WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:08.960 Good morning, Avalon Church. Good morning. Yeah. We're gonna wake up today. My name is James Cowan, and I'm just always always happy to be here. 00:00:09.280 --> 00:00:25.555 Pleased to speak with you. I will be your guide, your your your Sherpa, your docent through the end of the world should the lights go out today. So I'm glad to be here. And I'll be the one you'll be pointing those phone lights at. Looking I'm very excited for that. 00:00:26.595 --> 00:00:57.075 Today's topic is a really interesting topic. And it's one that I've been probably dealing with a lot, both in the corporate environment, at home, with friends. And so I want to just start today sharing that I am not anti technology in any way. If that's the message you're looking for, then you chose the wrong guy. I've always been very pro technology, in fact. 00:00:57.370 --> 00:01:26.130 When I was in high school, in like 1996 ish, that's how old I am, I had the Internet, early days. But we were poor, we couldn't buy a computer, so I had what was called Web TV. You can look it up. This was basically a keyboard that connected to the TV and would dial up to the Internet. So that was how I got on the Internet until I had my own money, then I bought a laptop, and I went to college. 00:01:26.130 --> 00:01:45.585 In college, I was one of the very first people on my campus to walk around with a Palm Pilot. I had a Palm Pilot. I was at a Christian college, and I would use that in chapel to play games... I mean, to read the Bible. So I was on the front end of that. 00:01:45.585 --> 00:02:20.120 And then, out of college and got married, and I bought a Blackberry. I bought the original BlackBerry with the full keyboard, and then I had the BlackBerry Curve with the really cool guide wheel on the side, and I thought, this is the most innovative technology mankind has peaked. This this is the day. And as time has gone on in my career, my professional life, I have always made the personal choice to get out on the front edge of any new frontier in technology to the best of my ability. Now, I'm not some kind of a technological pioneer. 00:02:20.440 --> 00:02:51.880 But what I am is a heavy user of technology in my own life, at work, in my home, for fun. So fast forward now to the era of AI, artificial intelligence, machine learning, cloud computing, advanced computing, robotics. I think it's the most exciting thing ever. I also think it could kill us. So, I love talking about this. 00:02:52.040 --> 00:03:12.860 I will tell you, as it relates to AI, heavy, heavy user. I have paid models of Gemini, Claude, my personal favorite. Whatever the Microsoft garbage is, I have at work, but I don't use it. And then of course ChatGPT, which everybody knows about. And so, I use it for reports. 00:03:12.860 --> 00:03:23.660 I use it for proposals. I use it for emails. I use it to bounce my ideas back and forth. I complicated business problems into it, and we riff with one another. But I don't use it to do my job. 00:03:24.325 --> 00:03:30.885 By the way, I'm curious. Show of hands. I'm going to go through the AIs. And if you use one of these, I want you to raise your hand. You're not going be in trouble. 00:03:30.885 --> 00:03:38.020 I'm not going to make you wear a t shirt. Who uses their favorite? You've to pick a favorite. Okay? Chat GPT. 00:03:41.540 --> 00:03:51.625 Grok. All right. Gemini. Alright. Claude. 00:03:51.785 --> 00:03:57.945 Hey. Where are my Claude coders at? Anybody built... Yes. That's what I'm talking about. 00:03:58.105 --> 00:04:16.090 See? So, that's good news because I told you that I wasn't anti technology and it is clear to me that no one here is anti technology either. But there's so much nuance to these topics. If you came today and you want to debate things, I'm happy to do that after the message. Don't do it in the middle. 00:04:16.090 --> 00:04:42.120 That would just be weird for everybody. If you want to talk about data centers, I have really strong views on data centers. They're personal though and they're not from the Bible necessarily though they may be Bible adjacent. They're my personal opinions and so today, I will share some personal opinions but I really want to ground our discussion in what god's word says because I think that well, he's smarter than me. He's wiser than me and he's he's he's not surprised by anything that's going on in our world today. 00:04:42.120 --> 00:05:10.440 So, the question that was raised in this message series was, is AI making us less human? That was the question I believe as came it came through the door. And so, as I thought about that question, I reframed it a little bit in my mind, but just in case the person who asked that question is here, I don't have an answer for you. So it's all for naught. But it could make us less human. 00:05:10.680 --> 00:05:37.260 But it could also make us more. And to start this discussion, I want to take us all the way back to the beginning. If you can go to the next slide, I'm reminded of the creation, the the story of Genesis. And I think all of us have a Genesis story. Of course, the Bible has its Genesis story about where mankind came from and what we were created for and what the purpose of creation is. 00:05:37.980 --> 00:05:56.665 But I remember my own personal story as a child. I had a single mom. I was raised in a manufactured home park just outside of Flint, Michigan and I was invited to church as a bus kid. If you don't know what a bus kid is, that mean, that's when a church sent used, they used to. They, some of them still do. 00:05:56.665 --> 00:06:24.315 They used to send buses out to offer to drive children to church so that they could come to Sunday school and learn about the lord and so, I had this very small church that drove around and they were actually in a it wasn't a bus. It was at the at that time. It was a brown van and my mom was like, yeah, get in the back of the van, James. And so, I ended up going to that church and that was in the the fall, the late fall, sort of early winter. We were in Michigan. 