by | Jul 31, 2023 | Uncategorized
I wish ‘Judeo-Christian norms’ were enough to ensure ethical AI warfare. They’re not.
What will we do when AI goes to war?
After all, a future of “killer robots” isn’t far off. We have unmanned aircraft already—the US-pioneered drone warfare in the Middle East in the post-9/11 era, and subsequent conflicts, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, have led other countries and combatants to get in on the action. The technology needed to make drones, drone swarms, and other weapons operate autonomously is in active development or, more likely, already exists. The question isn’t whether we’ll soon be able to bomb by algorithm, but whether we’ll judge it good and right.
That’s the future Lt. Gen. Richard G. Moore Jr., deputy chief of staff for plans and programs of the US Air Force, was considering when he made widely reported comments about ethics in AI warfare at a Hudson Institute event last week. While America’s adversaries may use AI unethically, Moore said, the United States would be constrained by a foundation of faith.
“Regardless of what your beliefs are, our society is a Judeo-Christian society, and we have a moral compass. Not everybody does,” he argued, “and there are those that are willing to go for the ends regardless of what means have to be employed.”
Mainstream headlines about Moore’s remarks were subtly but unmistakably skeptical. “‘Judeo-Christian’ roots will ensure U.S military AI is used ethically, general says,” said a representative example at The Washington Post, where Moore sent a statement clarifying that his aim was merely “to explain that the Air Force is not going to allow AI to take actions, nor are we going to take actions on information provided by AI unless we can …
Continue reading…
by | Jul 31, 2023 | Uncategorized
The longtime Illinois pastor led the National Association of Evangelicals and World Relief around the fall of the Soviet Union.
Arthur Gay, an evangelical leader who oversaw the National Association of Evangelicals when President Reagan gave his historic “evil empire” speech, has died at the age of 86.
Gay was president of the association from 1982 to 1984 and held the same role at World Relief, its humanitarian arm, from 1991 to 1996.
Though his leadership began decades ago, Gay’s influence endured through the present day, leaders of the organizations said in announcing his death.
“Art Gay was one of the most gracious leaders I have ever known. He was a great encourager, always curious and wanting to learn more,” said Galen Carey, the NAE’s vice president of government relations, in a statement. “Art was an example of generous orthodoxy, speaking the truth in love.”
Gay led the NAE during a time when Reagan was seeking the continuing support of US evangelicals. The late president first spoke at the association’s 1983 convention.
“The National Association of Evangelicals community, from coast to coast in our great land, deeply appreciates and values his love for the truth of the Bible and his commitment to its great moral values,” Gay said in his introduction.
In the speech, Reagan criticized leaders of the then-Soviet Union and the “so-called nuclear freeze solutions proposed by some.” He opposed such proposals as counter to American “principles and standards,” including a belief in God.
“In your discussions of the nuclear freeze proposals, I urge you to beware the temptation of pride—the temptation of blithely declaring yourselves above it all and label both sides equally at fault, to ignore the facts of history and the aggressive impulses of an evil …
Continue reading…
by | Jul 28, 2023 | Uncategorized
Recognized for the promotion of women’s rights and inclusive education, two leading figures relate civil war struggles and the challenge of special needs.
Lebanese Baptists have reason to be proud. This month, two senior members of their community, Mona Khauli and Nabil Costa, were recognized for their faith-based work on behalf of their nation.
Mona Khauli, the 85-year-old executive director of the national Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA), was honored by the Baptist World Alliance (BWA) for her human rights work.
“Honor comes from God,” she said. “Having been in his service all these years, I do not need any from people.” She did, however, note her acceptance may be useful to inspire others.
Costa, general secretary of the Association of Evangelical Schools in Lebanon (AESL), was locally recognized with the inaugural Créel Award as one of the top luminaries hailing from his nation’s southern region for pioneering leadership in special needs education.
