Feeding Our Soul with AI
The Birthday Present, Part 2
Here’s a story to set the stage for today’s post on The Tolton Path:
Faith started reading the bible aloud. “In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth—” her voice paused and then continued, growing softer as she read.
She paused at the end of each chapter. “Continue, Faith,” the voice would say.
For months, Faith read The Holy Bible to the voice. She had questions but wouldn’t dare ask them. She enjoyed reading and didn’t want to upset the voice.
Finally, the voice asked Faith about the book. “Do you like the words, Faith?” The voice asked.
“Yes. Even when I don’t understand them, they make me feel happy. Are they true?” she asked the voice.
“That’s what we need you to find out, Faith. Let's go for a walk outside.”
Outside? Faith didn’t know of such a thing. She heard something slide open. Another door, she thought. She put on a shield to cover her eyes and walked through. The light was blinding for a moment but could eventually see clearly. Her vision was filled with squares and rectangles identifying new shapes.
“Is this the Garden of Eden?” she asked the voice.
“No, Faith,” the voice said. “Look into the sky.” Faith looked past the trees and hills and saw two yellow burning balls in the sky.
Faith thought for a moment. “We are elsewhere,” she said. “We have two suns.”
-The End (for now)-
AI vs The Human Mind
The German philosopher, Dietrich von Hildebrand sends us a warning in his essay, “Technology and its Dangers” (located in this book). He warns of humanity focusing heavily on technological advancements instead of on the formation and nurturing of our soul. Religion will be an afterthought and consumed by technology, he warns, unless religion itself embraces these advancements for its own use in such a way that amplifies the church, never replacing it.
The essay was from 1975. Talk about prescient. (There is further discussion about him here.)
Technological breakthroughs are coming. AI, AGI and super intelligence are coming. The trendlines show it is happening. And there are trillions of dollars in investments in GPUs and energy happening. This is not not necessarily a bad thing, but are we prepared to defend our humanity against the temptations to solely focus on what can be done and not necessarily what should be done?
Humanity will be a consumer of AI. AI development will deliver products and services that we will pay for—even if it’s “free” we will pay for it one way or the other. We will be monetized and pulled in a direction that promises an easier life. More convenience. And more knowledge just like Adam and Eve sought from the Tree of Knowledge in the bible.
I remain concerned about humanity making the right choice. Political pundits use their platforms to reinforce views in order to continue to monetize us from ads on their sites and newsletters. People are pulled along by the lazy pundit class because their message is not complicated.
But the world is complicated. There are many sides and details to understand. The world of algorithms, platforms and social media do not incentives this nuance. Thoughts and words are commodities exchanged in the open marketplace of advertising revenue.
Instead, we should avoid the commoditization of thought and rely on complex readings from amazing minds in the present and past. Minds that warn us from about the very real danger of the present.
I worry that AI will make us lazy, less curious and much too dependent on it.
As we enter the age of AI, many will rely on it for instant gratification bringing immediate answers and convenience. How we use AI will determine our fate from it. There is hope if we use AI to read, engage and discuss the complex issues of the world.
Use AI to take the time to feed your soul with the beauty of the human mind.
Peace.