What Makes Us Different From the Machine?

Lately there’s been a lot of chatter about the future of AI as ChatGPT makes a real stir on social and mass media. To be perfectly honest, a lot of our community can’t really see a bright upside to the current trend. After all, human society is largely built on people’s instrumental value (their use to society), and when that is replaced by machines, what value will people have?

The other day, I decided to see what ChatGPT could do. I had a pretty long conversation to test out how good the machine was at coming up with new ideas. It did pretty good. Scary good actually. So I called my older children over to try out ChatGPT and think with me about how this bot and its children could someday replace the roles they currently aspire to. I came away with three conclusions: 1) this machine could easily replace me (or anyone) in my role as a thinker and writer, 2) ChatGPT is a convincing mechanical parrot, regurgitating the 2021 Internet with slickness and ease, but if you look closely its clear its not a human (this will be fixed in later versions), and 3) the human race is in trouble.

This is a more fundamental problem than just ChatGPT or AI or any of the current trends in technology and economics. It connects deeper to how we see each other (or don’t), how we value each other (or don’t), and how we’re ready to violate the first two more and more often to get what we want faster and at a better price. This has been hitting me hard were I live. And in the midst of my struggle, my friend posted to me a ultimately powerful question:

Really, a big part of what I’m devoting my time and energy to right now could play into the machine. What determines if it will be the machine or something different? Something better? How about you?

Let’s make this a central mediation for Sunday/Being this week. Let’s dig deep and think broadly about what’s going on and what we can practically do about it in our lives and communities.

Ways to Engage

Do Some Research (as a Family)

Connect to Sacred Texts and Mythology

Consider what light the following stories that may shed on these things:

• The Tower of Babel: Genesis 11:1-9 in the Torah and Bible.
• The Second Beast: Revelation 13:11-18 in the Bible.
• Judah Loew ben Bezalel and the Golem from Mediaeval Judaism.
• King Midas and His Touch from Greek Mythology.
• Recent Movies: Ron’s Gone Wrong, The Mitchells vs. the Machines, Bicentennial Man (age 11+), Ghost in the Shell (1996) (age 17+), others…

Please consider posting other stories and sources you connect to this topic in the comments.

Meditate on the Value of People and Their Work

Why are people valuable? What’s the difference between instrumental and intrinsic value? If we value people simply for who they are, what value does their work have? If we value people’s work because it comes out of, expresses, and represents the investment of their lives into something, how should we treat workers and work?

Post your thoughts in the comments.

Ready for more? Connect this to Wendell Berry: The Most Brilliant Heist in History.