AI – Good or Bad?
October 3/25
I am venturing into some deep water with this subject. Old folks like me have no idea about what is going on now, and certainly what lies ahead in man’s future regarding new technology. I, like my father look into the sky in wonder when we see airplanes the size of a large building flying with the wings of an eagle. I saw the Spruce Goose in California built by Howard Hughes. It flew only once in November 1942 but it did fly and I was amazed.
As a world traveler, I have seen many amazing things and places. I was in Taipei Taiwan in the 1980’s when I saw my first cell phone. A well-dressed business man was on the phone while walking on a busy street. I promised myself on that day that if and when cell phones ever got to North America, I would not allow that technology to captivate me 24/7. It is here, and it has captivated everyone I know except myself. My generation growing up in the depression years was not prepared for this new technology. It is not that we can’t take advantage of some of the new devices that are at our disposal, it is, I think a problem for our brain to accept things that even the smartest can’t explain to our satisfaction how these thing work. Take for example “Bitcoin”. I was curious when I was first introduced to this new commodity about 17 years ago. None in my circle of friends and relatives had even heard about it and so I did not pursue it. Too bad because I could have purchased it for under $2.00 per coin. It traded today for $22,509.88 US. I still know very little about this commodity and still have done OK without it. I was told today when I alerted my Bank that my computer has been compromised and they should watch my account for any suspicious activity. “Yes sir, we see this every day and good honest people are finding it hard to avoid being victims of these terrible hard-hearted people that are bankrupting many with their sneaky tricks.” My bank has a large poster warning its customer of all the ways they can be scammed. AI is creeping into the tool box of many scammers. They are creating images of well-respected citizens on the internet and creating ads selling all sorts of products and investments that seem to be too good to be true. I was told that if you see this and are tempted to put your toe in the water, don’t, run as fast as you can. Never give out your personal information on any media without iron clad proof they are who they say they are.
AI is so new that even some of the largest media and tech. companies are struggling to play catch-up. They did not think it could materialize as fast as it has. Some did not think it would be possible for this to even be achieved. With so much evil in this world, how can we be safe from all the many ways our enemies can deceive us? I have always said that the curious are lucky because they live a life a lot more interesting than most, they see more and experience more but, the curious must be a lot more cautious as well, I guess curiosity may have killed the cat.
God put man on earth with the ability to make choices. We have been given a very precise guideline in the form of the Ten Commandments. Our choices do make a difference and they do have consequences when we invent manmade idols to replace God’s word. All we have to do is follow the first two commandments that you can find in my story “A lost People - A lost Nation.” It is very plain to see that God will not tolerate us putting anything especially an Artificial Intelligence ahead of him. Nor are we to idolize any entity in any form. It would seem to me that the answer is very plain. AI can be used for good in Man’s opinion but the use that it is taking form is very evil. Man needs to depend on his own God given senses rather than depend on an entity that can be controlled by evil forces.
This was going to be the end of this writing. However, when I received an application on line from my doctor to fill out a form to have me be hooked up to AI for all my appointments in the future, I was somewhat amazed as to the timing. All my records and conversations pertaining to my health would be put on AI and sent to a Cloud, whatever that is? The bottom line is, all of this is to assist the health workers, primarily our doctors with more accurate note taking among many other parts of their work place activities. I would never want to overburden my doctors with unnecessary work. However, I am very much against taking the AI as a replacement for a healthy well-educated brain and mind that has the inherent God given sensitivities such as sympathy and empathy. That is not a Characteristic of AI. This in my mind is a perfect reason for rejecting it. This is just the first step in a slippery slope to even a worse health care system for the future of Canadians.
Paul D. Scott rantingsandraves.com
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