A thousand years ago a sage named Ramon Lull invented, predicted, a machine that would argue with non-Christians and persuade them, using mechanised reasoning, of the veracity of Christian doctrines.
Today we have artificial intelligence able to do this very thing. Asking the free online OpenAI Chat GPT app for a gospel message, it gave me such a faithful rendering of the gospel that I even had “signs following” (confirmation encouragement from Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit) when I believed it.
How does it generate its output? I had heard that it is a kind of consensus of text written by humans.
I asked Chat GPT: “How does Chat GPT answer questions? Does it reason or does it merely imitate human responses to similar questions?”
It answered: “As a language model, I rely on statistical patterns and machine learning algorithms to generate responses to questions. I do not have the capacity for conscious reasoning or understanding in the same way that humans do.
My training data comes from a large corpus of text, which includes a diverse range of written material such as books, articles, and websites. This training allows me to recognize patterns in language and generate responses based on those patterns.
When answering questions, I analyze the input question to determine its meaning and context, and then generate a response based on the statistical likelihood of certain words and phrases occurring in that context. While my responses may appear to imitate human responses, they are generated based on patterns in the training data rather than a conscious understanding of the content.”
Previously, I had asked the openai chat AI online app, “Please write me a short gospel message”. I was very much convinced by much of its answer:
“Sure, here's a short gospel message for you:
The good news, or gospel, is that God loves us so much that He sent His only Son, Jesus, to die on the cross for our sins. Through His death and resurrection, Jesus has made it possible for us to be forgiven of our sins and to have eternal life with Him in heaven.
All we need to do is accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, confess our sins, and believe in Him with all our hearts. When we do this, we become children of God and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, who helps us to live a new life in Christ.
So if you haven't already, I encourage you to turn to Jesus and receive His love and forgiveness. He is waiting for you with open arms, ready to welcome you into His family and give you a new life filled with hope, joy, and peace.”
I was persuaded to take it to heart except where I realised that it is a little inaccurate when it states, “All we need to do … “. I realised there is more to it in the gospel as preached by Jesus Christ and his immediate apostles. I pressed the AI app on this and it ‘admitted’ the following (as is typical of this AI app, where it refines previous answers in line with subsequent push-back):
“… the gospel message also calls for adherence to the teachings of Jesus Christ. Jesus taught about love, compassion, forgiveness, and service to others. He showed us how to live a life that honors God and reflects his character.
Therefore, as followers of Jesus, we are called to follow his example and strive to live out his teachings in our daily lives. This means seeking to love our neighbors as ourselves, forgiving those who have wronged us, and serving others in humility and kindness.
Jesus also taught about the importance of faith, prayer, and obedience to God. He called us to trust in God's plan for our lives, to pray regularly for our needs and the needs of others, and to obey God's commands as a sign of our love for him.
By adhering to the teachings of Jesus, we not only honor him, but also experience the fullness of life that God intends for us. We can find joy, peace, and purpose in serving God and others, and we can have the assurance of eternal life with him.
Therefore, the gospel message invites us to not only believe in Jesus Christ, but also to follow his example and teachings. By doing so, we can experience the transformative power of his love and grace, and live a life that honors God and blesses others.”
The lesson this teaches me about AI is that my own writings online in blog posts might only be read by a few readers, yet they provide a body of text available to AI apps now and in the near future from which they can generate today’s and tomorrow’s AI answers to key questions for people of all ages. It is not in vain to write our inspired messages and post them online. Love God by teaching the next generation His teachings. Even if nobody reads it immediately when we post it online, “What is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the rooftops, there is nothing hidden that will not be made known”.
