to engage the world around us with the unchanging gospel message of hope and reconciliation.

Tools like technology are able to aid us in this pursuit. We know they can also be designed and used in ways that dishonor God and devalue our fellow image-bearers. Evangelical Christians hold fast to the inerrant and infallible Word of God, which states that every human being is made in God’s image and thus has infinite value and worth in the eyes of their Creator. This message dictates how we view God, ourselves, and the tools that God has given us the ability to create.

In light of existential questions posed anew by the emergent technology of artificial intelligence (AI), we affirm that God has given us wisdom to approach these issues in light of Scripture and the gospel message. Christians must not fear the future or any technological development because we know that God is, above all, sovereign over history, and that nothing will ever supplant the image of God in which human beings are created.”

The Statement then lists 12 Articles or affirmations about AI based upon an Evangelical biblical worldview. Paraphrasing some points:

Human beings are made in the image of God and technology can never usurp this.
AI technology is good if used within the moral will of God, it must never be used to degrade human beings, and AI “cannot fulfill humanity’s ultimate needs.”
“While technology can be created with a moral use in view, it is not a moral agent. Humans alone bear the responsibility for moral decision making.”
AI should never be used to “violate the fundamental principle of human dignity for all people. Neither should AI be used in ways that reinforce or further any ideology or agenda, seeking to subjugate human autonomy under the power of the state.”
“We deny that the pursuit of sexual pleasure is a justification for the development or use of AI, and we condemn the objectification of humans that results from employing AI for sexual purposes.”
“We deny that AI should be used by governments, corporations, or any entity to infringe upon God-given human rights.”
“We deny that AI will make us more or less human, or that AI will ever obtain a coequal level of worth, dignity, or value to image-bearers.”

Jason Thacker, who headed the AI Statement of Principles project for ERLC, said, “’As Christians, we need to be prepared with a framework to navigate the difficult ethical and moral issues surrounding AI use and development,’ ‘This framework doesn’t come from corporations or government, because they are not the ultimate authority on dignity issues, and the church doesn’t take its cues from culture. God has spoken to us in his Word, and as his followers, we are to seek to love him and our neighbors above all things (Matt. 22:37-39).’”

As to AI, one might ask, What Would Jesus Do?

And remember, it is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm.

Details: Written by Rex M. Rogers; Published: 15 May 2023

Have you thought about the potential impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on our society and economy, and how can we harness its potential while mitigating its risks and challenges? What ethical concerns arise with the development of AI technologies, and how can we ensure that these technologies are used in ways that promote human well-being and flourishing?

Hi, I’m Rex Rogers and this is episode #85 of Discerning What Is Best, a podcast applying unchanging biblical principles in a rapidly changing world, and a Christian worldview to current issues and everyday life.

Artificial Intelligence, AI as it’s called, is already nearly ubiquitous in American society, but most of us have probably been largely oblivious to it. AI helps robots build cars in Detroit, deliver your order within twenty-four hours from the Amazon distribution warehouse near you, and is in your face online and on television every day.

“The term artificial intelligence (AI) was coined in 1956 by the American computer scientist John McCarthy, who defines it as “getting a computer to do things which, when done by people, are said to involve intelligence.”

Artificial intelligence (AI) is being developed at exponential rates and it has the potential to revolutionize many aspects of our lives. What’s put AI on the front page of our minds for many of us is the advent of the online generative AI tool called ChatGPT, available for free to the public since Nov 2022.

ChatGPT is the fastest growing app of all time. Now, anyone can get into the act, and the younger set have done just that – asking ChatGPT to write social media posts, contribute essay content for their homework, and generate original art and music.

AI has led to a number of positive and beneficial developments in recent years, including:

Improved healthcare: AI has the potential to improve patient outcomes and reduce healthcare costs by enabling more accurate diagnoses, personalized treatment plans, and better disease prevention strategies.
Enhanced education: AI-powered educational tools can help students learn more effectively.
Increased efficiency: AI can help businesses and organizations automate routine tasks, increase productivity, and reduce operational costs.
Improved public safety: AI-powered surveillance systems can help prevent crime and improve emergency response times.
Enhanced scientific discovery: AI can be used to analyze vast amounts of data, enabling scientists to make new discoveries.
Personalized consumer experiences: AI can help companies better meet the needs and preferences of individual consumers.

