AI and Automation

 A strange, unfamiliar term has recently entered our lexicon. The term is artificial intelligence (AI). How and when did this term first enter our awareness? In 1956 a small group of mathematicians at Dartmouth College held a workshop to focus on the possibility of “thinking machines.” This group is credited with founding the field of artificial intelligence, currently known as AI. Not only is AI an unfamiliar term, but nomenclature related to AI is also unfamiliar to many people. There are many terms related to AI which must be defined and studied in order to understand the benefits and drawbacks of AI.

Acquaintances have joined our personal quest to discover the potentialities of AI. My inquiry took me back to my high school graduation ceremony. I was honored to deliver a student address at my graduation. The topic—Industry—was selected for me by my class adviser. Not only did my adviser assist me in selecting my overall topic but he also suggested I should discuss automation in my address. The term was unfamiliar to me and most of my high school classmates in the mid-20th century. 

Industrialists still practice automation, the technology to perform repetitive tasks without human intervention. The term automation was first used in 1946 by executives in the automotive industry. Automation and AI are sometimes mistakenly used interchangeably. AI creates systems able to learn, reason, and make decisions like a human. Even young children use their intelligence to learn from their experience. For example, toddlers learn to walk by observing the effects of gravity on their bodies and making decisions to adjust their muscle movements. The action of children manipulating toys and games is based on their decision-making capabilities. Artificial intelligence, therefore, is not really artificial in the sense that artificial sometimes means “not genuine.” AI is clearly a genuine phenomenon in today’s world.

AI is of genuine concern to many people. When automation became a social issue during the mid-20th century some folks became uneasy. The same is even more true of AI, an exceedingly recent societal phenomenon of the 20th/21st century. It remains to be seen how modern societies ultimately respond to AI, driven as it is by the Information Age in which we are embedded. In particular, cell phones and personal computers affording access to the Internet have proliferated exponentially since 1990. The Information Age commenced at approximately mid-20th century.

Should modern man be fearful of a surfeit of information as members of society living in the Information Age? Our answer,—Yes, and No. We quote from an ACRT Journal article (ACRT stands for AI, Computer Science, and Robotic Technology): “AI is improving the quality of human life, but poses dangers from unintended disastrous and undesirable outcomes if unregulated.” 

There are many beneficial aspects of AI relating to efficiency and productivity. Healthcare practices could benefit from AI. Self-driving cars could supply advantages if we convince traditional drivers of their safety. Most residents have been connected to chat rooms at our banks or businesses. Some folks still must be persuaded that the helpful person who chats with us on the other end of the line is not an actual person.  

We have encountered several undesirable dimensions of AI. The term AI Agent describes a software program which autonomously performs tasks for the user by perceiving their environment, making decisions, and taking actions to achieve specific goals. These are not personal, human goals. They are the goals of the AI Agent! The software could write an “original” essay, or generate a video which pictures human beings who do not actually exist performing tasks which do not actually happen. A recent example is a video of Barron Trump giving a speech. These outcomes could be the result of algorithms capable of producing novel, original content. These outcomes  may be described under the heading of “Generative AI” a term that is largely self-explanatory. Generative AI and machine learning are related concepts.

Intelligence is a gift of The Creator. Likewise, consciousness is God’s gift to advanced forms of living entities. The two concepts are related. We propose that AI mimics the intelligent abilities of humanity. Perceived this way, we propose that bio-scientists inadvertently acknowledge amazing gifts endowed to living beings by The Creator of All Things. 

Our previous post from 2-18-23 deals with similar issues. I recommend readers access this link as an addendum to the current post:

https://jasscience.blogspot.com/2023/02/artificial-intelligence-or-human.html

   

     

      

  

Earth/Moon System

 Searching through past posts we encounter the term system many times. Examples are body systems such as visual and auditory systems. We have also dealt with wonders of the Solar System. The above-mentioned systems are composed of many sub-systems. Any system or sub-system is defined as “a group of interrelated, interacting components forming a complex entity.” Our physical universe is composed of many complex systems. When we make detailed studies of such systems we reinforce the concept that our universe has many hallmarks of being designed by a divine, intelligent Agent. We observe those hallmarks each day of our lives.

Scientists often describe the characteristics of Earth without reminding us that Earth is intrinsically part of a system—the Earth/Moon System. Our universe contains trillions of lifeless, ordinary planets. No other Solar System planet possesses such a sizable moon in relation to its own size. Planet Earth is special owing to the presence of our large satellite. The presence of our Moon is only one factor making Earth a habitable planet. Most astronomers agree that without the Moon, Earth would not be a habitable planet. Hugh Ross, founder of Reasons to Believe (RTB), produced a volume entitled The Genesis Question in 2001. He discusses (p. 31) how the Moon affects Earth in life-sustaining ways, including crustal iron abundance, tectonics, rotation rate, and vital axis tilt, among other processes. Ross states, “To those who express the desire to see a miracle, we can assure them they are looking at one whenever they gaze up at the Moon.”

