Are You Interacting With a Chatbot or a Person?
You may not know that I was a STEM girl before it was cool. In high school I was nominated to attend the Jackling Institute camp for future engineers at the University of Missouri-Rolla (now Missouri S&T), and it set me on a course to major in computer science. As an undergrad, I even took an introductory course on Artificial Intelligence.
These days, however, I cringe when my customer service call is answered by, “Hi, my name is Dan, and I’m your AI support representative.” Automated call centers are annoying—even to computer science majors! But at least in that instance, I know I’m talking to a computer. It becomes more disconcerting when we don’t know what we’re encountering exactly. Are we looking at a real image or a fake one? Was this video recorded by a human being or created by a computer? Are we interacting with a chatbot or a person? Was this post written by my friend or her ChatGPT?
While Artificial Intelligence can be extremely helpful, it also can be dehumanizing and even a little scary. God created man “in his own image” and gave us dominion over all creation, but these tools are developed and used by fallen human beings.
According to recent Barna research, 66 percent of practicing Christians believe that AI is improving their lives, though 57 percent view AI as a threat. When it comes to pastors, a whopping 72 percent believe AI to be a threat.
If your experience is anything like mine, you know lots of people who’d never used ChatGPT a year or two ago and now use it as a constant companion in their lives and workplaces. Maybe that describes you. Personally, I’ve found it useful for summarizing information, which can simplify and speed up the act of research. (Though fact-checking is still essential!)
The real people behind iVoterGuide
With the ethics of Artificial Intelligence being hotly debated right now, I wanted to share with you some ways we prioritize human interaction at iVoterGuide:
• This weekly email is neither researched nor drafted by Artificial Intelligence.
• When you email us with a question or comment, a human being replies to you.
• Our social media reels are submitted by regular people on our team who believe in our mission enough to personally record and share them. (Since we work remotely, our folks also represent regions all over the country!)
Most importantly, real people—staff and volunteers—personally research the candidates listed in our voter guides.
We’re open to the benefits of Artificial Intelligence at iVoterGuide. At times, it can be an incredibly useful tool. If we use it to aggregate information, we always go back to the original source, never relying upon the summary provided by any AI tool. Overall, our team represents a range of beliefs, opinions, and experiences when it comes to using AI for the glory of God.
But as followers of Christ, we believe the Holy Spirit working in us and through us far supersedes the power of Artificial Intelligence synthesizing and adapting data from across the World Wide Web. God is greater. God is smarter. God is infinitely more creative and powerful. He was, He is, and He always will be the great I AM.
The Good Shepherd
So we use Artificial Intelligence cautiously and prayerfully, but we build our lives upon the Divine Intelligence of Jesus Christ. We devote our human intelligence to Him, relying on the spiritual intelligence He freely gives through prayer, the Bible, and the church. These ancient paths of seeking God and His wisdom have proven reliable through the ages.
If you are a Christian—convinced that Jesus Christ is the only one capable of saving you from sin and brokenness and you respond to Him in obedience—then you know His voice. As Christians, we elevate the voice of Christ above any other voice in the universe, continually praising the Good Shepherd over every other name.
Thank you for your faithfulness in seeking the voice of the Good Shepherd above all else. And thank you for trusting us to help you make the most godly decisions you can about candidates.
“He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out … and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.” – John 10:3-4