00:06:24.315 --> 00:06:57.235 It's cold obviously and then in April, they had this thing called the revival service and the revival service is if you've never been to one, they're really cool. It's like a five day preaching thing that happens at night and everybody comes together and sings and the preacher stands up and they they they try to to scare you so that you you get saved, pray the prayer, that's not always the case. Some revival services are awesome but back to the church I went to, that was the type of service but I did end up going forward and and choosing to follow Jesus. So, I'm not bashing that service because here I am. Praise the lord. 00:06:58.270 --> 00:07:22.555 And so, that was 04/17/1990 and then, I invited my mom and two days later, she chose to follow Jesus. Wow. Four months later, this woman accelerated right past me, took me out of public school, put me into a private Christian school, and I showed up on my first day, only kid wearing a tie and I sit down and they're like, yeah, we've got your math. We're going to do your science. We're going to do history. 00:07:22.715 --> 00:07:43.835 We're going to do English and then we're going to do Bible. So, Bible course. Every single day, we had Bible and the very first thing they did was something called the catechism and if you go to the next slide, The catechism is a series of questions. I don't know where it necessarily originates. I think it's kind of like a Catholic thing. 00:07:43.995 --> 00:07:58.250 And it really, it asks questions, and then it solicits a response. And for me, I don't remember all of them, but I do remember, who made you? God made me. What else did god make? God made me in all things. 00:07:58.490 --> 00:08:16.045 Why did god make you in all things? God made me in all things for his own glory. How did god make you? I'll read that verse in just a minute And so this was the thing that I was taught. And as I began to frame this discussion, I truly just thought about this. 00:08:16.605 --> 00:08:46.375 Because we're talking about the creation of the creation, but we're not talking about the creator and where it all started and I think the formation, the foundation of any discussion we have or debate that we have about a topic really has to begin here. So, church, who made you? It's not a trick question. God made you. Human existence is no algorithmic accident. 00:08:47.895 --> 00:09:03.190 We're not here because god was like, oh, let's play a game. We'll do life down there and we'll we'll drive around the little cars and some of them will have two kids and some of them will have three. We're here with purpose. We were created with purpose. It's not a coincidence. 00:09:03.190 --> 00:09:20.285 It's an intentional act. God very intentionally formed us and we're going to show the Bible verses that support that thought in just a moment. What else did he make? Well, he made all things. That means that god made all of the the known and unknown laws of the universe. 00:09:20.960 --> 00:09:40.235 He's already fully versed in them. He knows the composition of every planet that we've never seen, the ones that we can only see, and the ones that some people think we're going to live on someday. He knows all the laws that govern physics. He knows every piece of technology that has been or will be created. He knows how to code. 00:09:41.355 --> 00:09:58.810 Okay? He knows kung fu. He knows all of it. And so he created the raw resources of the technologies, everything that we use to create as creators. God brought all those elements together. 00:09:59.865 --> 00:10:08.985 And then finally, why did He make them? Well, He made them for His own glory. Because we... They call it the chief end. The chief end of man is to glorify God. 00:10:09.225 --> 00:10:38.075 Well, we do have a chief end, hopefully. And that is that whatever we do, whatever we create, however we use the things we create, we use them to glorify God. That is our created purpose. And if we fall short of that, if we're trying to glorify ourselves, which I do all the time, we're trying to glorify a football player or a basketball player or something, anything other than God, we're really doing it for the wrong reason. And so I want to reframe this discussion. 00:10:38.715 --> 00:10:56.260 Is AI making us less human? I believe the answer is no. Because our humanity is not something that we've imbued ourselves with. It was put on us. And it is unique and it is special. 