When it comes to technological savvy I'm a "tiny" bit above average. However, when it comes to AI I haven't a clue, which is why this peaked my interest. It's amazing that we can utilize the knowledge to accomplish much. It's frightening of the damage it could do when used for nefarious purposes. A thought that came to my mind regarding its soulless and cold writing, and your analogy of the five year old, is that AI writes without having the benefit of experience. The writings and songs that stir the emotions are those that reflect experiences that shape us and move us. The sorrow and joy, the hardship and pain, are things AI has not experienced and therefore renders it lifeless. Just a thought.
Exactly right. The point many have made in response to some pastors using ChatGPT to write their messages, is that the gospel can only be truly proclaimed by a redeemed heart
You hit the nail on the head with the issue with "AI writing bots." The biggest thing with AI, though, is that I feel like terrible AI writing and generated art is making people opposed to the idea of AI in general. There are legitimate uses for AI, but they're only valuable when a human interprets the results.
For instance, I was recently having trouble coming up with ideas for a social media posting schedule. I then decided to use AI. I told it about the organization, defined the type of audience I'm working to reach, and some constraints on the types of posts. I then asked it to develop a 30 day posting plan. It proceeded to spit out a posting schedule that was...decent. If I blindly went with it's 30 day plan, it would have been terrible. Instead, I took that posting plan and went through each day and made tweaks to customize it for my audience. A few posts ideas it gave I threw in the trash. Others were ideas I hadn't thought of but were perfect for my audience.
The key with the 30 day plan was that I didn't have it actually generate the content. I essentially tasked it with the initial research for me to then build upon. It did the same task as if I had hired an assistant to pull research for me. The results weren't perfect, but they helped me to get past the "blinking cursor" part of ideation, and instead gave me things to build upon.
So is all AI bad? No, I don't think so. But when you try to make the AI do all of your work for you, then you're going to fail to ignite anyone's enthusiasm.
All good thoughts. There's something I just haven't sorted through yet about this, which is: When is AI a legitimate tool, and when is it negatively disrupting an inherently human process? I don't know. But there has to be a line. I'm inclined to say that it isn't the same for everyone. For me, using AI to shortcut a creative process would be destructive, because the growth through struggle is necessary. I think the blinking cursor is the cruelest, best teacher in many cases. But I also think that just because hammers make pounding in nails easier, it's not somehow virtuous to use your fist instead. So there has to be a sense in which AI can be a helpful and not harmful tool. For me, I think I draw the line at any process that is necessarily creative, but I don't know if that's right.
I thought I would use Chat gpt to write my thank you to you. 😂
"Hey Jack, your recent blog post really lifted my spirits. Thank you for sharing such uplifting and inspiring content. It made a significant difference for me!"
Good thoughts on AI. While there can be some advantages such as checking work for errors and other things, when something is purely written by AI it definitely can feel cold and impersonal. On one hand, I couldn't imagine not having a lot of today's technology to do my job, but on the other, we have to make an effort to not let convenience take the place of personal interaction.
Great thoughts. There is definitely a way in which technology like this can be a helpful tool and that’s an important conversation. But when people jump right to “ChatGPT can be creative” that’s very different to my mind. I think in 20 years we’ll feel about ai chatbots the way you feel about the tech you use in your daily work.
Then again, I don't personally use AI very much at all; and at 48, my idea of "technology" that I use is probably different than others... lol. Years ago, I wasn't one of the first to think that Craigslist could help me find employees, that texting was of much value, etc. Now I find myself having to force myself to put the phone down for work and other things. I'm all for technology advancing us, but hopefully not by dumbing us all down by not forcing us to think or engage. For some reason that commercial about Progressive not stopping us from becoming our parents is coming to mind :/
I think that’s a big part of it - people using ChatGPT so they don’t have to go thru the struggle of creating don’t realize that the struggle is the most
Important part. They think they’ve found a great tool but they’re letting one of their most crucial muscles atrophy
When it comes to technological savvy I'm a "tiny" bit above average. However, when it comes to AI I haven't a clue, which is why this peaked my interest. It's amazing that we can utilize the knowledge to accomplish much. It's frightening of the damage it could do when used for nefarious purposes. A thought that came to my mind regarding its soulless and cold writing, and your analogy of the five year old, is that AI writes without having the benefit of experience. The writings and songs that stir the emotions are those that reflect experiences that shape us and move us. The sorrow and joy, the hardship and pain, are things AI has not experienced and therefore renders it lifeless. Just a thought.
