(begin) Artificial intelligence (AI) is the intelligence of machines or software, as opposed to the intelligence of humans or animals. It is also the field of study in computer science that develops and studies intelligent machines. "AI" may also refer to the machines themselves.
AI technology is widely used throughout industry, government and science. Some high-profile applications are: advanced web search engines (e.g., Google Search), recommendation systems (used by YouTube, Amazon, and Netflix), understanding human speech (such as Siri and Alexa), self-driving cars (e.g., Waymo), generative or creative tools (ChatGPT and AI art), and competing at the highest level in strategy games (such as chess and Go).
Artificial intelligence was founded as an academic discipline in 1956. The field went through multiple cycles of optimism followed by disappointment and loss of funding, but after 2012, when deep learning surpassed all previous AI techniques, there was a vast increase in funding and interest.
The various sub-fields of AI research are centered around particular goals and the use of particular tools. The traditional goals of AI research include reasoning, knowledge representation, planning, learning, natural language processing, perception, and support for robotics. General intelligence (the ability to solve an arbitrary problem) is among the field's long-term goals. To solve these problems, AI researchers have adapted and integrated a wide range of problem-solving techniques, including search and mathematical optimization, formal logic, artificial neural networks, and methods based on statistics, operations research, and economics. AI also draws upon psychology, linguistics, philosophy, neuroscience and many other fields.
In the early 2020s, generative AI gained widespread prominence. ChatGPT, based on GPT-3, and other large language models, were tried by 14% of Americans adults. The increasing realism and ease-of-use of AI-based text-to-image generators such as Midjourney, DALL-E, and Stable Diffusion sparked a trend of viral AI-generated photos. Widespread attention was gained by a fake photo of Pope Francis wearing a white puffer coat, the fictional arrest of Donald Trump, and a hoax of an attack on the Pentagon, as well as the usage in professional creative arts (end) [Are you nervous yet?].
Consider this Boston Globe article: (begin) “AI fake nudes are booming: It’s ruining real teens’ lives. Of the top 10 websites that host AI-generated porn photos, fake nudes have ballooned (Nov 5).” The article read: Artificial intelligence is fueling an unprecedented boom this year in fake pornographic images and videos. It’s enabled by a rise in cheap and easy-to-use AI tools that can “undress” people in photographs — analyzing what their naked bodies would look like and imposing it into an image — or seamlessly swap a face into a pornographic video.
On the top 10 websites that host AI-generated porn photos, fake nudes have ballooned by more than 290 percent since 2018, according to Genevieve Oh, an industry analyst. These sites feature celebrities and political figures such as Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York alongside ordinary teenage girls, whose likenesses have been seized by bad actors to incite shame, extort money, or live out private fantasies. (end)
I have no doubt we have benefited from AI in many wonderful ways described above. However, I suggest there are dangers we should not minimize. I'm sure I am overreacting and being too heavily influenced by the 1999 cyberthriller movie “Matrix” starring Keanu Reeves and Laurence Fishburne. In this movie we serve intelligent machines. However, I suspect we may be closer to this servitude than we imagine.
Here's one of my major fears. I fear I will no longer be able to believe what I see with my own eyes to be true or false – the truth or a lie. Very little will be free of my suspicion. This will be particularly concerning for the 2024 campaign and election. There are too many nefarious people chopping at the bit to misuse AI for their political and financial gain. We will all be their targets. Sorry for being a Debby Downer, but the computer writing seems to be on the wall.
I suspect AI will lead to the dumb-downing of the American public. AI will lead to LHI – Lowered Human Intelligence. Machines will rule. Hyperbole? Watch the “Matrix” written almost 25 years ago. It’s a frightening foreshadowing. Perhaps over-the-top fantasy. Still, it is thought-provoking.
Here’s a temptation I will resist to prevent myself from being dumbed down in Church. I could easily instruct an AI to write a homily. Instead of using my brain, I could rely on generative AI. I consider that to be intellectual disintegration. Heaven forbid!
Deacon David Pierce
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