00:10:57.305 --> 00:11:17.540 Not because of the flesh that we wear, not because of our brains, or our kidneys. Kid... Kidneys. Livers, hearts, animals have all those things. Flesh, any any live creation has some element of fresh of flesh to it. 00:11:18.020 --> 00:11:40.205 And so we were made to glorify God. But we are unique. What does that mean? Well, on the next slide, I want to talk through what that what that looks like. There are a lot more verses than this but I went heavy on Genesis and there's this concept that scholars or people who want to be scholars or stand on stage and pretend to be a scholar like to say and it's the imago day. 00:11:41.270 --> 00:12:00.055 It is the concept of the image of God. We were made, we as humans were made in the image of God. Genesis one twenty six and twenty seven says that God created us in his own image and his own likeness. That is image. What does that mean? 00:12:00.055 --> 00:12:09.175 Well, we look like God. What are you talking about, James? Look around the room. We all look different. We look like God. 00:12:10.920 --> 00:12:30.725 That's not a physical statement. I'll get to more more on that in a second. So, we were created by god. It says, that the lord god formed the man out of the formed man out of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. And man became a living soul. 00:12:31.125 --> 00:13:00.835 That's that verse that they made me memorize. The lord god formed man and woman, man as the humanity. The lord god formed man out of the dust of the ground, breathed into his or her nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul. Let us compare and contrast with the rest of creation for a moment. If you read Genesis, it says that ex nihilo, out of nothing, God spoke. 00:13:02.035 --> 00:13:32.295 And suddenly, had oceans, galaxies, stars, the sky, the birds, the fish, dinosaurs back in the early days, you know? He spoke all that into motion from the dawn of creation. And I will not debate with you today if you want to talk about how old the earth is. If you want to get in on that, take me to take me to lunch, okay? But god did all that. 00:13:33.335 --> 00:14:00.215 With his mouth, he just spoke it. What's the difference? Well, when it came to you, when it came time to create the people in this room, the humanity that we all live amongst, he formed us with his hands. Have you ever heard a nice compliment from your your spouse or from a boyfriend or a girlfriend or a mom or a dad? Does anybody here like enjoy compliments? 00:14:01.340 --> 00:14:11.660 You raise your hand, you do. They're uncomfortable. They make you uncomfortable, but we all like them. What about a hug? That's different, right? 00:14:13.615 --> 00:14:46.685 There's actually scientific studies that when a wife hugs, touches her husband, not a nasty way, blood pressure drops. That that touch inherently calms a man. Most of the time. Sometimes, I don't know about your wife. I'm just saying with my wife, that's how it is but there have been studies that those who you love, when you feel touch, when you feel human touch, it has an impact on your body. 00:14:46.685 --> 00:15:02.280 Well, god didn't just breathe us into existence. He formed us. And Eddie just formed us and walked away. We would just be creation. Unique creation because we were formed, but he went a step further. 00:15:03.080 --> 00:15:28.320 He breathed into us the ruah, the breath of life, and we became living souls. The Bible doesn't say anywhere that any other part of creation received that. So if you're going to ask if dogs are in heaven, if they will make you any happier, I'm sure they will be. Okay? But we are different. 00:15:28.320 --> 00:15:43.315 We are unique. We are created to give him glory and for his glory, but we are created in his image. Fearfully made, you knitted me together in my mother's womb. Psalm one thirty nine, thirteen, and fourteen. That is an intrinsic gift given by god. 00:15:43.315 --> 00:16:07.370 We are not a utilitarian thing created because if god is omniscient, if god is omnipotent, if god is all the all the omnis, he doesn't need us. I'm sorry. This is going to be this is going be hard for some of us. He doesn't need us. We have very limited utility to an almighty god. 00:16:09.295 --> 00:16:21.055 He wants us. That's the difference. He chooses us. He calls us in. He calls us to create. 00:16:22.360 --> 00:16:50.610 And the book of Acts seventeen twenty eight says, in him, we live and we move and we have our being and god remains the ultimate source and sustainer of our life, of our wisdom, our consciousness. At any moment, god can just say what? Nope, gone. I've seen it happen. And so, it is god who all things consist, all things work, Okay? 00:16:50.770 --> 00:17:34.905 Let's keep that in mind. We are crafted by the creator. And I hope you understand, because we're going get to AI in a second, that the number one creation of all time, better than any AI model, any website that you've built or app that you've constructed, any technology that you've utilized, any speech that you've given at a conference, and I've given some speeches at conferences, there is no creation ever, period, for all time that will be greater than the people sitting in this room. Because God created you with his hands and he breathed into you with his mouth the breath of life. So there is no AI model that can subvert that. 00:17:34.985 --> 00:17:53.200 So no, I do not believe that AI makes us less human, but we can choose to be less human. By the way, we use these tools. If we go to the next slide, this is what humans do. We're so good at it. We love to distort what God makes. 