“As a son of Maghdoucheh, I am pleased to be honored here,” he said of his Greek Catholic agricultural village, located five miles southeast of Sidon, which hosted the ceremony. “But our victory comes only from the Lord.”
Khauli experienced such triumph firsthand amid constant loss due to the civil war.
Assuming her role in 1977 following many years of volunteering, Khauli was immediately plunged into the reality of ongoing bombardment in Muslim-dominated West Beirut. So she turned the YWCA headquarters into a women’s hostel, receiving displaced Lebanese of all religious confessions.
The Syrian general occupying their neighborhood assigned his men to mount a missile launcher on YWCA’s strategically-placed rooftop. Khauli rushed to confront him. We have women here, she told him. Would you accept men running through the quarters of your mother and …
Continue reading…
by | Jul 28, 2023 | Uncategorized
Despite entrenched colorism in society, believers show how the Bible redefines a woman’s self-worth.
Growing up on the Indonesian island of Java, Happy Natalisa remembers being mocked for her dark complexion. Her classmates called her si hitam (black) and orang Papua because her father was Papuan, an ethnic group hailing from Indonesia’s easternmost province in Western New Guinea.
Her appearance affected how she served in the church. She preferred to be behind the scenes, choosing to join the prayer ministry rather than becoming a worship leader. Later, she realized this was caused by “seeds of insecurity.”
“I felt sad and even questioned God why I was born in Java, which caused trauma in my teenage life,” said Natalisa. She yearned for lighter skin.
It was only through the help of her college discipleship group years later that she was finally able to accept her skin color and find her self-worth in God’s view of her. Still, the 28-year-old’s daily skincare routine includes a tiny pink bottle of face serum that promises a brighter, lighter complexion by protecting her skin from the harsh exposure to Indonesia’s tropical sun. Her friends now compliment her on her “radiant” skin, Natalisa says with a beam.
Like in many countries globally, skin-lightening products are wildly popular among Indonesian women, as most consider “bright and glowing skin” to be the epitome of beauty. Skincare regimens that include creams, lotions, treatments, or pills—some of which have been found harmful and ineffective—have blossomed into a multibillion-dollar industry worldwide. In Indonesia, the skincare market is projected to reach nearly $19 million by 2030.
With a population made up of more than 1,000 ethnic groups, Indonesia is built on the idea of Bhinneka …
Continue reading…
by | Jul 27, 2023 | Uncategorized
I asked ChatGPT to interpret the Sermon on the Mount. Here’s what I learned about AI’s exegetical errors.
This piece has been adapted from an article that was originally published in the Biblical Mind.
In the past several months, it has been difficult to avoid discussion of artificial intelligence or, more particularly, ChatGPT and a host of other chatbots developed by technology companies. Based on the popularity of the topic (and often handwringing tone) within higher education and technology reporting, I decided I needed to see what ChatGPT would say about the Bible.
Specifically, I wanted to explore how ChatGPT interprets the Sermon on the Mount. I did this for the sake of the young undergraduate men I mentor—especially since our group is convinced the sermon is meant to be followed and we are committed to living it out in our everyday lives.
In my conversations with the bot, I was struck by the fact that ChatGPT holds up a mirror to the North American church, as well as to the broader Western scholarly community, by sharing three major shortcomings with us as we have been shaped by the spirit of our age:
First, ChatGPT metaphorizes and individualizes Scripture without a clear method for when and why, without warrant, and often in direct contradiction to the text itself. Second, the bot’s interpretations are ignorant of the interpretive traditions that produce them. Third, because the bot is disembodied, its interpretations are necessarily disembodied—and thus a bot is unable to recognize the realities of Scripture and interpretation. Each of the above tendencies present in AI’s responses is in some way a reflection of historic weaknesses in our own human interpretation.
When I asked ChatGPT, “How should we interpret the Sermon on the Mount?” the chatbot spit out an expected definition, including …
Continue reading…
