AI, Jesus’ tomb, and our newness in Christ
Almost daily, we hear about new ways artificial intelligence, or AI, is changing our world. Many are wondering if it’s still possible to distinguish between human and computer intelligence. But perhaps that’s the wrong comparison. What if the more useful insight to be gained is seeing how similarly AI and so-called mortal intelligence operate versus the utterly original, universe-creating intelligence that is immortal Mind, God?
Artificial intelligence uses what are known as large language models, or LLMs, to analyze massive amounts of existing data, then uses predictive algorithms to provide seemingly insightful responses to questions people input. In simple terms, we might say it gathers the best of what humanity has learned in the past to come up with its most logical answer for the present. Even if it generates new images or forward-looking ideas, it does so based solely on its ability to collect and freshly manipulate information from data that is already known.
Interestingly, this “intelligence” parallels what Christian Science teaches about the programmed “thinking” of the human mind. When mortal consciousness reasons on the basis of what the physical senses have reported, the expected outcome is always based on entrenched material norms. We’ve all seen how this programmed way of thinking works. For example, when people cough or sneeze, they’re apt to expect an oncoming cold. The point is, this so-called intelligence is limited to expectations based on the belief that existence is material. It doesn’t really allow for anything truly new.
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