We’re still at first stages of navigating all the ethical components of the usage of AI. There are legal ramifications which have yet to be explored. And we don’t know the impact that artificial intelligence may need upon the job market. We know one thing, though, it will be disruptive. As Christians we cannot bury our head within the sand and pretend just like the AI revolution just isn’t upon us. But that also doesn’t mean we have now to uncritically adopt it.
In my mind, certainly one of the keys to pondering through that is to maintain AI in its proper category of a tool to utilize. That means we take responsibility for it. If foolishly resolve to take a shovel and whack someone over the pinnacle with it—the shovel doesn’t go to court. I’m liable for how I used that instrument. In the identical way, humans are liable for how we utilize this tool.
That means we’d like to make certain to fact check. We have to be sure that that what it produces is marked by beauty and truth. And we’d like to take responsibility for the prompts. It often creates what we tell it to create. (Which not less than partially makes it a bit different from plagiarism when we have now substantial interaction).
If used well, we would consider generative work as co-creating with AI. But is it like creating something with a partner, that you just’d higher mention, or is it like making a painting along with your Bob Ross paint, paintbrushes, and methodology?
When I did that cut and paste earlier, I wasn’t stealing from anyone. Nobody is being harmed. And my prompt is the one which yielded the result. (You must have seen its first couple drafts. It had one other student, a teacher named Mr. Reynolds, and a bunch of unnecessary details.
And yet it will have been unethical to not disclose that.
Here is what I’ll say in conclusion. Let’s return to that pastor who substantially uses AI for his sermons. Tell your congregation. Does that make you nervous? Well, I feel that may mean you already know where that line is. If AI looks like a unclean little secret, that ought to inform you something.
I’d say the identical thing about AI that I say to young preachers. When doubtful, cite. It doesn’t need to be some MLA formatted footnote in your sermon. You can just say, “I heard somewhere…” Just don’t let people think you got here up with something while you didn’t.
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