Artificial Intelligence

If you have been keeping your eye on world markets, you would have noticed the meteoric rise of a technology company that has created an ecosystem of software and computer chips that makes it the go-to company for artificial intelligence (AI).  Nvidia was the 6^th most valuable company in the world in 2023.  By June 5, 2024, it has risen beyond the $3 trillion barrier to become the world’s 2^nd most valuable company, pushing Apple out of this second spot that it has held since 2007.  Artificial Intelligence has proven itself not only to be an influence in the technological world, it is gaining traction in the financial world as well.  To be clear, AI has been around for a while.  Since Alan Turing first conceived of it in 1935, the development of AI technology has grown gradually to encompass almost every aspect of our world’s functioning. From computer coding and robotics to web searches, cars, cybersecurity, medical technology, supply chain management, food and farming to public administration, AI has become adopted as a driving force behind almost everything that uses computer technology to manage. This explains the growth of a company like Nvidia. Everyone is touched by AI whether or not you are aware of it. For those of us who are a less initiated in such technical language, AI put simply is the simultaneous processing of massive amounts of data through selected criteria to produce human-like decisions in specific applications. 

So what does being a believer have to do with an emerging AI generation?  As I read my Bible, three answers come to the forefront.  The first comes from a curious parable that the Lord spoke in Luke 16:1-12.  What strikes me is the closing instruction that comes with this parable:  Use the resources of this present world for the winning of souls for eternity.  When Rome built roads to fuel their military efforts, the church used those same roads to preach the gospel to the nations.  When YouTube became the most used video platform in the world, the church took to YouTube to beckon people to Christ.  These are the “eternal dwellings”.  The second is to be knowledgeable of the times.  When David came to the throne, he gathered around valued people from the tribe of Issachar “who understood the times” (1 Chronicles 12:32). Like the tribes of Israel rebuilding the walls around Jerusalem, we need to be build of the Kingdom with one hand, and be armed with the trumpet to warn of the enemy in the other (Nehemiah 4:16-18).  But the third is of great importance, and it is that AI is but a tool.  It is a powerful one in the hands of the one who wields it well.  The prophet Daniel spoke about the advent of the information age when he said, “At the time of the end, many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall abound” (Daniel 12:4).  When the printing press came into being, we used it as a tool to produce Bibles that as many people as possible could read.  When radio and television increased in popularity, we took to the airwaves to hasten the telling of the gospel and the strengthening of the church.  When the internet exploded, we made it a point to use it for the furtherance of God’s work.  Artificial intelligence has now taken the digital world to the next level.  May we not be found ignorant of using its power.  May we never be afraid of learning and using it for the Kingdom.  As Moses was asked at the burning bush, “What do you have in your hand”, may we find artificial intelligence a tool we will use for God’s glory.