00:17:54.400 --> 00:18:23.460 We love to take these concepts of creation, which by the way, from the very beginning, god told us to do. What did he say in the in in the book of Genesis? Great book. Hope you all read it, okay? The book of Genesis, he said, he he created the the garden and Adam and Eve were in the Garden Of Eden and he said, now, subdue and have dominion over all of it. 00:18:25.220 --> 00:18:57.005 That means that he created everything that is around us, everything that is in this Earth with the idea that we would explore it, that we would unfold it, that we would rip it apart, put it back together, that we would combine different things to form things that we would someday look at a fig leaf and decide, oh, that's going that would make a nice piece of clothing. As Adam and Eve did. He knew. He knew what we would create. The good and the bad, God knows. 00:18:57.085 --> 00:19:03.565 He's not surprised. He's not shocked. It's just what we do though. We like to create. We were actually made to create. 00:19:03.565 --> 00:19:14.660 We were called from the beginning to create. But we distort it. We use these tools that we were given in the wrong way. We've done it throughout history. And sometimes the creation ebbs and flows. 00:19:14.740 --> 00:19:28.135 Sometimes we'll use it bad and then we'll use it for good. Or we'll start using it for good and then we'll use it for bad. Right? I think we've seen this over and over again. It's not so much the tool as it is the person who wields it. 00:19:29.415 --> 00:19:41.400 And so next slide. Let's talk about some examples. This is a really cool piece of art by the way. It's a real piece of art about the Tower Of Babel. Genesis 11, told you there's going to be a lot of Genesis today. 00:19:41.800 --> 00:19:54.485 Genesis 11, humanity's archetype of using technology. In this case, brick and mortar, not to honor god but to make a name for themselves. We will be like gods. We've heard that a lot, right? That's the original sin. 00:19:55.285 --> 00:20:11.270 Satan. And so in the in the book of Genesis, humanity constructed this likely amazing construction. We don't have any photos. The cameras were not working that day. But this amazing construction, and they did it so that they could ascend to the heavens. 00:20:12.710 --> 00:20:35.080 Not to bring glory to God, but to be like God. That's pride. Do you think construction is evil? I could probably name some constructions that you think are evil. There are probably some places where you think we should not construct things, and you could likely make a moral argument for not building certain things there. 00:20:35.160 --> 00:20:51.365 But I don't think any of us would say that building a building is a bad thing. But it's the utility of the tool that determines the good or the evil. It's the person performing the act. Gunpowder and chemistry. In early... 00:20:51.365 --> 00:21:19.485 Well, I won't call it early, but in in in China, gunpowder was originally discovered when folks were trying to come up with a fountain of youth, an elixir, if you will, to create long term youth. So they began to combine elements, then boom. Woah. We did it, I think. I don't know what just happened. 00:21:19.725 --> 00:21:41.570 And so gunpowder, using chemistry, came together. We have amazing uses for gunpowder, don't we? Anybody enjoy fireworks? So we can use that same gunpowder for fireworks or we can use it for murder. It's not necessarily the tool. 00:21:41.570 --> 00:21:49.895 It's not the chemistry. It's the person. It's the utility of the tool. And so humans do this all the time. We did it with the atomic bomb. 00:21:49.895 --> 00:22:07.190 Did anybody see Oppenheimer, the movie? I I think we all knew who was gonna win Oscars when we saw that film. It was so well done. But there it is, nuclear power. What can we do with nuclear power? 00:22:07.190 --> 00:22:30.250 Well, we saw it. We can bomb Japan. We can use we can use that weapon for mass destruction and to end a war. Or anybody here into sustainable energy, renewable energy sources? Nuclear is the cleanest fuel that we can produce at scale. 00:22:30.410 --> 00:22:50.505 It's just very expensive. We can use nuclear energy to power just about anything in our lives and relatively safely if you look at the science behind it. But it's our choice. We may have a concept for nuclear that is very different from the concept that someone in Iran has. Okay? 00:22:51.865 --> 00:23:18.695 This is the same thing we deal with when it comes to AI. The AI frontier is what's next. And so we are already seeing an attempt with artificial intelligence to create companionship, connection. We've we've seen that it can be used to subvert authority or to create unnecessary authority. We've seen AI used, to create music. 00:23:18.855 --> 00:23:39.485 I actually listened to an AI song this morning on the way to church, and it was beautiful. About two or three weeks ago, I actually shared that song with Don, and he thought it was amazing. And it's AI. It's not even a real human singing. But the words are powerful, The music is beautiful. 00:23:39.805 --> 00:23:53.740 And the synthetic voice is stunning. Does that give honor to God? I believe it does. The same way that I can write a poem. Right? 00:23:54.460 --> 00:24:10.545 And that gives honor to God. I created it. There's a creator who used AI to create music that honors God. It is a creation. And that is that is the story of of technology and innovation since the dawn of time. 00:24:11.185 --> 00:24:20.780 We make a choice. How are we going to use it? So we have who made you? God made me. What else did God make? 00:24:20.780 --> 00:24:28.140 God made me in all things. And why did God make me in all things? God made me in all things for his own glory. Okay. And so what is the chief end of man? 00:24:28.140 --> 00:24:36.235 It is to bring glory to God. And so now I have a new technology. I have a new innovation. I have a Blackberry. I have a Nokia phone. 