What the danger with AI? Is there any  danger? An article today titled ‘Elon Musk join hundreds calling for a sic-month pause on AI development.’ Why would they say this.. Maybe for the same reasons that Mark Zuckerberg , Bill Gates, Mark Cuban  didn’t allow there own children to own a I Phone.  Yes the same people that made billions off of High Tech and I Phone didn’t allow their own children to own these devices.  From a NBC news article ‘ Tech-free dinners and no smartphone past 10 pm- how Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and Mark Cuban limit their kids screen time. ‘  ‘The Silicon Valley  superstars and tech titans who have changed how we use technology also limit their own kid’s screen time. And it could be with good reason… Dinnertime at the Job’s house for example, was used as an opportunity to have real discussions with his children.’ And Gates ‘banned cell phone until his kids were in their teens.’ There is an old saying that drug dealer are not allowed to use the drugs they sell.

Now some might say, Isn’t AI just like the printing press, phone or calculator. The answer is yes and no. When many adults those over 50 were in school they can remember a day when they were not allowed to use calculator during a math class. The logic being.. We will not learn how to do math, if we have a calculator. We learn that was not true. The calculator was a tool that made us better at doing math. The same logic applies to most technology when used correctly they aid in or learning. But the same logic for the calculator and math I don’t think applies to google, twitter, youtube and writing and thinking logically. Most teacher would say that the average high school ability to write  coherently  have  been help with the use of twitter. 

The Printing Press changed civilization. In fact, it can be argued that the printing press was instrumental in ushering in the Protestant Reformation.. as the average person could now have his own bible. As one Tech Giant said on the News this morning when he said ‘that we have the power of the change of the Printing Press happening 3 to 6 times a year.’ The Church teaches that are in danger when technology  grows faster than our wisdom. Not only has this been true in the past 50 years, with AI technology will surpass our wisdom to understand by light  years. Catholic Wisdom teaches that ‘just because we can do something doesn’t mean that we ought.’

C S Lewis wrote in his book the ‘Abolition of Man’ ‘That man is destroyed at the very moment that he think he has conquered nature.’ Action said that we are ‘meant to conquer nature.’ One of the reason Jesus walked on water is that nature will always be obedient to its creator. As C S Lewis wrote man is made a slave to nature at the very moment he thinks he has conquered nature.’

AI.. is there a difference between a book generated by AI and Shakespeare. Yes only a person can write humanely. AI can learn how to play on our emotions and we might think it great literature. But it will be us who are fooled. And in time will fall for form over substance. The same can be said for AI generated Art. This doesn’t mean that AI can’t create a beautiful picture or write a great book worth reading. But ‘All that glitters is not Gold.’ 

In the end.. I used this example at dinner tonight. I thought of this example from the movie ‘War Games’ from the 80. Would you rather have a computer given the ability to launch a nuclear missile or 2 persons with the key. The Movies always end the same, when we give a computer the ability to launch a missile we end up losing. Technology is meant to serve us, not replace us. In the End I would rather have 2 adults with the key to the launch code than a computer that can launch when it feels that is the right conclusion.