The Round-Up (#4)
Happy Birthday ChatGPT, Q*, and a Slowly Awakening Church!
Hi, everyone! Welcome to the Round-Up, a new fortnightly post where I’ll send you the best of what I’ve been reading and hopefully save you a bunch of time in the process.
The Church is Engaging with AI
Over the last few weeks, I’ve had the opportunity to connect with several different spheres regarding the Church and AI. I won’t say too much more just yet. But it’s hugely encouraging to see other believers taking an interest in this important topic.
A particular statement I made right at the outset of this newsletter seems to have resonated with people; in fact, it was quoted to me twice this week, which was humbling, to say the least! Here’s what I wrote back in May:
I fear that, generally, we’re choosing collectively to see AI as a novelty and not an agent for utterly changing how we live, work, and minister in the world. There are important questions to answer that go far beyond “can ChatGPT write my sermon illustration for me?”
Thank you for choosing to navigate this journey with me. Thank you for your encouragement, and thank you for seeing the big picture. I’m excited that the Church is awakening to both the broader problems and possibilities in this field, and I look forward to exploring these strange times with you in the future.
📰 The AI Article of the Week:
📖 These Clues Hint at the True Nature of OpenAI’s Shadowy Q* Project
After the recent Sam Altman saga, all eyes turned towards OpenAI’s Q* [Q-Star] project. Along with Google’s Gemini AI on the horizon (seen by some as a ChatGPT killer), there are reasons to suspect that we’re on the cusp of seeing some significant breakthroughs in AI in 2024.
Honourable mention: ChatGPT is one year old. Here’s how it changed the tech world. 🥳
Incredibly, ChatGPT is only one year old! A lot has happened in a very short time, and it looks like developments are accelerating.
Other worthwhile reads on AI
— AI invades ‘word of the year’ lists at Oxford, Cambridge and Merriam-Webster 📖
— For true AI governance, we need to avoid a single point of failure 🌆
— AI not an immediate existential threat but ‘safety brakes’ needed 🚘
— How this Canadian producer is using AI to allow artists to sing in different languages 🎶
📕 Book Club
I’m Currently Reading:
The HTML of Cruciform Love: Toward a Theology of the Internet (multiple authors)
Current thoughts: Suggested by a friend. Quite heavy going but some excellent thoughts so far about how we could—or whether we should—use the internet for Gospel purposes.
Recommended Reading: AI 2041: Ten Visions for Our Future by Kai-Fu Lee and Chen Qiufan
What I thought when I read it: “Thought-provoking and insightful. A four-star book by that measure, but three stars for me because the long stories at the beginning of each chapter added little of value.”
What are you reading at the moment? I’d love to know!
Thanks so much for choosing to join the Church and AI community. It’s great to know you’ve chosen to join us on this adventure! Next week’s article will be a deep dive into some of the positives that AI might bring to the Church’s future. A much-needed and healthy dose of optimism in these strange times!