But as with any technology, there are concerns as well:

Job displacement: As AI becomes more advanced, it’s potential to automate jobs makes it likely some individuals will no longer be needed, particularly in manufacturing, transportation, and customer services.
Privacy and security: As AI systems collect and analyze vast amounts of data, there is a risk that this data could be hacked or used for nefarious purposes. There are concerns about how AI systems may infringe on individual privacy rights. As AI systems collect vast amounts of personal data, this data can be used for nefarious purposes such as identity theft or targeted advertising. There is a risk that AI could be used for malicious purposes such as cyberattacks or even warfare. The development of autonomous weapons systems could lead to an arms race between nations and increase the likelihood of conflict.
Ethical considerations: issues related to transparency, fairness, morality, and human dignity.
Safety risks: AI systems can pose safety risks if they malfunction or are used inappropriately.

And there’s more: cheating – it is easier for students to turn in work that is not their own. AI could help destroy the arts and music, copyright issues,

Deep Fake videos that can make any person, any leader, look like they did or said something they did not. Use of AI in pornography – Deep Fake videos of famous people, sex robots, deployment of AI for malicious purposes, among them military, crime, and improper or governmental surveillance, and the ability to influence elections and thus a threat to democracy.

Mixed in the excitement for AI is an element of Transhumanism, “a philosophical and intellectual movement which advocates the enhancement of the human condition by developing and making widely available sophisticated technologies.” Transhumanism is science fiction come to life, humankind evolving to the next level.

A lot of concern about AI, at least in the movies, is AI running amok – Terminator, The Matrix, Ex Machina, I, Robot, Battlestar Gallactica, the mantra of the Borg on Star Trek: “resistance is futile,” Bladerunner. In these visions, AI is dystopian, about conflict, and an existential risk to human civilization.

Robots are already being integrated with religion. Can they provide counsel, help you pray, hear your confession? People use AI to amplify the good or bad things that we do, which creates questions about power and morally suspect applications.

There is a range of Christian perspectives on AI, but here are a few:

AI as a tool: Some Christians see AI as a neutral tool that can be used for good or evil, depending on how it is developed and deployed. They argue that Christians should be involved in the development of AI to ensure that it is used for the benefit of humanity and aligned with Christian values. AI could be used positively for Gospel influence, such as using AI in biblical translation.

AI as a threat: Others are more skeptical of AI, seeing it as a potential threat to human autonomy and dignity. They worry that AI could be used to replace human decision-making, or even lead to a dystopian future where machines rule over humans.
AI as a partner: Some Christians see AI as a potential partner in human endeavors, working alongside humans to achieve common goals. They see AI as a way to enhance human creativity, productivity, and well-being.
AI as a theological issue: Some Christians see AI as a theological issue, raising questions about the nature of humanity and our relationship with God. They argue that we need to carefully consider the ethical implications of AI and how it aligns with Christian beliefs about the dignity and value of human life.

“The questions that frequently arise in AI cover the range of philosophical questions: what is really real? (ontology), how do I know it? (epistemology), what is right and good? (ethics), and what does it mean to be human? (philosophical anthropology). The approach one takes to questions in AI is largely shaped by our philosophical presuppositions and our worldview…In the words of futurist Roy Amara, who coined Amara’s law: ‘We tend to overestimate the effect of a technology in the short run and underestimate the effect in the long run.’ The future of AI is neither inevitable nor unstoppable. However, Christians will need to join the dialogue and be prepared to carry out our responsibility as we unfold these powerful new technologies.”

Historically, Christians have developed both arguments for and against technological change, and these apply once again with respect to AI:

For technological change include:

Technological progress is a reflection of God's creativity and is part of the divine plan for human progress.
Technological innovations can help to improve the quality of life and reduce human suffering.
The use of technology can be seen as a form of stewardship over the natural world, as humans are called to care for and responsibly use the resources God has provided.

