Music & the Spoken Word: ‘The glory of God is intelligence’ – Church News

Editor’s note: “The Spoken Word” is shared by Lloyd Newell each Sunday during the weekly Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square broadcast. This will be given Sunday, July 9, 2023.

Computer science has given us some amazing technologies in the field of artificial intelligence, or AI. Among the most recent is chatbots. You can ask a chatbot a question, and it will respond with relevant, natural-sounding answers (see “ChatGPT: Everything You Really Need to Know (in Simple Terms),” by Bernard Marr, Forbes, Dec. 21, 2022, forbes.com). What’s more, you can ask a chatbot to write, draw and even sing. In less than two seconds, the chatbot can create poems, images and songs that are often surprisingly similar to what human authors and artists would produce.

However, it’s also worth noting what chatbots cannot do. They cannot always discern truth from error. Their information is almost limitless, but their intelligence is, at best, artificial. They repeat what they’ve read on the internet, but they can’t tell you if what they found there is true, virtuous or inspiring. And maybe most important, they can’t mimic the satisfaction and personal growth that comes from effort over time to create something.

Computer science professor Tony Martinez explained the problem this way: “People don’t like to do hard things when they don’t have to. As much as we know that work is good for us, we would rather eat a cookie and watch a show than do something really hard. When we have the option to let AI do the hard thing better than we’ve ever done, we miss out on the growth (see “I, Chatbot,” by Sara Smith Atwood and ChatGPT, Y Magazine, Spring 2023, magazine.byu.edu).

When a machine behaves like a human, we naturally wonder what makes us different from the machine. What does it mean to be human? This can lead our thoughts and hearts toward everlasting things. We long for not just what is efficient or effective but what is good and righteous. We seek the way, the truth and the life (see John 14:6). In our search, we discover that “the glory of God is intelligence” — not the artificial kind but the intelligence that God has placed inside each of His children, the “light and truth” (Doctrine and Covenants 93:36).

Professor Martinez says his religious beliefs, his spiritual outlook, provide perspective as he faces rapidly changing technology. He’s learned to look to God for trustworthy guidance and direction. Unlike a chatbot or any other artificial intelligence, God’s light and truth is a real and firm foundation for everlasting growth.

Tuning in …

The “Music & the Spoken Word” broadcast is available on KSL-TV, KSL News Radio 1160AM/102.7FM, KSL.com, BYUtv, BYUradio, Dish and DirecTV, SiriusXM (Ch. 143),  tabernaclechoir.org, youtube.com/TheTabernacleChoir and Amazon Alexa (must enable skill). The program is aired live on Sundays at 9:30 a.m. Mountain Time on these outlets. Look up broadcast information by state and city at musicandthespokenword.com/viewers-listeners/airing-schedules.