00:24:38.475 --> 00:24:55.020 I have a laptop. I have a computer. I have a video game. It's okay to have fun, but the chief end of man is not to have fun. Humanity was created with the creator in mind. 00:24:55.020 --> 00:25:11.785 They're actually... Let me let me reverse that. The creator created humanity because he wanted us. He wanted intimacy with us. It was for him. 00:25:14.025 --> 00:25:33.685 We are are a creation of a, what's the word, jealous creator. He longs for our attention. He longs for our companionship. And so we can create things. We have to choose who they reflect back on and why. 00:25:33.765 --> 00:25:48.540 Next slide. So how do we handle artificial intelligence? And how do we handle other technologies? And how do we really begin to understand that we we know, I think academically, right? That god is sovereign. 00:25:49.340 --> 00:25:53.660 Does do we do we know that? Yes. Is god sovereign? Yes. Yes. 00:25:53.660 --> 00:25:57.100 Does he know all things? Yes. Yes. Is he in control? Yes. 00:25:57.100 --> 00:26:11.995 Yes. Good. Because if you don't believe that, the whole thing kind of dissolves. If god can be surprised by any technology that's created or by any choice that mankind makes, I don't want to worship him. That's not a real god. 00:26:12.075 --> 00:26:41.325 That's a creation. One that we created, by the way, because it's very clear who God is as we read what he gave us and as we look at time, ages past, and as we look into the future. We have a God who desires to be with us, he is sovereign over everything, including our innovations. Our responsibility is really stewardship. And so the next slide is a couple of things that I've kind of already said, but I want to hammer them home just one more time. 00:26:41.725 --> 00:27:09.185 God is not surprised. He knew this is kind of mind blowing to think about but god knew about microchips He knew about PlayStation four, five, whichever one we're on now. He knew about VR, virtual reality headsets. Anybody like virtual reality headsets? Yes. 00:27:10.305 --> 00:27:24.760 I think they're pretty cool too. I actually think in some ways they're cooler than the PlayStations. He knew about it all, but he also knew about artificial intelligence. And I can tell you, I've been served up some gold from artificial intelligence. I'm talking good stuff. 00:27:25.185 --> 00:27:56.105 I have won multimillion dollar contracts for our company, heavily utilizing AI to check my work and to challenge my assumptions. God's not surprised by it. But look, there are people using AI for bad things as well. AI, the Internet, those are all being used for things like pornography. That is an evil sub creation. 00:27:56.905 --> 00:28:08.920 That is sin. Let's call it what it is. You can use it for good. You can use it for that. You can use video games as something for fun. 00:28:08.920 --> 00:28:32.415 You can host an event at your house, you can invite friends over, you can connect online, you can have a good time on a video game. But if you spend fourteen hours playing it, and you're not taking care of business, that's a sin. Anything that comes between you and God, anything that you place above your relationship with God doesn't give Him glory. It is the opposite of giving Him glory. Period. 00:28:33.430 --> 00:28:42.630 The end. We can do this with our cars. We can worship our cars. We can worship our spouses. We can worship our marriage or the concept of our marriage. 00:28:42.630 --> 00:28:59.475 We can worship our work, men, women. I'm guilty of that one. Our work can become an idol. But we were created for work, and we were created to create. So creation in of itself, not evil. 00:28:59.950 --> 00:29:11.870 We are sub creators. Subduan have dominion. Right? Next slide. Let's talk about a few things that arise as the result of artificial intelligence and technology more broadly. 00:29:12.295 --> 00:29:31.790 Really what we're doing, I know we want to think we're special and we're unique, and I really try hard to think that I'm just the most unique person that God's ever created. I am unique, and we are all unique. But really it's just the same thing we've always done. We create idols. We take artificial intelligence. 00:29:32.190 --> 00:29:44.855 We replace our work. We wanna replace our work. We wanna eliminate our need to produce an income. Or we wanna we wanna reduce the amount of time we have to spend face to face with someone. We don't wanna have to craft an email or a letter. 00:29:44.855 --> 00:30:04.970 We want somebody to craft it for us. And in some ways that increases my productivity, but in other ways it reduces my humanity. I'm not less human, but I'm certainly acting like it in those situations, right? So, we need to reject some of these digital idols that we've placed in our lives. So, really, I think the next one's a quote. 