Universal Ai University, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
As we enter and react to the age of artificial intelligence, we should approach this new technological world with a proper understanding of what it means to be human.
In Paris, France, just 4 miles apart, we find two monuments that teach two entirely different versions of humanity. The Great Arch of Defense is a national monument to rational perfection. It’s a massive nearly flawless open cube. Just a couple of miles away stands Notre Dame Cathedral with its asymmetric towers, varied stones, gargoyles, and a kaleidoscope of stained glass. As author George Weigel note, the cube represents rationality as a means of perfection. The cathedral reflects the fragmented, diverse beauty of our human experience and God’s creativity.
Artificial intelligence tempts us to worship the cube, and that would be a tragic mistake. Human beings are exceptional, unique. AI is not. And that isn’t some difference on the same scale, it is of a totally different kind. We are the only beings created in the image of God. AI is simply a derivative, a repeater of human creativity. It can be a helpful tool to place information in meaningful patterns, but the moment we forget that and assign some “generative” value to it, we have lost something essential.
Information is not wisdom. Efficiency is not creation. AI chatbots may attempt to answer any question we type, but it cannot mentor or relate to people. It cannot create meaningful things out of thin air. Those things require actual humans. And despite our best ideas of more leisure due to our own optimized personal digital assistants, AI cannot create more meaning for its human user.
Even so, many educational facilities are encouraging the use of AI or even turning over their administration to it entirely. Arizona now has a charter school called Unbound Academy, an entirely AI-powered school that guarantees top test scores for students. No more teacher meetings, no more human instruction — just AI chatbots available 24/7 to give instant regurgitated answers to any question. It may sound impressive until you consider what’s missing: instructors with life experience who mentor their students.
Humanity faces a clear choice. Do we choose the artificial omniscience and speed of AI, or the genuine exceptionalism of humanity. We must choose wisely, and teach our children to do the same.
Stay informed at PhyllisSchlafly.com, and join us again for the Phyllis Schlafly Report.