Thanks for grabbing my attention Jack.
Exactly right. The point many have made in response to some pastors using ChatGPT to write their messages, is that the gospel can only be truly proclaimed by a redeemed heart
I believe John Owens was the one who said "Preaching is truth poured through personality." You can't separate the message from the messenger.
Precisely - which is why I think even the best "written" sermon from an AI is entirely devoid of actual meaning.
You hit the nail on the head with the issue with "AI writing bots." The biggest thing with AI, though, is that I feel like terrible AI writing and generated art is making people opposed to the idea of AI in general. There are legitimate uses for AI, but they're only valuable when a human interprets the results.
For instance, I was recently having trouble coming up with ideas for a social media posting schedule. I then decided to use AI. I told it about the organization, defined the type of audience I'm working to reach, and some constraints on the types of posts. I then asked it to develop a 30 day posting plan. It proceeded to spit out a posting schedule that was...decent. If I blindly went with it's 30 day plan, it would have been terrible. Instead, I took that posting plan and went through each day and made tweaks to customize it for my audience. A few posts ideas it gave I threw in the trash. Others were ideas I hadn't thought of but were perfect for my audience.
The key with the 30 day plan was that I didn't have it actually generate the content. I essentially tasked it with the initial research for me to then build upon. It did the same task as if I had hired an assistant to pull research for me. The results weren't perfect, but they helped me to get past the "blinking cursor" part of ideation, and instead gave me things to build upon.
So is all AI bad? No, I don't think so. But when you try to make the AI do all of your work for you, then you're going to fail to ignite anyone's enthusiasm.
All good thoughts. There's something I just haven't sorted through yet about this, which is: When is AI a legitimate tool, and when is it negatively disrupting an inherently human process? I don't know. But there has to be a line. I'm inclined to say that it isn't the same for everyone. For me, using AI to shortcut a creative process would be destructive, because the growth through struggle is necessary. I think the blinking cursor is the cruelest, best teacher in many cases. But I also think that just because hammers make pounding in nails easier, it's not somehow virtuous to use your fist instead. So there has to be a sense in which AI can be a helpful and not harmful tool. For me, I think I draw the line at any process that is necessarily creative, but I don't know if that's right.
Very good thoughts Jack!
I thought I would use Chat gpt to write my thank you to you. 😂
"Hey Jack, your recent blog post really lifted my spirits. Thank you for sharing such uplifting and inspiring content. It made a significant difference for me!"
LOL, Chris... thought about doing the same and forgot about it by the time I clicked send
😆
And thus Chris became the first person to be banned from the Matter at Hand comment section.
😂
Good thoughts on AI. While there can be some advantages such as checking work for errors and other things, when something is purely written by AI it definitely can feel cold and impersonal. On one hand, I couldn't imagine not having a lot of today's technology to do my job, but on the other, we have to make an effort to not let convenience take the place of personal interaction.
Great thoughts. There is definitely a way in which technology like this can be a helpful tool and that’s an important conversation. But when people jump right to “ChatGPT can be creative” that’s very different to my mind. I think in 20 years we’ll feel about ai chatbots the way you feel about the tech you use in your daily work.
Then again, I don't personally use AI very much at all; and at 48, my idea of "technology" that I use is probably different than others... lol. Years ago, I wasn't one of the first to think that Craigslist could help me find employees, that texting was of much value, etc. Now I find myself having to force myself to put the phone down for work and other things. I'm all for technology advancing us, but hopefully not by dumbing us all down by not forcing us to think or engage. For some reason that commercial about Progressive not stopping us from becoming our parents is coming to mind :/
I think that’s a big part of it - people using ChatGPT so they don’t have to go thru the struggle of creating don’t realize that the struggle is the most
Important part. They think they’ve found a great tool but they’re letting one of their most crucial muscles atrophy