Estimated reading time:
Hi lovely people!
Ok – so this subject isn’t faith focused right off the bat, but it has been something on my mind. And I believe faith comes into every part of life!
Ever since ChatGPT first came out, I felt a little uneasy about it.
I mean, not just because the images it originally generated still give me nightmares. Those things were creepy.
But also because it caused a moral dilemma within me about the negative consequences AI would have on the creative community – on people like me.
But as I’ve learned to use AI in my job, my perspective has shifted a bit to a more neutral position. It’s impossible to ignore the terrifying side effects of AI, and it’s also impossible to ignore the massive opportunity it has as a tool.
I want to go into both sides today, then bring it back to a Christian perspective at the end.
First, the pro-AI perspective…
I use AI just about every day in my job.
I’m the Content Marketing Manager at Parker Baby Co. and TallSlim (two very different companies, which keeps things fun and fresh:). My typical day involves directing video, photography, graphics, and email design. I’m currently overseeing our social media accounts, and I keep a close eye on our websites, constantly thinking of ways to improve them. In other words, I deal with creative assets A LOT.
And it’s just a fact: if I want to do well at my job, I have to use AI. AI has saved me SO much time getting the initial spark for content ideas. It helps me start a productive brainstorm. It helps me come up with creative copy ideas. It doubles what I can get done in 1 day.
I’d even go as far to say that AI has made me a better employee. I turn work faster, with more ideas and more research having gone into those ideas.
And as I’ve learned to use it better as a tool, I can’t say if I could wave a wand I’d wish it away…
BUT – there’s always a but.
Now the anti-AI perspective…
Aside from my job, I’m a fantasy author and creative writer. And in that role, a deep feeling of injustice rises in my gut when I think about AI.
I don’t love how AI has borrowed from copyrighted material without consent. Creators have always had the right to protect what they create, which has protected their livelihood and success. As AI gets better and learns more, I can see it robbing creators from the profit they deserve and cheapen what used to be precious and skillfully made.
But more than that, the way AI has churned out such successful content irks me.
Personally, it feels like an insult to my intelligence when I see AI-generated content snuck into a creator’s feed or pasted in an article, as if I can’t tell the difference between the two.
It feels yucky and disingenuous to churn content out just for the views. I know it’s all to make money, which I don’t inherently have an issue with. But I believe what I create should be quality – something I’m proud of. AI-generated videos and images take 2 seconds of creativity and a click of a button. That’s not something I’d be proud of.
My greatest concern with AI is how it will impact the future of writing.
Writing is so close to my heart. It’s more than a means to an end – it’s a way of looking through someone else’s eyes for a moment. You get to see how they touch and taste and hear the world.
Writing is magic – if your thoughts are a river, the writer is a waterbender, gently commanding the flow. It is a skill developed from years of reading and studying and writing words no one will ever see. It is too human and real to be reduced to a formula.
But AI is a formula. The words may sound nice, but all the soul is stripped from the text.
Some people don’t have an issue with that. If it works it works, and copy pumped out by AI does work. I know my pride’s involved – I’m protective over writing because I’ve logged so many hours honing it. I think to myself, “I had to study for years. And AI learned in moments? Not fair.”
But pride aside, I am concerned for the future of writing. I fear AI will create lazy writers and lazy creators. If you never have to flex your creative muscles because AI is doing it for you, you’ll become a pretty weak creator. And creativity is a muscle.
I fear the future of novels. When will the first AI-written fiction novel come out? For all I know they’re already being made. With the crap some people read, I wouldn’t be surprised if AI books became successful.
Conclusion
AI is here, and there’s no use arguing over whether it should exist or not. That’s out of my hands.
But as I think about AI and my final stance on it, I recall a Tim Keller sermon I listened to recently. He talked about how not just ministry jobs are holy – but every job is holy. Every job can be kingdom work, no matter how menial or basic.
His point was to encourage followers to work as if they are working for the Lord. As a janitor, scrub those toilets as if Jesus was going to take the next dump. As a chef, cook as if you’re serving that next meal to the Lord. As a teacher, teach as though the child Jesus is sitting in your classroom.
And in my job, I ask myself, “What work is worthy to present to him?”
Would I be proud to slap together a quick prompt, generate an image, and post it to Jesus’s Instagram feed? Would I be content asking AI to write an article for me, then pasting it and sending it right to God’s inbox?
Heck to the no.
But – I believe AI should be involved. As a research tool, as a kickstarter for inspiration, as a time-saver, I’m glad to use it. Because the end product will always have my human touch. And I want to create the best content I possibly can – as if I’m making it for the Lord.
I won’t dare to say that approach is biblical. But it is my approach.
It also doesn’t solve the issue of AI borrowing copyrighted content without consent. Unfortunately, that’s out of my hands. But I’ve been around long enough to see a pattern: when new technology comes out, it’s usually those who reject it who get left behind. At least in the business world.
Colossians 3:23-24 says, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”
Rather than channeling all my focus on AI, I want to widen the lens. In all your work, whether AI is involved or not, are you working for God? Are you proud? Do you stand by it?
In my opinion, much of the strategies used with AI are devised purely for human gain. And as with any work, I have to ask, what is lasting? What is meaningful? What echoes into eternity?
Just some food for thought:)
Wishing you a wonderful Saturday with good rest!!
XOXO, Annabelle