do we all have the self-restraint to learn about these dangerous AI tech's... and actually not individually, personally, participate in them?
or,
do we continue what has been par for the course in Modernity: Christians who- whether we see and speak the problem of new tech or not- say, "meh, what can you do?" and entirely forego what I'd call an ethic of "new tech discernment" and of "new tech asceticism".
?
Most people in my world,
while sympathetic to this critique, would, especially where their work lives are made easier, also make use of any given AI featured here.
I'm with Kingsnorth (who, to me, is not radical but a realistic voice if a bit prescient)-
We (Orthodox) Christians need to recognize modern passions for tech and "just say no."
Chris Hayes' new book "The Siren's Call" is on my to-read list, as his analogy to this current moment is very compelling: your attention (and my attention--where we put our eyes and ears during our waking hours) is the new "oil". We are in the midst of an "attention boom" akin to the oil boom of the early 20th century. And some very powerful interests have a strong incentive to, as Chris puts it, "frack your brain." In the aggregate, human attention can apparently be very lucrative.
Yes I'm sure any fellow teacher will swap war stories with me about this crisis of our students' attention.
Here in BC public schools there was this year a Ministry effort to "ban phones during school hours." Which has resulted in students exhibiting withdrawal symptoms (on the phone since waking- on again after class until sleep steals her necessary portion)-
During school hours no phones: it can be like trying to teach Rhetoric to a suddenly-deprived alcoholic.
As the infomercials put it: but wait, there's more! We haven't even gotten to what this means when it's coupled with two of the other scourges of our age--internet pornography and VR. Do I even have to spell out what this could mean...what this could *do*...to the minds of young adult men?
I watched the interview with Daniel Kokotajlo. If his predictions are correct, it is our historical misfortune to have Donald Trump as President of the United States during the very birth pangs of Artificial General Intelligence. If his handling of the climate crisis is any indicator, we can rest easy: I am sure the essential safeguards will be put in place...
His "Big Beautiful Bill," as one of the articles I posted above indicates, restricts AI regulations. So, yes, it's not a promising convergence of historical factors.
As I was reading that article I saw a link to another article reminding me of another grand illusion/boondoggle in the news recently: Trump's multimillion dollar "golden dome" project. Lord have mercy.
The big question for me is,
do we all have the self-restraint to learn about these dangerous AI tech's... and actually not individually, personally, participate in them?
or,
do we continue what has been par for the course in Modernity: Christians who- whether we see and speak the problem of new tech or not- say, "meh, what can you do?" and entirely forego what I'd call an ethic of "new tech discernment" and of "new tech asceticism".
?
Most people in my world,
while sympathetic to this critique, would, especially where their work lives are made easier, also make use of any given AI featured here.
I'm with Kingsnorth (who, to me, is not radical but a realistic voice if a bit prescient)-
We (Orthodox) Christians need to recognize modern passions for tech and "just say no."
-mb
Chris Hayes' new book "The Siren's Call" is on my to-read list, as his analogy to this current moment is very compelling: your attention (and my attention--where we put our eyes and ears during our waking hours) is the new "oil". We are in the midst of an "attention boom" akin to the oil boom of the early 20th century. And some very powerful interests have a strong incentive to, as Chris puts it, "frack your brain." In the aggregate, human attention can apparently be very lucrative.
Thank you, I'm interested. :)
Yes I'm sure any fellow teacher will swap war stories with me about this crisis of our students' attention.
Here in BC public schools there was this year a Ministry effort to "ban phones during school hours." Which has resulted in students exhibiting withdrawal symptoms (on the phone since waking- on again after class until sleep steals her necessary portion)-
During school hours no phones: it can be like trying to teach Rhetoric to a suddenly-deprived alcoholic.
Good grief.
Anyway thanks again for the reading tip.
-mb
Well, that’s all quite horrifying. But why not pour further oil on the fire? Here:
https://techcrunch.com/2025/05/22/anthropics-new-ai-model-turns-to-blackmail-when-engineers-try-to-take-it-offline/?sfnsn=mo
You missed it. That article was #1 on the list above.
Oh.
As the infomercials put it: but wait, there's more! We haven't even gotten to what this means when it's coupled with two of the other scourges of our age--internet pornography and VR. Do I even have to spell out what this could mean...what this could *do*...to the minds of young adult men?
I nearly commented on that, but didn't. It promises to be a plague.
It's been 20 years, so I think a discussion/reappraisal of your brother's essay "Christ and Nothing" is overdue when considering the headwinds.
Say more.
I watched the interview with Daniel Kokotajlo. If his predictions are correct, it is our historical misfortune to have Donald Trump as President of the United States during the very birth pangs of Artificial General Intelligence. If his handling of the climate crisis is any indicator, we can rest easy: I am sure the essential safeguards will be put in place...
His "Big Beautiful Bill," as one of the articles I posted above indicates, restricts AI regulations. So, yes, it's not a promising convergence of historical factors.
Grotesque.
As I was reading that article I saw a link to another article reminding me of another grand illusion/boondoggle in the news recently: Trump's multimillion dollar "golden dome" project. Lord have mercy.
It autocorrected to "multimillion". I typed the B.