00:30:06.250 --> 00:30:31.080 Yes, some John Calvin Institutes of the Christian Religion. If you've, you know, done any theological research or you've been to a Bible college or you just really enjoy reading dry literature, John Calvin's a great choice. But this quote is so good. The human mind is, so to speak, a perpetual forge of idols. It's what we do. 00:30:32.760 --> 00:30:43.415 We are looking for something to worship. Consider that. Everything we create, we are looking for something to worship. We are at the core of our souls drawn to find something that we can worship. How do I know this? 00:30:43.415 --> 00:31:00.290 Well, take it back again to the book of Exodus. They leave Egypt, the children of Israel. And the the guy who's pointing them to god goes up on a mountain for just a little bit. And what do they do? They forge an idol. 00:31:00.610 --> 00:31:18.995 A golden calf. And they begin to worship this thing. And so Moses comes down from the mountain and he's like, oh, I don't know if he did it over his knee but he breaks the tablets. It's like, y'all just don't get it. We do this with everything. 00:31:19.430 --> 00:31:43.485 We have such a hole in our lives that is and it is god shaped and I just told you that god is omniscient omnipotent. He is larger than we can even fathom. So, imagine how big the hole is in our souls that we're trying to fill with idols. They will never be enough. I have gone down the path with many of these idols and they are not enough. 00:31:44.045 --> 00:31:55.400 The video games are not enough. Just your marriage is not enough without God in it. Alcohol is not enough. Drugs are not enough. Pornography is not enough. 00:31:56.120 --> 00:32:30.310 I'm here to promise you that anything other than God will never fill you. Artificial intelligence can give you some information but wisdom comes from the living. It is just knowledge. And so, artificial intelligence or any other technology tool or any other thing in our life that we use to try to fill the space, to try to give us value and meaning, not only are we defying god, because we've now made that an idol. We're pouring water into a cup that has a hole in the bottom of it. 00:32:31.270 --> 00:32:42.295 You'll never be filled. You stand no chance. So the human mind is, so to speak, a perpetual forge of idols. Well, what kind of idols, James? That's a great question. 00:32:43.335 --> 00:33:11.145 Next slide. How about the idol of distraction? The things that we have in our lives and I kind of cite mass media and TV here, but you can cross these over, I think. The idol of distraction. Anything that we do that tries to take us out of the real world where we're intended to live, if we do that for too long, we're really just distracting ourselves. 00:33:11.145 --> 00:33:34.215 We're not building ourselves up. If you spend your whole life behind a screen, never looking at someone face to face or engaging in conversation, when you do have to face someone face to face and have a conversation, you're going to be terrible at it. It's gonna remove your ability to engage. Why? Because God created us for face to face conversation. 00:33:34.775 --> 00:33:47.270 Well, how do I know that? Well, he didn't just create one of us. He created a man and a woman. And then he walked with them daily through the garden at the very beginning of time. That was the design. 00:33:47.590 --> 00:34:08.600 Companionship, friendship, and connection. And so when we distract ourselves, and this is easy to do with mass media, it's easy to do with TV, it's easy to do with Instagram or TikTok. This is just distraction. That's all this is. I'm distracted. 00:34:08.920 --> 00:34:18.200 I don't have to have a conversation. I don't have to deal with a hard thing. I can just... Or maybe, don't maybe you're on the dating apps. You go this way. 00:34:18.200 --> 00:34:35.870 I don't know which way you go. But swiping, I think, is a thing. These are distractions. And so they shape our worldview, our desires. We begin to learn our morality, not from studying this. 00:34:37.150 --> 00:34:55.255 I know it's paper. There's a digital version as well. But we begin to have our world views and our minds shaped by what we hear, what we see, and what we really consume on the internet. And this is not god's path. That is not what he created us for. 00:34:55.255 --> 00:35:17.265 Did I just say that it's evil? No. But if it is the dominant source of your truth, I would challenge you that it might be. We were made to consume, just not that. Smartphones, feeds, this is so in addition to the distraction that you might be able to get by using artificial intelligence and I'm going to be frank with you. 00:35:18.385 --> 00:35:30.800 I spend hours every week on artificial intelligence. Coding it, creating with it, talking to it. This is a big problem for me. That's why I'm up here. Don was like, who is the guy who has the biggest problem? 00:35:30.800 --> 00:35:47.065 It's James. And I'm going to put him on the stage and make him talk about it. And that's a distraction. But there's another thing that happens when you lose that connection to your own humanity. You lose intimacy, and you replace it with pseudo intimacy. 00:35:48.585 --> 00:36:02.960 I feel so connected. I'm so... Oh, I saw this reel, it just got me so emotional, and so I shared it with 510 people. I can't keep up with all the shared stuff, but keep sending them. They're good. 00:36:05.600 --> 00:36:30.770 And so we create this false sense of intimacy with the people around us, with our friends, with our spouses, with our kids. And we assume that because we watched a reel that they watched, and then they sent it to us, and they got a point from it, and we got a point from it. We might have got the same point, but we didn't really talk about it. That's not intimacy. I know what you believe. 