The Daniel Prophecy: AI, Technology, and the End of Days
The book of Daniel prophesied that in the end of days knowledge would rapidly increase and people would be traveling extensively.
Until this generation, there was very little advancement in technology.
But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase (Daniel 12:4).
For 6,000 years people traveled on the earth using the fastest animal they could find, but in one generation everything changed. I remember my grandmother telling me that she was 13 years old before she saw her first automobile; but within her lifetime, space travel became common.
When my grandmother was young, communication was by way of telegraph, telegram, archaic phone systems, and a very slow postal service. Today communication is instant—traveling over fiber optic cables around the world and projected from satellites hundreds of miles above the earth—sending unlimited information at the speed of light. Truly, the prophecy of Daniel has come to pass in this last generation. Knowledge and travel have increased beyond anything previous generations could have imagined.
The advancements in technology have lessened man’s workload and allowed him to accomplish greater feats with less energy. Advancement in mathematics and mechanics, along with the rapid advancement in microchip technology, has been a blessing to the average person whether they realize it or not. With the improvements in our appliances, automobiles, medical research, airplanes, office equipment, and countless other areas, we have learned to use advanced technology to enhance life. People are living longer than a century ago, traveling faster, and accomplishing more.
Man’s overall intent has been to use technology for good. However, the spiritual enemy of humans and the one who rebelled against God will use every means available for evil.
Human Intellect and Wisdom
Human intelligence is a gift from God that is unlike any other gift on the earth. Using the gift of intellect, man has the ability to reason and understand while constantly receiving information. Through visual, audio, and sensory receptors throughout the body, countless choices are instantly being made.
These choices are not strictly based on the information received through sensory input. Influenced by relationships, education, current emotional state, and previous knowledge, along with unseen spiritual input guides each individual person in their decision-making process. Therefore, unlike a pre-programmed device, human decisions will vary based upon the challenges and victories of life that can never be experienced by a computer program.
Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding (Proverbs 4:7).
Man has been given the ability to receive a deeper under- standing of God’s Word through revelation from the Holy Spirit. While there are other creatures on the earth, only man- kind has a spirit and the capacity to receive the Holy Spirit of God. Animals can mimic motions and develop synoptic responses, but they do not possess a spirit and they are not created in the likeness and image of God Himself.
A computer is a singular digital object, but man is a three- part being with spirit, soul, and body (1 Thessalonians 5:23). Each of these three parts feeds information to the heart, and out of the abundance of the heart, responses are made (Luke 6:45). In other words, mankind is unique in the universe, and nothing that man creates can match the creation of God.
Artificial intelligence is just that—artificial. Therefore, artificial intelligence can never compete with the complexity of human intelligence. Artificial intelligence is developed from the mind of man. Human intelligence was created from the mind of God.
What Is Artificial Intelligence?
It would be difficult to have an intelligent conversation and do adequate research on artificial intelligence (AI) without first defining what the word intelligence actually means.
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines intelligence as: 1) “the ability to learn or understand or to deal with new or trying situations: reason; also, the skilled use of reason”; 2) “the ability to apply knowledge to manipulate one’s environment or to think abstractly as measured by objective criteria (such as tests).”
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines artificial intelligence as “the capability of computer systems or algorithms to imitate intelligent human behavior.”
Artificial intelligence in easy-to-understand terms is simply the ability of a digital computer or computer-controlled robotic objects to perform tasks that are commonly associated with human reasoning and response. Many tasks that normally require human intelligence such as visual perception, speech recognition, decision-making, translations between languages, and interaction with humans can now be performed by AI.
Until this generation, this concept was purely the work of science fiction. However, with the development of quantum computing, micro-engineering, and miniature data storage, the science fiction of the past has rapidly become the reality of our present day. Lifelike images with the perception of life have been developed and their realistic behavior and intellect seems to closely mirror human emotions and life.
Since the development of the first digital computer in the 1940s, it has been shown that computing systems can be programmed to complete very complex tasks. One of the earliest examples of this was computers using mathematical theorems that allowed them to play chess at a very high level.
However, as of this writing, there are no programs available that can match human flexibility to perform tasks that require the accumulation of everyday knowledge. No matter how complex a computer system may be, it is limited to the knowledge that is available at the time of its programming. This limited intelligence eliminates the diversity needed in things such as the diagnosis of a medical condition and other reasoning decisions that fall outside of simple mathematical functions. Artificial intelligence never has a “gut feeling” or a “hunch.”
Learning Methods
Artificial intelligence uses a number of different forms of learning. Of course, the most basic is trial and error. When playing chess and a random wrong move is made, the program can respond by not making the same wrong move again. This is simply memorizing movements and procedures, which is learning by rote.
A more difficult learning problem in computing is implementing what is known as generalization, which involves algorithms. Generalization is a process that is used in computing skills involving language recognition. Although this is a higher way of learning involving algorithms and much more advanced than learning by rote, it is still subject to programming.
Two other types of learning are deductive reasoning and inductive reasoning.
Deductive reasoning is a process of reasoning from one or more statements (premises) that are assumed to be true, to reach a logical conclusion. An example of deductive reasoning: Johnnie is either at home or at school. In deductive reasoning if he is not at home, then he is at school. Conclusions reached by way of deductive reasoning cannot be incorrect if the premises are true.
Inductive reasoning is where specific observations or experiences are used to reach a broader and more general conclusion. The problem for AI devices is that true reasoning involves more than just drawing conclusions. It involves the ability to draw relevant inferences to solving a task or situation. This has been one of the greatest obstacles in problem-solving for AI.
Is AI Amoral?
AI has no moral fiber or moral guidance until it is programmed. Emotion and the most common giftings of love and mercy are not available to a mechanical device, so there is no limit to its potential cruelty. Where do we draw the line between artificial and real? Is the line getting blurred?
In 2017, the nation of Saudi Arabia became the first country to issue citizenship along with a passport and all the proper credentials to an AI being. This AI being named Sophia was given a female gender and all the rights and privileges of a Saudi Arabian citizen, including voting rights.
Who is programming the AI’s decisions? If AI beings are being programmed nefariously, could it be possible for there to be a large enough number of AIs voting to affect the out- come of an election? Since an AI being could be continually repaired and upgraded, therefore never ceasing to exist, could the AI population overtake the human population that has a limited physical lifespan? Could an AI being get elected to political office and then change the laws to allow them to rule perpetually? These are legitimate questions that open up even more questions.
Will there someday be no legal difference between a mechanical person and a biological person? Is it possible, as some science fiction movies depict, that there could be two classes of citizenship—organic and inorganic? Could this develop into a type of race divide?
When it comes to advanced development in technology, we can only guess at what is coming; but we do know this: AI technology is advancing at a rate beyond our previous imaginations. We must remember that technology itself is neither good nor bad in the same way money in itself is not good or bad. It
has been said that money is the root of all evil. However, that is a misquote of 1 Timothy 6:10 where it actually says the love of money is the root of all evil. An evil man who possesses great wealth will convert his wealth into evil things. On the other hand, a good and righteous person with great wealth can do good things. Money is only the means to get the result.
Technology simply accomplishes the desire of those who control it. The Internet can take the gospel message around the world to bring salvation to those who would otherwise never hear it. Or the Internet can be used to transmit pornography or used to facilitate human trafficking. Its value, whether positive or negative, lies in the hands of those who control the technology.
