How I (Currently) Use A.I.

It's been a minute since I wrote about artificial intelligence. I am not shy about my opinion of the technology. But I do recognize that it's here. Just look at the headlines, and you'll constantly be reminded of it.

Someone asked me recently if I used A.I. to write something for a social media post. I took it as a compliment. I guess they thought it was written well. It raised a deeper question I feel is worth taking a moment to address: How do I use A.I.?

An important preface: A.I. and my views of it are constantly changing. There are hard lines in the sand I can't cross, of course. But as a tool, I believe A.I. can be useful. But I couldn't care less if it vanished forever.

That said, do I use A.I. at all? Yes.

Do I use it to edit my photographs? No. Can I guarantee that the software I use doesn't have A.I. as part of its process? No, I can't, but I don't deliberately seek to use A.I. to edit my photos. Just like taking a photograph is a skill, so too is editing.

What about writing? This is where I actually do use A.I. to a degree. The actual writing process is me. But I do use Grammarly, which I assume is A.I., to help me with punctuation and grammar. It also gives me suggestions for rephrasing certain sentences, which I sometimes opt to use (I didn't for this sentence, for example—it gave me a lot of suggestions). But I still have to make the final decision on whether to use the suggestions.

I use it for research, most heavily. I didn't go to college, and I do not have any degree in geology, biology, or any of the other topics we cover here. So A.I. is a major help in understanding some of the topics. It's simpler (and time-saving) to ask an A.I. about the geology of southwest Montana than to scour the internet or library for geology books—half of which I wouldn't even understand much of the terminology without help. Of course, using A.I. like this comes with an important caution: they make mistakes. So it's good to double-check, fact-check, ask for sources, etc.

I find that I use it for basic questions a little more often now. Whether or not that is good or bad, I don't know. But I hope God will guide me to use this tech wisely.

I also use photos from Unsplash occasionally, namely for blog posts. These may or may not be A.I., but I can't really tell for sure.

For now, that's really it. I can't say I think we should never use it, but I do believe it should be used cautiously. I've written multiple times about the dangers I foresee with artificial intelligence. But it is a tool; it's here, and if we use it, let us use it wisely.

So what are the hard lines in the sand I mentioned?

Artificial intelligence cannot replace human reasoning. Letting A.I. think for me would be a problem to avoid. It's more of a secretary or assistant than a boss. Also, doing anything I'd consider dishonest is a no-no. I don't want A.I. writing posts for me, making images for me, or making any other creative content on its own. Are there perhaps aspects of those things where it can be useful? Sure. A.I. can suggest topics to cover, give me information about a photo location, and help me understand grammar better. But if it becomes A.I.'s content and not mine, then I'm being dishonest if I claim it is my own. Let's be honest about how we use artificial intelligence. Basically, when it stops being me in the director's chair and A.I. takes that role, that's a line I can't cross. It should serve us, not the other way around. Ultimately, if it is sinful, don't do it. Obviously, we could unpack that a little bit more, but that's not the primary purpose of today's post. But keep it in mind.

As A.I. changes, some of my views on less important parts of it may change, but when it comes to ethics, we all must be firm.

So, that's how I am (currently) using A.I. Any thoughts?