Wake Up, Look Up

Hello everyone. Thanks for listening to Wake Up, Look Up, a podcast where we connect events happening in real time to the gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm Zach Weihrauch and in today's episode we're asking the question, are you using ChatGPT's parental controls? And this is prompted by an article I read recently in the Wall Street Journal that is looking at the changes that are being made to the popular AI platform Chat GPT so that parents can have greater control over the content their children see. Now we've covered this, uh, in a lot of episodes at Wake Up Lookup. There's been a number of problems with teenagers using Chat GPT over relying on its advice and even confessing thoughts of self harm to ChatBT without the AI software actually letting anyone know. So what has happened is a few parents have sued the company, which unfortunately is often what requires a company to do the right thing. And as a response, a number of new controls are in place. Parents can now manage usage, restrict content and even receive and this one's key crisis notifications. You can actually set it up so that if your child is confessing anything to the AI software that would potentially cause them harm, you actually get alerted. By the way, this system is not even age restricted. Teenagers, uh, adults, adult children, a number of people can actually set it up so that someone else is getting this information, which is really important for people who struggle with their mental and emotional health. Now I really think this is great news that the company has done this and that parents have these resources and if you are parenting teenagers, they're probably using Chat GB and inna. Take a second, just to encourage you from a biblical perspective, to make sure you are utilizing these controls. Let's start with this. Uh, the Bible has a lot to say about the mind as kind of the arena or the battlefield of our lives. That's why Romans 12:2 says, for example, to be transformed by the renewing of our mind. That's because we all live in a culture. And it's a culture that is bombarding us every day with any number of ideas. Some easily repelled, some not, some soaking in to our hearts and to our heads. And teenagers above almost any other group, are old enough to think at a high level, but too young to really know when those ideas aren't helpful. And increasingly, teenagers are turning to chat bots to process what's going on in their heads. And I just wanna challenge you on this one. The first step isn't even a Chat GPT control, it's to actually have conversation with your teenagers to ask them what's going on, to take them somewhere other than your home, grab a milkshake, get a burger, and ask them who they're sitting with at lunch, uh, what their fears are, what anxieties they have about the future, what's going on in their friend group. But also to make sure that the chat bot they're processing their thoughts with isn't pushing them in an unhelpful direction. That means asking them, what's the last conversation you had with ChatGBT? What advice did it give you? Do you know the things it's reinforcing for your children? Because here's the second thing, and this is something we say all the time on wake up Lookup. It actually is your responsibility to know those things. Proverbs 22 says to train up a child in the way he should go. That is an active process. You don't get to sit on the sidelines for things as parents. You don't get to assume everything's fine unless otherwise notified. You've got to engage. So asking your children how they're using ChatPTT and actually having a conversation about these controls, remember this, there's a spiritual war happening around us. That's something we don't think about enough. Uh, Jesus says in the Gospel of John, chapter 10, verse 10, the thief, meaning Satan, comes to steal and kill and destroy. That's his mission. Steal, kill, and destroy your child. And he'll use any tool at his disposal, including a chat bot or an AI software. So if you don't have a strategy and plan for how you're going to, uh, allow your children to utilize this or how you're going to talk to them about it. He does. And if you don't have a plan and he does, guess who's going to win? Look, ChatGPT is a good thing for our world in the right hands. I wanna remind you that says in James chapter one that every good and perfect gift comes from above. I don't want to turn away from technology. It is the future, and we need to learn how to use it well, and so does your child. And that's part of our job as parents, to talk about how they're using it, how they should and how they shouldn't, and at times to put controls in place to make sure they don't go out of bounds. Listen, Google this, read about this, begin to use these controls, but even more importantly, talk to your kids about how they're using AI. It might just be that those conversations result in them trusting chat GPT a little less and you a little more. Hey, thanks for watching this episode of Wake Up, Look Up. If you enjoyed it, please help us get the word out by sharing it with someone you think might benefit from it. And while you're here, make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to get further content or even download the CCC app, where you'll find even more resources to help you grow in your faith and relationship with Jesus Christ.

Have an article you’d like Zach to discuss? Email us at wakeup@ccchapel.com!