00:36:31.570 --> 00:36:42.405 I know what you think. I know what you like. I know what your politics are. I know what your politics aren't. But we've never actually sat and had a conversation face to face. 00:36:42.405 --> 00:37:00.260 And isn't this the problem with America? Is a lack of face to face conversation? A lack of engagement with one another? I'm not saying that no one's right or wrong. But as humans, as a divine creation, aren't we worth the debate? 00:37:01.780 --> 00:37:14.175 Shouldn't we be? We have pseudo intimacy. I know about you. But do I know you? Do I know your heart? 00:37:15.055 --> 00:37:44.535 It's easy to get that when you talk about smartphones, Instagram. These are just this phrase mediated, it's embodied presence with mediated validation. So it has the semblance of something that is good. The content is good. But we're not really getting actual validation when we share a reel. 00:37:44.615 --> 00:37:51.610 We're getting a mediated validation. I liked it. I shared it. You saw it. You liked it. 00:37:51.610 --> 00:38:02.010 You shared it. But we've never talked. We have no intimacy. Okay? And then finally, AI and automation. 00:38:02.010 --> 00:38:14.385 What is this? This is our new idol. We have forged this with our minds. It it is potentially one of our best idols yet. I mean, this one, this one talks the talk. 00:38:16.065 --> 00:38:23.970 In fact, you can train this idol. I I can... And I've done this. I know Don's done this. I'm I'm sure a lot of people in this in this space have done this. 00:38:24.210 --> 00:38:43.225 I have told it, these are the theologians that I like. These are the philosophers that I that I enjoy. It has gathered, these are your political beliefs. It knows and it has created this glorious echo chamber that tells me exactly what I want to hear. And it writes in my voice. 00:38:44.600 --> 00:38:57.675 It sounds like me. It talks like me. I even have different AI that I've trained in different ways. Claude is like my professional AI. It knows all my business lingo. 00:38:57.675 --> 00:39:09.035 It knows how I think. It knows how I approach problems. It knows the way I like to absorb data, the way I like to present data. Oh, it's so good. Multi million dollar tool for me. 00:39:12.550 --> 00:39:26.485 But it doesn't know me. It's synthetic. It doesn't have wisdom. It spits out knowledge. And then I've got Gemini. 00:39:31.525 --> 00:39:56.105 Gemini is the one I talk to about sports, TV shows, what to do about the gas that I'm having. Gemini is my dirty little secret. There's nothing nasty in there except for the gas part. And so I train all these models. I train them in different ways. 00:39:56.105 --> 00:40:25.235 I have them talk to me in a certain way. Some of the AI models don't even know I have a family. Some of them know the names of my children because I use them to help pick homeschool curriculums or lesson plans or to analyze college choices. And so we give pieces of our lives away to these tools. And I'm not saying that that's necessarily bad, although some of you may be saying, that's really bad, James. 00:40:25.635 --> 00:40:38.435 And that's okay. You don't have to agree. Let's talk about it. We'll have more intimacy in that conversation than we have right now. And so AI and automation are synthetic wisdom. 00:40:39.460 --> 00:40:53.700 It is outsourcing of moral reflection, prayer, deep human thought to a computational probability model. That is what it is. It doesn't really know you. It knows information about you. It gathers and learns more about you as time goes on. 00:40:53.700 --> 00:41:11.300 But it is not God. Ask it to save you. Ask it to to comfort you. When you're devastated over someone's death or over a wayward person in your life. Ask it to give you a big hug. 00:41:12.980 --> 00:41:31.605 If it does, run as fast as you can. It just doesn't do that. And so what we've done is create an echo chamber because we train these models. And it knows how to talk to us. It knows how we respond. 00:41:31.605 --> 00:41:47.330 It knows what we like. And so it appears to be wisdom. It's not wisdom. It's just affirmation of what you've told it that you want. Now the data might be correct. 00:41:47.730 --> 00:42:04.605 The advice might even be good advice. I mean, there are entire industries that are going to be eliminated because this exists. My daughter is dating a financial planner. Or he's in school to become a financial planner. And I talked to him about this. 00:42:05.040 --> 00:42:22.135 We had a very robust conversation about what is AI going to do for financial planning and analysis? Do you even have a job? Why are you dating my daughter? He had a really good response. And it was a very biblical response. 00:42:22.135 --> 00:42:46.160 I was like, ugh, I guess I do like him. But it's a real thing. It's a really good example though because AI can learn about you and it can give you advice about you, but it will never have a connection with you like a person will. I have a financial planner. And they talk to me in a very raw way when we when we talk. 00:42:49.615 --> 00:43:05.630 And it's just different. Now if I tell AI I want you to treat me like I'm a jerk, it will. But in the very next sentence, if I say stop treating me like a jerk, it'll be, oh, you're so great, James. I love you. It's fake. 00:43:06.190 --> 00:43:18.835 It's synthetic. This is this is knowledge. This is not wisdom. Okay? And so, these are the idols and so be careful as you deal with artificial intelligence as you create things which you were created to do. 00:43:19.715 --> 00:43:25.555 Right? We good with that? Do you realize that? You were created to create? That is such good news. 00:43:26.195 --> 00:43:42.695 I love creating things. I love creating things. I think it's amazing. Don't create an idol though. Because these all make really good tools but really bad gods. 00:43:44.615 --> 00:44:08.480 The next slide. This is your challenge for the week. Reclaiming real presence. And as the band begins to come back to the stage, I'll be closing here in just a second. The interesting thing is that we were created at the beginning as flesh and blood. 