Technology

Discerning What Is Best
with Dr. Rex M. Rogers

Details: Written by: Rex M. Rogers; Published: 05 February 2024

How many times have you entered personal information online in order to purchase an item that does not have anything to do with the information you shared? Are we really safe in the emerging brave new world of digital existence?

Hi, I’m Rex Rogers and this is episode #131 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.

We now live in a mass surveillance digital world. Likely, there is not a week goes by that you and I are not recorded somehow someway in what we view, read, purchase online, perhaps were we go.Maybe not a day goes by that we are not under a camera when we are out on our daily routine.

When we spend time online, we leave a digital footprint, the collection of all our online actions and data traces. When this is accessed by corporations to ascertain our interests or inclinations, we then can be subject to online advertising, political propaganda, and more. And if we can be targeted for marketing, what’s to stop governments from targeting us for control?

The pandemic was a chlorine shock to the pool, energizing government’s interest in tracking citizens, including discussions over whether to create a new system of digital vaccine “passports.”

Today, a track-and-trace society has begun rapidly developing on at least five levels:

Mass surveillance with CCTV cameras now located in public spaces in virtually every American city, making possible along with computers, a mass surveillance society.
Geo-location technologycapable of tracking where we are if not what we are doing at any given moment.
Biometric technology, including fingerprints, facial recognition, iris recognition and retina scans, and voice recognition, hand or palm geometry, vein recognition, and behavioral biometrics like someone’s walking gait.
Digital identificationbecoming the fundamental means of commerce and communication, methods and tools used to establish and confirm an individual's identity in cyberspace, especially “PII,” Personally Identifiable Information, which refers to any data that can be used to identify a specific individual.
Digital banking and digital currency, including CBDC, which “stands for central bank digital currency, a digital form of legal tender currency that is issued by a country’s central bank. Like other forms ofdigital currency, such as cryptocurrency, a CBDC is only available in electronic form.”

Mass Surveillance

CCTV cameras, display devices, and data networks are, well, “everywhere.”

“Video surveillance systems are used in public and private sectors, such as schools, homes or public spaces for crime prevention purposes.”

“The average city has 11 surveillance cameras per 1,000 people. The most-watched city, Atlanta, has over 124 cameras per 1,000 people…New York City had the highest number of cameras in total: 70,882.” Only cities in China operate with more cameras per capita than Atlanta.

“Crime rates aren’t reduced by having more cameras in place. In fact, the city that is arguably the most watched of all (DC), has seen violent crime skyrocket recently.”

“In the past decade, the capabilities of surveillance cameras have been transformed by fundamental shifts in how digital data is gathered, analyzed, shared and stored…Deep learning and AI are becoming more prevalent, as cameras are able to more accurately gather data and make predictions based on integrated analytical software manufacturers have developed. While the shift to a ‘smart home’ environment is also playing its role, as consumers have easier access than ever to easy-to-install wireless devices and doorbell cameras.”

But of course, the images and data recorded can be accessed, depending upon security systems, by a wide variety of actors for the purpose of crime, not crime prevention.

Geo-Tracking

Geo-tracking is also increasingly more sophisticated and intrusive. Beginning with users turning on the location signal on their phones or their social media apps, combined with GPS technology, it’s possible now to track almost anyone. This is increasingly used in non-military, non-law enforcement scenarios. Have you heard of people tracking Elon Musk or Taylor Swift’s private jets?

Biometric Systems

“We are building near-perfect facial recognition technology and other identifiers, from the human gait to breath to iris. Biometric databases are being set up in such a way that these individual identifiers are centralized, insecure, and opaque. Then there is the capacity for geo-location of identifiers—that is, the tracking of digital “you”—in real time. A constant feed of insecure data from the Internet of Things may well connect you (and your identity) to other identities and nodes on the network without your consent.”

“Ultimately, social credit systems, such as those that are currently being developed in China, will be based on digital ID, thereby enabling or disabling our full and free participation in society.”

Digital Identification

Have you seen the commercial featuring a couple of happy 20-somethings paying for their retail purchase by holding their hand over a palm-reader device?

Amazon One’s palm-scanning payment system was “first introduced in 2020. Amazon’s biometric payment technology works by creating a unique palm print for each customer, which Amazon associates with a credit card the customer inserts in the sign-up kiosk upon initial setup, or with a card the customer has configured online in advance…These palm print images are encrypted and stored in a secure area in the AWS cloud, built for Amazon One, with restricted employee access...”

It began rolling out in Whole Foods stores in the United States since 2021, to pay for her groceries.

“Amazon has argued that palm reading is a more private form of biometrics because you can’t determine someone’s identity just by looking at their palm images. However, the company isn’t just storing palm images — it’s creating a customer database that matches palm images with other information.”

“Amazon said a customer’s palm data is not shared with third parties and is kept safe within Amazon’s Web Services cloud.” But who believes this?

Arguable Benefits of DI:

More security and stronger privacy, banking, health records, travel including digital vaccine passports, insurance, criminal justice, proof of identity for displaced refugees.

Possible Threats of DI:

Dangers to personal and economic privacy and human rights like freedom of speech and expression, geolocation and freedom of movement; facial recognition; residents and businesses are being encouraged to share private security cameras with police but others also have access; public or even home surveillance cameras are increasingly available via websites on the internet; growth of digital authoritarianism, “the use of digital tools to surveil, repress, and manipulate domestic and foreign populations” is on the rise globally – this can be foreign governments like China or it can be Big Tech companies like Google, Meta, or others who see ways to use surveillance data to maximize their profits.

Will Digital Identification Data Really Be Safe?

Safety, security, and privacy are touted as key advantages of digital identification. Yet think of the corporations that have experienced catastrophic data breaches in the hundreds of millions of accounts in just the past few years: Equifax, Marriott, Target, Capitol One, SolarWinds, Yahoo, Facebook, J.P. Morgan Chase, Home Depot, and many more. “The Aadhaar program, India’s national digital ID framework—the world’s largest—was recently shown to be compromised.”

If these giant corporations and governments cannot guarantee secure data, why should we believe any organization or government tomorrow can do so?

“Governments around the world have been investing heavily in digital identification systems, often with biometric components. The rapid proliferation of such systems is driven by a new development consensus, packaged and promoted by key global actors like the World Bank, (and globalists like the World Economic Forum) but also by governments, foundations, vendors and consulting firms.”

“We can make another choice. In the design and deployment of Digital ID systems, we must advocate for the principles of data minimization, decentralization, consent, and limited access that reinforce our fundamental rights.”

Mass surveillance and digital identification may not be ipso facto evil or threatening, but they certainly can be. Be aware.

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 or https://twitter.com/RexMRogers.

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.

Digital Identification in a Brave New World

Perspectives on Artificial Intelligence Three

Perspectives on Artificial Intelligence Two

Perspectives on Artificial Intelligence