I do not have any technical qualifications, but I can – and do – use my computer and smartphone quite a lot. Perhaps you do too. But there is an emerging problem – and it is a big one. New research suggests that since artificial intelligence tools offer instant answers, they are causing us to do less thinking. This is clear from a recent study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) which produced some very troubling results.
The MIT study divided 54 people aged 18 to 39 from the Boston area into three groups. They were asked to read and analyse a passage and then produce an essay in response to a single prompt about that passage using OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s search engine, and nothing at all, respectively. Researchers used an EEG to record the writers’ brain activity, and found that of the three groups, ChatGPT users had the lowest brain engagement and “consistently underperformed at neural, linguistic, and behavioural levels.” Over the course of several months, ChatGPT users got lazier with each subsequent essay, often resorting to copy-and-paste by the end of the study.
One of the implications of this study and of the rise of artificial intelligence, is that the quality of decision making is dropping. I get this!
For example, why do I always decide to trust the sat nav on my car to take me on the best route to where I am going? I still do that, even though it has sometimes taken me up narrow country lanes, and on one memorable occasion directed me into a field!
Recently a new Artificial Intelligence company promoted itself with the slogan ‘This is the end of human thought.’ And it uses the advertising line ‘It is time to cheat… Interviews; Sales calls; Homework; Meetings; Really everything!
Those are very scary thoughts indeed! I really do find the invitation to set aside my ability to think – and hand it over to computer software – to be both degrading and terrifying at the same time. To enter a world where artificial machine intelligence is promoted to replace real human intelligence and good judgement, is one totally alien to what it means to be human, and to be made in the image of God. And to realise that inevitably I will be interacting with such software, and not be aware of it, is deeply disconcerting.
The ability to think is one of the core reasons why I am a Christian. Indeed, I am encouraged in the Bible to allow God to transform me by the renewing of my mind. For me, rational thought is entirely consistent with my having real faith. Indeed, if my mind is not linked closely to my faith, then that faith is simply so much wishful thinking.
Yet, as this type of technology becomes ever more prevalent, the challenge of communicating and proclaiming the truth of the Gospel to a society that increasingly values non-thinking and cheating is going to become ever more difficult. That challenge highlights for me the crucial importance of ‘personal witness.’ …telling people what Christ has done for me and allowing them to see how my faith in the Lord shapes my attitudes, my behaviour, my words – indeed every aspect of my life. And that too is scary!
Artificial intelligence can certainly bring knowledge and facts to us quickly and easily. But my experience to date has taught me that rather than relying heavily on these tools, I’m far better off to still use the brain that God has given me, be grateful for the privilege of being able to think, and seek the wisdom and guidance of the Holy Spirit day in day out. Frankly, that is a life which is enriched by the Lord, rather than demeaned by AI.
Very Rev Dr Norman Hamilton is a retired Presbyterian minister, former Moderator of the General Assembly, and Chair of Contemporary Christianity.
Please note that the statements and views expressed in this article of those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Contemporary Christianity.
This PS Blog is adapted from a Thought for the Day talk on BBC Radio Ulster.
Norman. I agree with all you say. I also am not an expert so please someone with real technological expertise set me right.
There is much good that can come from AI but also much evil. I recommend watching ‘the Thinking Game’ on the genesis of AI.
As a Christian i can never be happy that Truth is simply the most popular answer to a search question, particularly as fake news and falsehood increasingly invades the subject online public square. It may be the ‘correct’ answer but is it true? Or it may be plausible but imaginary as one barrister found recently when AI caused him to cite a non existent case!
I am not a preacher, but what happens to inspiration by the Holy Spirit? AI is so much more than a super concordance. It wasn’t in reference to a sermon, but Jesus told his disciples “do not worry, the HS will teach you what you need to say” (Lk12;12). Will increasing AI dependence blunt our spiritual hearing and discernment? AI is not a shortcut to the spiritual disciplines.
Autonomous warfare capability is a huge moral and ethical challenge. Can agreed regulation help unless there is international will to honour agreements?
All this simply points to the need to support and encourage Christian AI experts to engage in public square debate around these issues.
Norman, I agree with what you say. My first career was in electronic engineering (medical X-ray machine research in the mid-1970’s) and, though I have since worked in Christian adult education, I try to stay in touch with developments.
As with so many technical innovations, AI is bringing undoubted benefits in a number of fields (e.g., already in some medical diagnostic tools), but it is also enabling an array of criminal activities. You warn particularly about the temptation to out-source our thinking. There is no short-cut to the hard-won thinking skills of community research and interaction with alternative perspectives that help to build genuine wisdom. Although AI can encompass an enormous amount of data and its processing power is supremely fast, large language models have been known to make up facts! The algorithms that they use are limited (and hidden) and can discount essential human values, let alone Christian convictions.
It’s worth considering that, in our culture of late capitalism, AI is clouded with propaganda because it is a huge money-spinner. A helpful investigation of the deleterious effects of AI can be found in an accessible book by Madhumita Murgia, Code Dependent: Living in the Shadow of AI (Picador, 2024). On page 259 there is a proposal for an alternative term for the phenomenon: applied statistics. I find that such terminology helps to puncture the aggrandisement surrounding this technology. Perhaps we might adapt an old saying: There’s lies, there’s “fake news,” and there’s applied statistics!
Another perspective is to contemplate that “AI”/ “Applied Statistics” makes big demands upon economies. It requires a vast amount of computing power, so the UK is in a race to build huge data-centres that consume high volumes of water as well as electricity – what does that do to the environment? Does the UK have the resources (including skills as well as money) to invest in the necessary power generation and distribution network? The computer/smart-phone user does not pay directly to use this technology, so it seems that society in general must pick up the tab.
In this field things are changing rapidly and will continue to do so. I suggest that churches should be doing more to enable Christians to engage in some tough thinking about how we use our electronic devices.