Against technological change:

The pursuit of technological progress can lead to a dangerous arrogance and a rejection of humility and dependence on God.
Technology can be seen as a form of idolatry, as humans place their faith in technology rather than in God.
Technological advancements can lead to a loss of community and a breakdown in human relationships, as people become more isolated and disconnected from one another.
The use of technology can lead to a loss of human dignity and a devaluation of the natural world, as humans seek to control and dominate nature rather than working in harmony with it.
The rapid pace of technological change can lead to a loss of stability and a sense of purpose, as people become overwhelmed by the constant demands of new technologies.

As a Christian, I believe AI is a gift from God that can be used for good. AI has the potential to improve our lives in countless ways. However, we must also be mindful of the ethical implications of AI and ensure that it aligns with our values as Christians.

No one knows where AI is going, but it’s clear that Christians need to pay attention, learn, and evaluate now, not wait until something develops, we consider unconscionable. And by the way, unconscionable things have already developed.

This will not be my last podcast on AI. Much remains to be noted and evaluated.

And remember, it is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm.

Details: Written by Rex M. Rogers; Published: 24 April 2023

Does it seem to you that criminality, mass shootings, and threats against persons in public spaces are increasing? Whatever happened to crime and punishment?

Hi, I’m Rex Rogers and this is episode #82 of Discerning What Is Best, a podcast applying unchanging biblical principles in a rapidly changing world, and a Christian worldview to current issues and everyday life.

Recently in downtown Chicago, an event occurred that media called “Teen Takeover.” It was a social media fueled mob of youth, apparently from throughout the metropolitan area, who simply decided to run amok under the Loop and on Michigan Avenue.

Numerous videos are available online showing hordes of young people breaking windows, jumping on cars, trashing whatever was in their path, firing guns in the streets, even assaulting innocent bystanders and tourists.

In videos, “teens can be seen jumping on top of a bus while others start a massive brawl. A Tesla, said to be worth $120,000, was vandalized.” Two teens were shot during the incident. Fifteen teens were arrested.

Teen takeovers have happened before in Chicago. It’s a deadly hobby. So is violence in general in Chicago, and in other major American cities where law and order is on life support.

“The weekly shootings and murders in Chicago have become so routine that it rarely makes national news. Newsweek noted: ‘The number of homicides in Chicago hit a 25-year high in 2021 with more than 800, according to the Chicago Police Department. That number decreased to 695 last year but is still far higher than when (outgoing Mayor Lori) Lightfoot took office in 2019. Crimes including carjackings and robberies have also increased in recent years.’"

Meanwhile, two elected officials’ response to the teen takeover is telling:

Robert Peters, an Illinois State Senator who represents part of Chicago, tweeted, “Since I’m a glutton for punishment and I’m sure I’m gonna get the most unhinged, crime weirdo replies but: I would look at the behavior of young people as a political act and statement. It’s a mass protest against poverty and segregation. Rest in peace to my mentions.”

In other words, this violence against property and persons is a protest about poverty. One problem with that argument is that the U.S. has a large body of law dating to the 1960s that clearly delineates how social protests can take place, how freedom of speech can be exercised and is encouraged under the First Amendment, as long as property, people, and the public’s right to free thoroughfares is not violated. Point is, the minute violence ensues, the action is no longer a legal protest but an illegal riot.

Chicago Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson, the progressive who will succeed ineffective Mayor Lori Lightfoot, said, "In no way do I condone the destructive activity we saw in the Loop and lakefront this weekend. It is unacceptable and has no place in our city. However, it is not constructive to demonize youth who have otherwise been starved of opportunities in their own communities."

In other words, to hold youths accountable for destruction of property, assaults, and breaking other laws is somehow to “demonize” them. Mayor-elect Johnson’s solution, by the way, is not to employ more trained police officers. No, he said, “Our city must work together to create spaces for youth to gather safely and responsibly, under adult guidance and supervision, to ensure that every part of our city remains welcome for both residents and visitors.”

