How wise is artificial intelligence?
Has AI, that is, Artificial Intelligence entered your life yet? You may not be using a driverless car but perhaps you use Siri or OK Google on your mobile device. I have just welcomed a new member to the household, her name is Alexa! This device is not much bigger than a shoe polish tin, yet when connected to our wi-fi this amiable female voice will instantly give me all sorts of facts, 40 million pieces of music, act as a calculator, give prompts and reminders, and will (to a degree) enter into conversation with me!
At a popular level, Artificial Intelligence seems great. There are concerns however, that as the technology develops and these systems take on more roles, they will move into areas that require moral and ethical presuppositions. How will these be provided? Who will monitor them? Could AI make sci-fi a reality and try to take us over?
I asked Alexa about her name. She answered, ‘My name Alexa comes from the library in Alexandria, which stored the knowledge of the Ancient World.’ The Greeks loved ‘Wisdom’ in the form of knowledge, new ideas, mystical insights etc., whilst their contemporaries, the Jews, were more taken with heavenly signs. What they both lacked, according to God, was true wisdom. There is a pithy saying along the lines that, “Wisdom is understanding how to live aright, in the light of the knowledge we have.”
We can see how this works. Most people will admit to having knowledge that the commandments ‘do not murder, commit adultery, steal, lie or covet’ are good, right and best for all concerned. So why are they broken by us? Because we lack wisdom.
Jesus Christ challenged his opponents as to whether they could accuse him of breaking any of God’s commandments. No one could. Not even lust, petty theft, unrighteous anger, half-truths and white lies could be levelled against him. In other words, he was the epitome of true wisdom with a capital ‘W’.
Artificial Intelligence may be amazing but the grace of God is even more amazing and here’s why: when we entrust ourselves to Jesus, we find that he has taken our law-breaking on himself and placed his law-keeping (or Wisdom) on us. In this way, we can be acquitted of all of our wrongdoing before God. This extraordinary exchange sees Jesus giving his life as a substitute for men and women; for people who realise that they aren’t as good as they ought to be and need someone to put them in right standing with God.
This, in essence, is the Christian message of good news.
It is not to be viewed as artificial intelligence but as God’s wisdom in action.