00:44:09.840 --> 00:44:39.460 Body, bone, mind, flesh. And God breathed into us a soul that is just like his. And now the opposite happens in the New Testament. Because we see God who John seventeen seventeen says, God is a spirit and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. But when we needed him the most, he chose intimacy. 00:44:40.095 --> 00:44:53.855 And so what did he do? The spirit became flesh. We were flesh and became spirit. The spirit became flesh and dwelt among us. And we beheld his glory, full of grace and truth. 00:44:55.135 --> 00:45:12.845 So try to connect with someone. The gospel honors this through dinners in the home, face to face conversations, handwritten letters. Whoo. Some of y'all, I don't want to see your handwriting. Practice a digital Sabbath. 00:45:13.245 --> 00:45:28.040 Set some standards is really what this is about. Now, in our home, we have some rules. We try to enforce them, but it's hard, right? We don't allow social media until you're 16. That's our choice. 00:45:29.400 --> 00:45:51.245 We've limited exposure to AI, although our kids all use AI because it's a tool that they're going to have to learn how to use. We try to avoid premature maturity with our children. Create digital Sabbath. Create spaces where phones are not allowed, where AI is not allowed. If you're interviewing people, make them do an exercise without the use of technology. 00:45:51.325 --> 00:46:11.705 I highly recommend that. But on a personal level, if you go to dinner with someone, maybe leave your phone in the car or turn it upside down on the table. I love the signal that that sends. Get it off the table or if it is, flip it upside down. We have to create space for real intimacy to happen. 00:46:12.425 --> 00:46:35.415 We have to create space to go beyond knowledge and reach wisdom. If you're gonna use artificial intelligence, create times when you don't. If you're gonna go on a date, I've told my kids this. First date, leave your phone in the car. See what they do. 00:46:36.455 --> 00:47:06.355 You'll find out where you're both at real quick. Because everything we do is supposed to be to honor God. We're supposed to be purposefully trying to invest in other people, purposefully trying to experience wisdom, purposefully trying to connect. AI can help us do that, but it really can't replace human connection. The last slide is a really interesting quote from CS Lewis. 00:47:07.155 --> 00:47:24.910 And I had to pause on this one and stop for just a second. There are no ordinary people. You've never talked to a mere mortal. Next to the blessed sacrament itself, your neighbor is the holiest object presented to your senses. I want you to think about that. 00:47:25.790 --> 00:47:51.970 Every person we talk to has the breath of God breathed into them. They are not mortals. They have an eternal soul that will extend beyond time for all time. And so those quiet moments when it's just us with no phone, no AI, Those are the moments when we actually are human. The most human and also the most divine. 00:47:53.970 --> 00:48:15.480 Thank you. Let's pray. Father, as we close, I just ask that you would help us to recenter ourselves focus on you, god. Help us not to create idols out of the things that you've given us and blessed us with In your name. Amen. 00:48:19.400 --> 00:48:34.695 James, that was a powerful, powerful message. Thank you, brother. Yeah. I will stop saying on Thursday, chatty b t, can you write my message for me? So, I'm just kidding. 00:48:34.695 --> 00:48:51.610 Just kidding. Hey, if you have if there's been any of messages in this series that you are like, man, I would like to hear that again. I just want you to know, you can always go to our YouTube page. You can go to our podcast, on most of those services out there. Thank you, Matthew. 00:48:51.610 --> 00:49:11.390 Thank you, Richard, because you guys have put that together for us. But, they, the messages are are gonna be there for you. As we go, I wanted to just pray a prayer over you. Would you pray with me? Lord, I wanna thank you that you have created us in your image to be people who create. 00:49:12.350 --> 00:49:46.850 Lord, help us to create with your spirit, with your glory in mind. So, for those of us who create homes from houses, I pray that you help us to do that for your glory and for those of us who post on social media and we create, may we do it for your glory and for and workers and all of the different things that you have created each of us to do. May we do it. Well, may we do it with others in mind. May we do it. 00:49:47.170 --> 00:50:03.335 May we do all that we do. That we are living out the ways of Jesus in the world. And that we are pointing to you because Lord our prayer is constantly your prayer. Your kingdom come. Your will be done. 00:50:03.450 --> 00:50:10.970 On earth as it is in heaven. Thank you that you're including us in that. In your name, we pray. Amen. Have a beautiful week. 00:50:10.970 --> 00:50:11.770 We'll see you next week.