Computer science has given us some amazing technologies in the field of artificial intelligence, or AI. Among the most recent is chatbots. You can ask a chatbot a question, and it will respond with relevant, natural-sounding answers.[i] What’s more, you can ask a chatbot to write, draw, and even sing. In less than two seconds, the chatbot can create poems, images, and songs that are often surprisingly similar to what human authors and artists would produce.
However, it’s also worth noting what chatbots cannot do. They cannot always discern truth from error. Their information is almost limitless, but their intelligence is, at best, artificial. They repeat what they’ve read on the internet, but they can’t tell you if what they found there is true, virtuous, or inspiring. And maybe most important, they can’t mimic the satisfaction and personal growth that comes from effort over time to create something.
Computer science professor Tony Martinez explained the problem this way: “People don’t like to do hard things when they don’t have to. As much as we know that work is good for us, we would rather eat a cookie and watch a show than do something really hard. When we have the option to let AI do the hard thing better than we’ve ever done, we miss out on the growth.”[ii]
When a machine behaves like a human, we naturally wonder what makes us different from the machine. What does it mean to be human? This can lead our thoughts and hearts toward everlasting things. We long for not just what is efficient or effective but what is good and righteous. We seek the Way, the Truth, and the Life (see John 14:6). In our search, we discover that “the glory of God is intelligence”—not the artificial kind but the intelligence that God has placed inside each of His children, the “light and truth” (Doctrine and Covenants 93:36).
Professor Martinez says his religious beliefs, his spiritual outlook, provide perspective as he faces rapidly changing technology. He’s learned to look to God for trustworthy guidance and direction. Unlike a chatbot or any other artificial intelligence, God’s light and truth is a real and firm foundation for everlasting growth.
[i] See Bernard Marr, “ChatGPT: Everything You Really Need to Know (in Simple Terms),” Forbes, Dec. 21, 2022, forbes.com.
[ii] In Sara Smith Atwood and ChatGPT, “I, Chatbot,” Y Magazine (Spring 2023), magazine.byu.edu.
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July 09, 2023
Broadcast Number 4,895
The Tabernacle Choir
Orchestra at Temple Square
Conductors
Mack Wilberg
Ryan Murphy
Organist
Andrew Unsworth
Host
Lloyd Newell
Simple Gifts
traditional Shaker hymn; Arr. Ryan Murphy
Morning Has Broken
Gaelic melody; Arr. Mack Wilberg
Final, from Symphony no. 1
Louis Vierne
Look Up, from Lifesongs
Ryan Murphy
O Splendor of God’s Glory Bright
German hymn tune; Arr. Mack Wilberg
The Sound of Music, from The Sound of Music
Richard Rodgers; Arr. Arthur Harris
The Morning Breaks
George Careless; Arr. Mack Wilberg