"If humanity destroys good and wholesome things, it is not the fault of inanimate technology. It is the fault of human beings who created that technology and enabled its destructive consequences."
This needs to be said much more often. We are responsible for technological ology, even generative/artificial intelligence. Ultimately, the buck stops with us and we can't shift blame onto some abstract and independent technological force/machine - the problem is us. We are the machine - it is a manifestation of our deep and sometimes destructive desires. The moment we start blaming it rather than us we head down the path to futility.
Several years ago, I heard someone griping in a church Bible study about the terrible state of society and what "they" had done. I asked who "they" was. The fellow was perplexed. Everyone wants to blame some group of Others for anything they don't like, but society is all of us, whether we like it or not. I can't remember if it was one of Jeff Bilbro's recent writings about AI or if someone else was the author, but when I saw a reference that AI was merely a product of human inputs, a light went off in my head. We've got to talk about this things without pretending that they're created by some other nebulous entity on which we can cast the blame.
I think of Ezra's prayer of intercession in the Old Testament. By all accounts, Ezra was a godly, righteous man who was not personally complicit in any of the immorality that the remnant of Jews had undertaken. And yet, there is not a single place where Ezra says "they" to cast the blame on others. In every respect, Ezra says "we." I think we could learn a lot from that.
Thanks for your thoughtful reflections James and the recommendation for the essay - will certainly have a look. My husband and I just released a post yesterday which attempts to answer your question:
Thank you, Ruth! Your post from yesterday is flagged in my email to read, but now I need to make it a priority to read later today. I will read and comment my thoughts! Thank you for sharing and for commenting.
I fear it is a long read and thus added a pdf printable version - I strongly dislike reading long think pieces off the screen... Looking forward to hear your thoughts.
This is very good James. I especially liked this:
"If humanity destroys good and wholesome things, it is not the fault of inanimate technology. It is the fault of human beings who created that technology and enabled its destructive consequences."
This needs to be said much more often. We are responsible for technological ology, even generative/artificial intelligence. Ultimately, the buck stops with us and we can't shift blame onto some abstract and independent technological force/machine - the problem is us. We are the machine - it is a manifestation of our deep and sometimes destructive desires. The moment we start blaming it rather than us we head down the path to futility.
Several years ago, I heard someone griping in a church Bible study about the terrible state of society and what "they" had done. I asked who "they" was. The fellow was perplexed. Everyone wants to blame some group of Others for anything they don't like, but society is all of us, whether we like it or not. I can't remember if it was one of Jeff Bilbro's recent writings about AI or if someone else was the author, but when I saw a reference that AI was merely a product of human inputs, a light went off in my head. We've got to talk about this things without pretending that they're created by some other nebulous entity on which we can cast the blame.
I think of Ezra's prayer of intercession in the Old Testament. By all accounts, Ezra was a godly, righteous man who was not personally complicit in any of the immorality that the remnant of Jews had undertaken. And yet, there is not a single place where Ezra says "they" to cast the blame on others. In every respect, Ezra says "we." I think we could learn a lot from that.
Thanks for your thoughtful reflections James and the recommendation for the essay - will certainly have a look. My husband and I just released a post yesterday which attempts to answer your question:
“how do we maintain a balance between both worlds—the old and new—and still live a rich and fulfilling life?” I would be interested to hear your thoughts on our suggested guideposts outlined in "The 3Rs of Unmachining" https://schooloftheunconformed.substack.com/p/the-3rs-of-unmachining-guideposts?utm_source=profile&utm_medium=reader2
Thank you, Ruth! Your post from yesterday is flagged in my email to read, but now I need to make it a priority to read later today. I will read and comment my thoughts! Thank you for sharing and for commenting.
I fear it is a long read and thus added a pdf printable version - I strongly dislike reading long think pieces off the screen... Looking forward to hear your thoughts.