AI Content Creation Bandwagon? Not for Me. Not for Now.
Because, even with expo, only students who study and do their housework pass their exams.
Forty years ago, there were no public power supplies. Even today, power is still as epileptic as it was over four decades ago. I was burning (literally) the midnight oil studying and coming to grips with my favorite subject - Physics. On the day of my first term Physics exam, I was still pouring over my notes, just before entering the exam hall.
Just before the exam proper, one of my classmates, I still remember her name, came to me for assistance on some sample Physics past test questions. Supposedly. Afterward, we entered the exam hall. As it turned out, all the questions I helped my classmate with were featured in the test sheet. I scored 100%.
My classmates hailed me as a Physics prodigy. I wasn't. I knew it.
Fast forward to 42 years later (2023)
Riding on the crest of the ChatGPT AI wave, I asked the web app the following questions. The answers I received were eerily correct.
Read on.
According to ChatGPT AI, following Jesus in today's society means, "living a life that is guided by the teachings and example of Jesus Christ, as recorded in the New Testament of the Bible. This can involve a number of different things .... '
“Who is (my full name)?” ChatGPT had no answer to that. Not yet rich or famous. So, I'm safe for now.
The next question was, “So, what does it mean to be a Christian?” Churned-out answers were uncannily in line with my own Christian convictions.
“What does it mean to follow Jesus in today's society?” The answers were fast st in the heels of my question.
Following Jesus, according to ChatGPT AI means,
Loving others
Seeking justice,
Serving others.
Living a life of integrity.
This means living a life that is guided by our values and beliefs - striving to live with honesty and authenticity.
Growing in faith. Growing in your relationship with God through reading the Bible, prayer, attending church, and being part of a community of believers.
The AI concluded with " Of course, these are just a few examples of what it might mean to follow Jesus in today's society. Ultimately, the specific ways that someone follows Jesus will depend on their individual circumstances and their own personal relationship with God."
Not yet done, I queried the AI further, "How can Christians let their light shine?" ChatGPT AI spewed out the answers in a jiffy.
Read them for yourself.
Living a life of love
Serving others
Being a peacemaker.
Being a witness
Living a life of integrity
Offering hope.
ChatGPT AI concluded its answers with, "These are just a few examples of ways that Christians can let their light shine, but there are many other ways to do so as well. The most important thing is to be guided by the love and example of Jesus Christ and to live in a way that honors God and blesses others."
Wowsome isn’t it?
Minor denominational differences aside, true Christians will relate to those answers any day and at any time.
So far so good. Now, in our days and times, we already have overabundance of Christians who heap to themselves teachers after their own hearts. What happen in the not too far away dystopian future when a renegade AI algorithm reprogram the answers to read anything but God’s truth as revealed in His word?
9 That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the LORD:
10 Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things,speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits:
Isaiah 30:9-10 (KJV)
Caveat: Don’t take my word for it. Those were the answers from ChatGPT AI as at the beginning of February. Four months later, and connected to the ever-evolving AI algorithmic mix-and-match brain, the answers you get today to those same questions may be different from the ones I received.
Still, the results were foreboding.
We may well be having ChatGPT AI pastors, ministers, and churches in no distant time. Some naive believers will then be checking up their pastors' preaching or correlating their last Sunday sermons to see how they tally with their online AI ministers.
In our times some Christians set up and follow pastors after their own heart's preferences. In the future, they will be checking to see if their pastors' preaching is in agreement with their dystopian AI pastors.
The Holy Writ is instructive on how true Christians can, and must stay true to the timeless truths of their faith as the world is constantly trying to swallow up the Gospel message in its growing fleet of AI “as I like it” algorithms.
1 Corinthians 2:4-5 (KJV)
4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
Money, money, money. And yet more money.
But isn't everything about money? These days online courses are springing up every day on how you can use ChatGPT AI and AI tools to generate human author-like articles that rake $1000s into your bank account every week. The possibilities are endless, True. After all, who among us won't like to generate truckloads of $$$ with minimal effort every week?
Right on the heels of the AI-backed content mills and millers, another nascent industry has been spurned. Yes, you already know it - software that detects AI-generated content.
Now, I've spent hours pecking this story out of my keyboard, but who knows what rating those "AI Generated Content Detecting" software will give to my latest output? Your guess is as good as mine.
Should I (we) join the bandwagon?
If you can't beat the AI-generated content, shouldn't we join them?
No, not for me.
Why?
Unlike Google and other search engines or hard print resources that I can use for researching my stories, Online AI Content Generation software churns out complete answers like the ones at the beginning of this story.
My favorite authors and writers didn't produce their works with AI. No AI is going to generate works like Shakespeare's and my favorite classics. Which AI will ever write memoirs like Mary Karr or nonfiction like Malcolm Gladwell or sales and marketing books like Seth Godin? My favorite online writers like Genius Turner, Ayodeji Awosika, Tim Denning, and many others didn't generate their work via AI. Neither did my favorite African writers like Chinua Achebe, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and many others create their work with AI writing.
Surely, AI-Generated content has its place in giving quick answers, but for the purpose of creating enduring works, it seems to me AI will at best water down writing and kill the budding skills of any aspiring writer overly dependent on these tools.
I bought a copy of Victor Hugo'sclassic over 12 years ago but never get to reading it until recently. I asked ChatGPT AI how Valjean's (the protagonist) nemesis, the recalcitrant law enforcer Javert ended up in the story. ChatGPT AI replied with an (about 250 words) answer that has helped my understanding of what the eponymous classic is all about. I am 80% through with the book now, but with about 10 hours more to go before I’ll be reaching the last page. (That book just seems to take on a life of its own.)
I use the pre-release beta version of the ChatGPT AI app. Now they are asking me to fork out a paltry N1,500 (about $2) every month if I must keep on using it. Yes, the monthly fee of about $2 per month won’t be a huge dent in my bank account. But I’m passing it up. For now.
I don't know if I'm being dumb, stubborn, or both.
But I’m still studying and doing my homework.
What is your advice?
Thank you for reading.
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