Dear Friends,
How times have changed! As I was driving home the other evening, the Sat. Nav. in the car was giving me instructions. I had not programmed it to do so, it just knew that I was going home and so, it gave me instructions on how to get there! The technology in my car has learned that on a Monday evening I make a particular journey every week and at a particular time I drive home. So, the car instructs me how I should get there. Spooky! Artificial Intelligence (AI) is an amazing thing. It can accomplish all sorts of routine tasks. It can even write sermons, although I would never ask it to do so. And it could have written this letter, although I have not asked it to do that either.
We are told that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a field of computer science focused on creating machines that can perform tasks requiring human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, and problem-solving. AI systems work by analysing vast amounts of data to identify patterns and make decisions, and they are used in a wide range of applications from voice assistants and recommendation engines to medical diagnoses and self-driving cars. And as with all these things, there are positives and negatives.
But whilst AI is very clever, it cannot deal with thoughts and feelings, simply because it is just as it says, artificial. Only real people with real thoughts and feelings of their own can do that. That is why our fellowship and worship together is so important week by week. Real people talking with and listening to real people. Real interaction. And AI cannot mimic our interaction with Almighty God either. That too, has to be a real and genuine spiritual communication. There should never be anything artificial about our life of prayer, for it is central to our faith and shapes all our other interactions with the world. As the prophet Isaiah says, ‘They who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint’.
With love and blessings,
Marion
Categories: Minister's Blog