Wake Up, Look Up

Hello everyone, and 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, can faith code the future? this is prompted by a really interesting article I read, believe it or not, in the Washington Post, about something happening in Northeast Ohio. I don't know if you've paid attention to this, but the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the newspaper, of record here in Northeast Ohio, is really setting the edge of how newspapers think about using artificial intelligence. they are now using AI to write articles. In fact, if you read an article on cleveland.com or in the paper and it says the article is from the advance local express desk, the paper is telling you that means it was written by artificial intelligence. they're just acknowledging that ChatGPT is their best reporter. And basically the editor, a guy named Chris Quinn, is saying that having AI write articles actually frees reporters up to do more fieldwork. Here's his argument. He if there's a big high school football game and the reporter, the human reporter, goes to the game and they feed in all their observations and the things they, they notice, the things that matter to an artificial intelligence while it is writing an article, they're at the next event experiencing. He's kind of casting a vision for humans. Experience the news and then AI generates the actual copy that you read. Now, this is an interesting concept that, as you might imagine, has not gone over well in the arena of journalism. The backlash has been swift and it has been sharp. people are saying that Quinn, well, they're calling him a lot of not nice names. And kind of what they're saying is the idea that reporters need to be freed up from writing is stupid. But of course, the real divide here is this. Quinn is saying, hey, look, this is the future. I mean, this is the future of a newsroom. Artificial intelligence is going to do a lot of the writing. We're just trying to figure out what that looks like. And, and meanwhile, those working in journalism now, like a lot of industries, are scared that AI is going to take their jobs and pushing back on the idea that a computer can do what they do at the same level. And this is the divide that's coming to every single industry. what is it acceptable to let the computer do and what is distinctly human. Now, experts are saying that this could weaken faith in journalism, which of course is, is laughable because faith in journalism is at an all time low What Quinn is saying is it's not humans or AI, but it is humans working with AI in some distinct ways. Look, I don't have a ton of thoughts on the rightness or wrongness of this. I'm not a journalist and I don't pretend to be. But I will say this. I think this question is coming to all of us. And I just want to make the point that I want Christians to be part of the question. I think in the history of the church, Christians have been very slow to get into conversations about technological advancement. we tend to oppose, oppose, oppose, and then be late adopters. Which means, by the time we get into the conversation, all the major plot points have been decided. I think Christians in all their industries need to be wrestling with, what is and what needs to be human, and where do we need to get involved with AI? I think Christians need to be asking, if AI displaces people from their jobs, how do we love and care and support people as they transition into new work? Christians need to be part of this conversation, and they need to be for two reasons. One is, I think this is what it means to love our neighbor, to steward the earth. Artificial intelligence isn't going anywhere. And as those God has entrusted the planet to, we owe it to him and to those around us to make sure that the Gospel is informing these decisions, to make sure the biblical worldview is advancing in the technological era. But also, I'll say this, the world has some complicated questions to aim at, and let me tease out a little theology here and to say that I think Christians are the best equipped to deal with it. And here's why. Because the Spirit of God lives in us. You know, think about Exodus 35, when God, is giving Moses some instruction on building some things for God's glory. And he talks, he actually names the people who do the work. And there's one particular guy that the text describes like this. I want you to hear this. It says, and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom and understanding, with knowledge and all kinds of skills. In other words, God wanted something done, and he filled one of his people with his own spirit to do the work the way in which God wanted. I wonder what it would look like for us to pray that for Christian journalists, Christian attorneys, Christian financial planners to say, God, artificial intelligence is here and it's only going to increase. It leads to some complicated questions. And so, Spirit of God, I need you to anoint me. I need you to equip me to wrestle with these questions, to make decisions that will affect people's lives, to love and care for people. And in the midst of a chaotic time, we tend to reduce the Spirit of God down to simply moral and theological issues. And certainly he has a lot to say about moral and theological issues. But I wonder what it would look like to pray for the same kind of anointing. Because the anointing of Exodus 35 is not on Moses the preacher. It's on a skilled laborer to do manual labor, to do artistry, to create something. So maybe you're not a pastor. Whatever it is you do. Have you asked the Spirit of God to help you navigate this? Have you asked for his excellence, for his anointing, for his blessing? Because I think that the best path forward for our world is for Christians in all kinds of industries to receive that anointing and to lead the way in the use of artificial intelligence in their field. God wants humans to flourish. He always has. But flourishing only happens when he leads the way. And he leads the way through his people. People like you. 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.

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