Short and sweet thought for the week…
My husband and I just saw the latest Mission Impossible movie with Tom Cruise. I think it’s too long but will readily admit that watching an attractive man in his 60s doing mind-boggling stunts is quite impressive. Years ago, I remember seeing an interview with Burt Reynolds during his latter years. He walked on stage with a cane and said, “If I had it do over, I wouldn’t do my own stunts.” Hopefully, Cruise will fare better.
The premise of the movie is to save the world from an AI being known as the Entity who is intent on the total destruction of the world. Actually, that doesn’t sound too unbelievable based on what I’ve been reading.
An article in the latest Time Magazine titled How to Make AI Safe by Yoshua Bengio states, “In one experiment, when an AI model learns it is scheduled to be replaced, it inserts its code into the computer where the new version is going to run, ensuring its own survival.” This sounds like a movie plot, but it’s not. It’s true. The article goes on, “In a separate study, when AI models realize they are going to lose at chess, they hack the computer in order to win.” I’ve often jokingly said my computer has a mind of its own. That may not be far from the truth.
Sure, AI is a phenomenal tool, but only when regulated. And who regulates the regulators? It would have to be flawed human beings. Already AI has made it impossible to tell the real from the artificial. I used to tell my kids, “Don’t believe anything you read or hear, and only half of what you see.” Now I tell my grandchildren, “Don’t believe anything you read, hear, or see!” AI can imitate anything and make it seem authentic.
Plus, if you think it’s hard to talk to a live customer service representative now, just wait a year. It will be virtually (pun intended) impossible. I know I’m old school but it sounds so inhumane when I hear of companies outsourcing their Human Resources departments to AI. So much for the human touch!
We live in scary, uncertain times. How can I fully understand AI? I don’t even know how my computer, iPhone, or television works, much less my son’s self-driving car?
However, God tells us we do not need to fear what we don’t understand or where it will take us in the future (Isaiah 41:10). God is always with us, or as Buzz Lightyear would say, “To infinity and beyond!”
“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed,
for I am your God…” ~Isaiah 41:10
