Authenticity coincides with several things to me: being original; being your true self; being genuine and honest. My faith informs what my true self is: a human being created in the image of God; designed by Him to be original with all the gifts and talents that are unique only to me. Therefore my "true self" cannot exist apart from my God. But that reality comes with a moral obligation ... to represent Him with honesty and integrity. In other words, to live our lives according to His moral principles and values. And for me, that comes into stark contrast when considering the choices and options that AI presents for humans.
Take for instance, in the world of art. I think it is undisputed that art can touch the human soul and spirit. Have you ever looked upon a beautiful piece of art and been brought to tears? Or have it take your breath away? I have personally experienced it myself, and witnessed this phenomenon in other people, as we have looked upon art and marveled at the talent God has given the artist. When that moment occurs, I believe that we are ultimately connecting to God. We are moved by what the artist creates from the gift he has been given by the Great Creator. And that connection between art and God is made clear in Ephesians 2:10 ... "For we are His workmanship [His own master work, a work of art], created in Christ Jesus [reborn from above -- spiritually transformed, renewed, ready to be used] for good works which God prepared [for us] beforehand, so that we would walk in them."
This is just one example at the heart of my conflict with AI. Which is why my spirit is offended when I see countless people on Social Media exclaiming over the astounding beauty of a painting or photo that is obviously generated by Artificial Intelligence. It's "Artificial"! It's not real; it's not original; and it's not honest. I'm even seeing Facebook posts extolling the brilliance of a Claude Monet work of art, with its heightened values of color -- and it's not even a Monet painting! And I'm even more highly offended when I see an artist present his work as an "original" painting, when I know that parts of it have been generated by AI to present what the artist has decided is "authentic". I have witnessed what graphic artists can do by reducing an image to its core form or impression, and then substituting backgrounds and adding additional elements to come up with a final image that is manufactured. We see it all the time in the advertising campaigns that deluge our TV and computer screens.
And now I'm seeing legitimate artists doing the same thing. They might paint a subject sitting in a chair, and then take that image to the computer and ask AI to add a background of a garden setting, enhancing all the colors of the flowers, and then paint the rest of their painting to match that fabricated depiction. And the world exclaims over his talent and what a masterful painter he is. Yes, it is beautiful ... but it is manufactured, not created! It's not genuine, nor was it created from his innate, inborn, God-given talent. For me, to present a piece of art as your own, when it is produced with the help of a computer system lacks integrity and character.
But maybe that's just me. Maybe the world has lost touch with what it means to be authentic and real. And maybe we've lost touch with our moral values. When the lines become blurred between what is truly "created" and what is formulated or constructed, then how do we know what is "real"? Which brings up another profound concern for me... at the rate that AI is progressing, how easy will it be to create and edit a video of a false Jesus coming on the clouds that can be distributed and screened worldwide? Will the human race be able to tell the difference between what's real and what is counterfeit?
That's the problem as we careen towards a future where we are giving computer generated programs the ability to start taking over the human thought and creative process. Are we going to start handing over our identity as image-bearers of Christ to a machine? Because we know they don't have that "God spark" of original creativity in them ... right? When we start abdicating our role as the true creator of ideas, art, products, and social conscience and become just the manager of what AI creates, then we are dangerously close to becoming insignificant in God's plan for mankind.
If we continue to rely more and more on AI's integration into our lives and society, then are we removing our reliance on our connection to God and the Holy Spirit to guide our morals, ethics, and standards of behavior? Will we begin to lose the nucleus of our identity? Do we really want human and machine creativity to merge and become one? Seems to me that will interfere with hearing and seeing what the Father is instructing us to do, which formed the foundation of Jesus's ministry, and should do the same for us.
Which brings me to an interesting article I read by Igor Tarasenko, titled Rethinking Authenticity in the AI Revolution, in which he said, "It's about the essence of creation -- is it the origin, the journey, or the impact that matters?" And can we keep those separate? Can we glorify God while keeping a check on what's really important in this life -- that the number of hits on our social media content pales in comparison to the journey we are on towards Christ-likeness? All of which brings me back to the importance of our honesty, integrity, ethical and moral compass, and our true self. How important will that be to our future generations who are being raised in this quagmire between machine and man? Are the boundaries being erased? Will they even care about being genuine and authentic; or recognize why they were created and by Whom?
The Bible talks about the importance of authenticity to God, you know. Check out Benjamin Reinke's blog on 50 Bible Verses about Authenticity. As he says in the first one he cites, Psalm 51:6 "reflects the profound value placed on inner truth and authenticity in the sight of God: Behold, You desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place." Does AI desire the same of us, or teach us wisdom? Another aspect that he points to is the courage to be authentic. Can we be loyal to our Creator and brave enough to stand for His "program" in the world? Lord, I pray that there are enough of us who will be true to who You've created us to be so that we show the world, who is enamored with the tech gods, that Your Sovereignty still reigns in the hearts of men, called according to Your will.
Proverbs 11:3 The integrity and moral courage of the upright will guide them, but the crookedness of the treacherous will destroy them.
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