The Truth About AI — District 23 Community Hub

By Brent Roberson

One of these documents was written by me, while the other was written with AI to make it sound more professional and eliminate repetitive ideas. In many cases, people simply ask AI to write a document of a certain length about a particular topic. The resulting ideas are not their own; they have been generated by AI.

However, I have used AI to build several websites and help design an organization that brings people from different walks of life together to discuss important issues. I also built a COVID-19 vaccination research website to examine whether patterns exist among particular vaccine combinations. Additionally, I have used AI to support my research and help me understand how our nation might address its national debt.

When I use AI, I do not simply ask it to write an essay. I provide information for it to research and present ideas for it to evaluate and test for viability. AI cannot solve our problems on its own. Making a meaningful difference in society requires human intelligence combined with the effective use of AI. I firmly believe that, when used for the betterment of humanity, AI can be a valuable tool—and that is what it is: a tool.

Original Version—Written by Brent Roberson, With Grammar Corrections Only

All over the news and within conversations that we are having with our friends, AI is taking center stage. We are all concerned that this invention will be the ruin of the world as we know it. People within the government are questioning whether or not we should slow down the development until we understand the consequences better. This sounds like a reasonable idea until you realize that the evolution of AI isn’t happening in a vacuum, and our allies and our enemies are working on AI at warp speed.

I totally understand that there is legitimate concern about the nefarious activities that this tool can be used to accomplish. It can create fake pictures and videos, impersonate the voices of people, create literature that isn’t the work of humans, and do countless other things. However, I’m sure that just about every invention that man has ever made can be used in an evil way.

The firearm is used to kill for food, protect one’s family and kill innocent people.

The car carries us to work, on vacation and to the kids’ soccer games, and it kills around 40,000 people in the U.S. a year.

The airplane transports people and cargo all over the world in hours, and it kills thousands when used by evil people.

I could go on and on, but I think the point is clear. All of our inventions can have a negative effect on humanity, but it’s not the invention; it’s the heart of the person using it.

I say this not because I’m not worried about the nefarious events that are ultimately going to happen as a result of this technology, because I’m as concerned as anyone. But I also see the good that can come from such technology. It can help to design a more affordable house so that more people can have homeownership. It can search for patterns that may be arising in people as a result of a certain combination of vaccines or environmental elements. It can help a person, such as me, express ideas that have lingered in their mind and that they weren’t able to test prior to this technology. It can look for the cheapest groceries for our family. It can evaluate our circumstances and make suggestions on insurance and financial planning, and the list goes on.

In a recent conversation with a friend, she asked whether it was sinful for a preacher to use AI in their sermon development. My response was different from her opinion. I could see that there should be a concern for the congregation if a preacher got AI to write them a sermon and the preacher hadn’t participated at all. But the reality is that, even in this situation, it doesn’t mean that the sermon is a bad sermon, nor does it mean that someone will not get anything from the sermon. This sermon may be as effective at sharing the gospel and glorifying God as any sermon. But the real issue is not the sermon; it’s the preacher. There, too, this goes back to the heart.

So my opinion is just that—an opinion. But I feel like AI is going to cause us some grief in the future, especially with scams and bank fraud, while our knowledge is going to expand like at no other time in history. We can know immediately whether a law is an infringement on our rights. Court opinions will, or should, be consistent, and the rules should apply equally to all people. People who would never have had the opportunity to run their own business will now have a better opportunity for a better future. Average citizens will have the technology to band together and create grassroots movements that can shape our future.

So again, yes, it is scary not knowing the future, but it’s scarier if we become a society that is too afraid to pursue the future!

AI-Edited Version—Rewritten for Clarity and to Remove Repetition

All over the news and in conversations with our friends, AI is taking center stage. Many people are concerned that this invention will ruin the world as we know it. Even people within our government are questioning whether we should slow its development until we better understand the consequences.

That sounds like a reasonable idea until we realize that the development of AI is not happening in a vacuum. While we debate whether to slow down, our allies and our enemies are developing it at warp speed.

I completely understand the legitimate concerns about the nefarious ways this technology can be used. AI can create fake pictures and videos, impersonate someone’s voice, produce written material that is not the work of a human being, and assist with scams, fraud and countless other harmful activities.

However, nearly every invention mankind has ever created can be used for evil.

Consider the firearm. It can be used to provide food, protect one’s family or kill innocent people.

Consider the automobile. It carries us to work, takes us on vacation and gets our children to soccer practice, yet automobile accidents kill roughly 40,000 Americans each year.

Consider the airplane. It transports people and cargo around the world in a matter of hours, yet evil people have also used airplanes to murder thousands.

AI is different from most earlier inventions in one important way. It can imitate someone we trust, communicate with thousands of people at once and operate at a speed that no individual criminal could achieve alone. It can also give a confident answer that is completely wrong. That does not mean we should stop developing AI, but it does mean that we must build safeguards and accountability as quickly as we build the technology itself.

I could go on and on, but the point is clear: Almost every invention can negatively affect humanity. The real problem is usually not the invention itself. It is the heart and intentions of the person using it.

I do not say this because I am unconcerned about the harm AI will undoubtedly cause. I am as concerned as anyone, particularly about scams, bank fraud, identity theft and the ability to make something false appear real. We will need strong laws, safeguards and serious consequences for people who use this technology to harm others.

But I also see the tremendous good that can come from AI.

It can help design more affordable houses so that more people have an opportunity to own a home. It can search medical information for patterns that may be connected to a particular combination of medicines, vaccines, genetics or environmental conditions. It can help someone like me take ideas that have lingered in my mind for years, develop them and test whether they might actually work.

It can search for the cheapest groceries for a family. It can evaluate a person’s circumstances and offer suggestions about insurance, financial planning or starting a business. The list of possibilities is almost endless.

In a recent conversation, a friend asked whether it was sinful for a preacher to use AI while developing a sermon. My opinion was different from hers.

I would certainly be concerned if a preacher simply asked AI to write a sermon and then delivered it without studying the subject, checking the Scripture, praying about the message or personally participating in its preparation. In that situation, the preacher may have failed in his responsibility to his congregation.

But that does not automatically mean the sermon itself is false or that God cannot use something in it to reach someone. The words may still share the Gospel and glorify God. The deeper issue is not simply the sermon. It is the honesty, effort and heart of the preacher.

There is also a significant difference between allowing AI to replace your thinking and using it to assist your thinking. If a preacher asks AI to search the Bible for overlooked examples of forgiveness, is that automatically wrong? Is it really that different from using Google, a Bible commentary, another preacher’s sermon or a study Bible? The preacher is still responsible for studying the Scripture, testing what he is told and making sure the message is truthful.

There, too, the issue goes back to the heart.

My opinion is just that—an opinion. I believe AI will cause us grief in the future, especially through scams, bank fraud and deception. At the same time, I believe it will expand human knowledge and opportunity at a pace unlike anything we have ever experienced.

AI can help ordinary citizens examine whether a proposed law infringes upon their rights. It can identify inconsistencies in court decisions and help expose situations in which the rules are not being applied equally. People who might never have had the resources to start a business may now have a better opportunity to build a future for themselves and their families. Average citizens can use this technology to organize, share ideas and create grassroots movements capable of shaping our country’s future.

AI should never replace human judgment, personal responsibility, faith or the need to determine right from wrong. It is a tool, and like every powerful tool, it can be used to build or destroy.

Yes, it is scary not knowing what the future may bring. But I believe it would be even scarier to become a society that is too afraid to pursue the future.