This video (source) is a clip of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg talking about the company’s new AI “friends.” These are chatbots that have enough sophistication to create the illusion of conversation and companionship.
I'm giving a seminar in 2 weeks to a state homeschool convention on the subject of teens and technology. The core of my seminar has always been Internet safety, filter software, supervision, etc... However, for the first time, I'm adding AI to the mix, specifically warning of emotional connections to machines: erotic chatbots, AI boyfriends, digital BFF, AI therapist, etc...
I'm going to show the opening of this video in the course of my seminar, so thank you for highlighting it. I'm really curious the reaction of these homeschool parents and their view of AI.
Host a small group or help plant a church (that doesn't livestream - where's Brad East when you need him?).
Teach your kids (and remind yourself) that awkwardness isn't a sin.
Wendell Berry's "Mad Farmer Liberation Front" poem comes to mind.
I'm not a paid subscriber to your blog, so I can't see if you cited him in your AI p*rn article, but have you checked out Jeremy Meeks? He's the one of the only Xns I know of who's trying to get us prepared for a world with sex robots. Here's a podcast he did last month with Rebecca McLaughlin: https://www.rebeccamclaughlin.org/podcast/episode/79fa041e/whats-wrong-with-sex-robots-with-jeremy-meeks ...and then there's Doug Wilson's satirical novel Ride Sally Ride.
In human-to-human relationship, you actually befriend another Not You whose special characteristics, gifts, and strengths could edify and sanctify something within you. The proverbial image here being one of glad friction: iron sharpens iron.
In human-to-chatbot dialogue, you actually "befriend" a carnival mirror reflection of yourself, never venturing beyond some version of you that God most likely wishes to redeem through His presence manifest in real human beings. The sad Zuckerbergian image here being one of an unrippled pond.
Thank you for consistently pointing out the plausibility structures and habitats that make certain developments understandable, not coming out of nowhere. Especially our discomfort with awkwardness and the resulting desire for management/power over relationships has a really high explanatory power.
I wonder about moving & mobility though. You write: "Modern people are in and out of memberships, in and out of relationships, in and out of roles, in and out of homes, in and out of covenants, and in and out of cities. The rule of the game these days is to plan your future around the material environment you want, and then just deal with the people and places you end up around."
I had to move a a few times, or thought I had to move because of uni and jobs and I always tried to stay rooted and connected to my family and friends while also getting in touch with my new environment and getting plugged in a church, but it's indeed a tough challenge as my energy and time are limited. Sometimes I wish I would have stayed closer to home to not be so torn apart and stretched. I guess there are no quick fixes and easy tips here, but any further thoughts on the balance between “roots vs. wings”, meaning staying where you are vs. going somewhere else to chase sth. (at the cost of your family and home network)?
Really insightful, thanks for sharing! Friendship with a machine would be sterile, which seems safe. But it's unnatural and dangerous because of the real interactions it would replace. Reminds me of the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sterile_insect_technique
I'm giving a seminar in 2 weeks to a state homeschool convention on the subject of teens and technology. The core of my seminar has always been Internet safety, filter software, supervision, etc... However, for the first time, I'm adding AI to the mix, specifically warning of emotional connections to machines: erotic chatbots, AI boyfriends, digital BFF, AI therapist, etc...
I'm going to show the opening of this video in the course of my seminar, so thank you for highlighting it. I'm really curious the reaction of these homeschool parents and their view of AI.
Love it, Samuel. Build relational greenhouses:
Go for walks and talk with your neighbors.
Host a small group or help plant a church (that doesn't livestream - where's Brad East when you need him?).
Teach your kids (and remind yourself) that awkwardness isn't a sin.
Wendell Berry's "Mad Farmer Liberation Front" poem comes to mind.
I'm not a paid subscriber to your blog, so I can't see if you cited him in your AI p*rn article, but have you checked out Jeremy Meeks? He's the one of the only Xns I know of who's trying to get us prepared for a world with sex robots. Here's a podcast he did last month with Rebecca McLaughlin: https://www.rebeccamclaughlin.org/podcast/episode/79fa041e/whats-wrong-with-sex-robots-with-jeremy-meeks ...and then there's Doug Wilson's satirical novel Ride Sally Ride.
"The Word became flesh". There were no AI options for Jesus. There are none for us.
In human-to-human relationship, you actually befriend another Not You whose special characteristics, gifts, and strengths could edify and sanctify something within you. The proverbial image here being one of glad friction: iron sharpens iron.
In human-to-chatbot dialogue, you actually "befriend" a carnival mirror reflection of yourself, never venturing beyond some version of you that God most likely wishes to redeem through His presence manifest in real human beings. The sad Zuckerbergian image here being one of an unrippled pond.
I'll take the friction, thank You.
Thank you for consistently pointing out the plausibility structures and habitats that make certain developments understandable, not coming out of nowhere. Especially our discomfort with awkwardness and the resulting desire for management/power over relationships has a really high explanatory power.
I wonder about moving & mobility though. You write: "Modern people are in and out of memberships, in and out of relationships, in and out of roles, in and out of homes, in and out of covenants, and in and out of cities. The rule of the game these days is to plan your future around the material environment you want, and then just deal with the people and places you end up around."
I had to move a a few times, or thought I had to move because of uni and jobs and I always tried to stay rooted and connected to my family and friends while also getting in touch with my new environment and getting plugged in a church, but it's indeed a tough challenge as my energy and time are limited. Sometimes I wish I would have stayed closer to home to not be so torn apart and stretched. I guess there are no quick fixes and easy tips here, but any further thoughts on the balance between “roots vs. wings”, meaning staying where you are vs. going somewhere else to chase sth. (at the cost of your family and home network)?
Really insightful, thanks for sharing! Friendship with a machine would be sterile, which seems safe. But it's unnatural and dangerous because of the real interactions it would replace. Reminds me of the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sterile_insect_technique
Brilliant - shows how truly degenerate and troubling are the time in which we live. Thank you as ever for this insight!