There’s general agreement that Planet Earth without its Moon would experience changes in Earth’s climate and other conditions which preclude human life as we know it. Most especially, Earth residents would experience NO seasons. A previous post deals with the effects on humanity of an Earth without seasons. Our message in the post linked below is that Earth without seasons may result in undesirable health outcomes for humanity. In contrast, research has revealed that there are many positive outcomes when people experience seasonal changes. We link a past post:

https://jasscience.blogspot.com/2017/10/earth-without-seasons.html

The Bible lists examples of the benefits of seasonal change. Earth’s Moon is responsible for these seasonal changes. The popular scientific hypothesis of a giant impactor, protoplanet Theia, ultimately produced the Moon when it struck Planet Earth eons ago. The Theia impact created Earth’s 23.5 degree axis tilt which is responsible for Earth’s current seasons. Our current Moon stabilizes Earth’s axis tilt. Life-sustaining conditions on Earth result from the season-producing axis tilt of our home planet. 

Most astrophysicists subscribe to the hypothesis of a giant impactor—an example of a divine transformational miracle. God has performed many transformational miracles when He created our life-sustaining Earth/Moon System. Hugh Ross has published his ideas concerning different types of miracles, including the transformational miracle of the giant impactor which produced Earth’s Moon:

https://jasscience.blogspot.com/2017/11/our-miracle-immersed-planet.html

Geophysicists have produced lengthy treatises on many Moon related phenomena within our Earth/Moon system. Ocean tides are caused by the force of gravitation between Earth and Moon. Earth’s oceans are gravitationally drawn toward the Moon. The solid Earth is drawn away from Earth’s ocean water on the opposite side of the Earth. Each of the bodies revolves around a barycenter—the center of mass of two or more objects. Over many eons the Moon has been responsible for reducing the speed of rotation of the Earth because of the friction of tidal “bulges” as the planet rotates through them. A slower rotating Earth produces ideal daytime illumination appropriate for agricultural productivity and human comfort. We observe the Creator’s power in the things we perceive within our Earth/Moon System:

For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made…(Romans 1:20 ESV)

  

Moon Truth

 Humanity is fascinated by the Moon and moonlight. We may recall observing the Moon as children and detecting the face of “the Man in the Moon” from its surface features. There are many scriptural references to the Moon by Bible authors who were skilled observers. In our day we still observe the wonders of the Moon from a worship and devotional perspective when we read scripture.

Following are a few descriptive scriptures concerning our lunar companion:

Season marker  (Psalm 104:19)

Ruler of the night  (Genesis 1:16)

Thing of beauty  (Song of Solomon 6:10)

Supplier of glory  (I Corinthians 15:41)

Source of order and power  (Jeremiah 31:35 and 32:17)

Praise giver  (Psalm 148:3)

Splendor provider  (Job 31: 26) 

Study of the cited verses reveals their emphasis on careful observation. These passages were composed centuries prior to the development of modern science. This fact does not signal the Bible is unscientific. Good science depends on accurate observational skills. The Bible does not mention planetary and lunar rotation and revolution or the laws of motion. Scripture however, stresses the order and stability of the world of nature as created by God and praises the majesty and complexity of our physical creation. Modern scientific methods were not codified until centuries after the last verses of the Bible were written. We speak of the Scientific Revolution of the 16th/17th century.  

When the Moon revolves around our earth, our only satellite returns to a generally in line configuration with the Earth and the Sun every 29 1/2 days. During that time interval the Moon travels a few degrees more than one complete revolution in order to bring the Moon, Earth, and Sun to another in line configuration with Earth in the middle. The Moon is then on the dark side of the earth. Earth residents now enjoy “the lesser light to rule the night” (Genesis 1:16). When our calendars state that on a certain date full moon occurs, the Moon is fully illuminated as seen from Earth. A few days before or after full moon the Moon is only partially illuminated.

The following links discuss more detail on moon phases and stages, and how our lunar companion affects our planet in other significant ways:

https://jasscience.blogspot.com/2015/08/moon-musings.html

https://jasscience.blogspot.com/2015/07/semicolon-in-sky.html

Scientific discoveries affirm the orderliness of our universe. Jeremiah 33:25 refers to the Creator’s “…covenant with day and night and the fixed order of heaven and earth…” Our Moon is predictable and orderly in its motions and effects. In a future post we will discuss how Planet Earth would be very different without the Moon as our Solar System companion.