In a recent special section The Wall Street Journal, wondering how quickly AI will transform American society, asked a selection of experts from academia, business, consulting firms, and think tanks to weigh in on what AI will be doing to us and with us in 2030. The responses covered a wide range of opportunies and threats from all aspects of life, and I found one response particularly intruiging and threatening, submitted by Valerie Wirtschafter of the Brookings Institution. Her bottom line threat is that truth will become subjective, and reality will be whatever reinforces one’s prior belief, as follows: “What is certain is that over the next five years, AI-generated media is likely to become only more realistic and more pervasive. Without widespread education about the danger, the shared reality and an informed public on which democracies so depend may be at existential risk.” And with it, she suggests, goes societal trust. It occurs to me that we are already living with this threat. How should we respond to it?
Jim,
You pose a profound question. Since the 1960s the question has loomed: What is truth?
The longstanding definition of truth in the West has been described as reality or fact. Even those have been tested with terms like “alternative facts” or “alternative reality.”
The folly of softening language is to weaken its potency in aiding our comprehension. AI will endeavor to be objective by collecting a plethora of related facts, figures, ideas, thoughts, etc. on any particular subject. But can we trust it to discern which of those is objectively true?
Yes, I agree. Deconstructionism and it’s fellow travelers rose up in the humanities. What we must know,as always, is that truth exists. We know truth by original souce(s). More than ever we have to dig deep. Academia, media, best gusses will not do that.
Warth and fury to those who selfishly disobey the truth and obey wickedness. (Rom 2:8)
Jim, what a great topic, as I’m actively involved in this arena. Machine learning and continued propigation of ever accelerating AI has been, is, and will continue to be directed by human influence, prejudices, biases, and preferences of human beings who write algorithms that draw upon the existing and evolving ocean of digital data globally. The danger is an ever growing dependency on AI in our youth and education systems that will accelerate the continually diminishing critical thinking skills, leading to discernment and judgement in decision making underpinned by societal core values, ethics, and most of all truth. In western civilization and the Kingdom there is only one Truth, The inspired Word of God – Yahweh. Therefore, keep and hold fast to all of your printed books, especially encyclopedias, almanacs, text books, and most of all your personal and family Bible. They should be treasured as legacy generational gifts to be passed on to the next generations.
BTW: Since last month yet another assassination attempt. Are you AWAKE yet? Trump is a dead man walking. The State will never allow Trump to resume power. The tipping point has tipped. He’s the last Hail Mary pass in the complete loss of our Republic (NOT Democracy). Game over your future progeny and lineage are doomed to live in a totalitarian state that will be accelerated and balkanized by media empowered by AI. VOTE!
I totally agree with Tim Phillips. “Thy word is truth”. John 17:17
Hang on to your printed material. Support educational institutions that teach critical thinking.
Pray for the Trump haters, who are blinded to the reality that thinking people will vote for the policies he supports, which are based on truth.
I try whenever possible to keep issues as simple as I can. Gazillions of words have been written about AI, and a bazillion more are on the way, but I believe a simple definition can best quantify our concerns. Forgetting about my Funk and Wagnalls and going with experience, “artificial” means NOT REAL. Artificial Intelligence = Not Real Intelligence! Doesn’t that about say it all?