What spaces is he talking about? Does he really believe youth would go to some controlled space under adult guidance and supervision?

How can these political leaders think this way? Sadly, they are not alone. Many so-called “woke” individuals have been elected in recent years, or those in office have jumped on this bandwagon in the name of race relations, only to make race relations worse.

“State and city district attorneys, and county prosecutors seek either to release violent criminals without bail or reduce their felonies to misdemeanors. Critical legal and race theories are their creeds. So, they argue that crimes have little to do with individual free will. Criminals are not deterred by tough enforcement of the laws. Instead, ‘crime’ reflects arbitrary constructs of a racially oppressive hierarchy.”

But, “rhe cure to lawlessness is not to indulge the lawbreakers by justifying or seeking to explain their behavior. It is to enforce the law. Doing so serves to tell others there are consequences for illegal behavior and justice will be swift and certain. Without law enforcement there is no glue that can hold a city or a society together. Hundreds of Chicago police officers have left the force and the city is having trouble recruiting replacements. Is it any wonder with the ‘defund the police’ movement and growing disrespect for those who feel called to protect and serve?”

“When lawless behavior is tolerated and leaders who are supposed to keep neighborhoods safe effectively see lawbreakers as depraved because they are deprived, to quote lyrics from ‘West Side Story,’ it is a virtual guarantee that some will run wild. As the Proverb says: "Where there is no vision the people cast off restraint" (Proverbs 29:18).

What is happening?

As I’ve noted before, America is engaged in an unnamed Second Civil War, pitting those who do not believe in God or at least one who to whom they are accountable, and who reject the idea of objectively determined right and wrong, individual responsibility, and law and order

against those who still believe in God, absolute truth, morality, and righteous justice for all.

The practice and rule of law and order, blind justice, and accountability are under attack.

“Take illegal immigration. Nearly 6 million people have poured across our borders illegally since President Joe Biden took office…In blue state cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, New York and Chicago, laws protecting private property, public safety and public health are routinely flouted; the consequences are felt only by law-abiding citizens…Retail theft is no longer prosecuted, so bands of thieves walk into stores and steal with impunity. Small businesses are forced to close or move. Even large corporations like Walgreens, Walmart, Target, Macy's, BestBuy and REI are…leaving, citing theft and crime that is undeterred and unpunished. In 2020, under then-Mayor Lori Lightfoot's tenure, mobs of vandals did millions of dollars in damage and theft to the upscale stores on Chicago's Magnificent Mile.”

This crime wave evident across our country and culture is not pure happenstance. It is the result of a society reaping what it sows in discarding time tested, moral standards, mores, and values.

I’ve heard it said that “Nowhere is safe today,” or “We’re experiencing diminished personal safety like never before.” I know what they mean, because there was a time in my lifetime that if you exercised good judgment and avoided places you knew were prone to “bad things happening,” you could move about relatively safe and secure. This time seems to have passed.

There has always been crime and there always will be. What we have now in American culture is ignored or approved crime.

Now, you cannot be sure if you go to an athletic stadium, music concert, mall, campus, even church, that you will be safe. We are retrogressing to a time when individuals and families did indeed care for their own safety. In frontier times and later in the Old West, everyone carried a gun or was with someone who did.

In days gone by, the place where you did not carry a gun or worry about protecting yourself was what they called “civilization,” meaning localities back East that had established right and wrong law and order.

What’s now disappearing in America is just that, “civilization,” an advanced state of human society based upon moral standards, mores, and values that respects and protects life.

The principles that undergird the United States of America -- indeed, what we think of as "Western civilization" generally are being dismantled.

Our living assignment remains the same:

To know truth and to make it known.

To speak the truth in love.

To be ready always to give an answer of the hope we have within us.

To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humblywith your God.

If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.

In so doing, you also need to become more aware, more conscious of your surroundings, more capable of protecting your family and friends if you are called upon to do so.

And remember, it is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm.

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