20240512 COMMUNICATING TRUTH WITH LOVE IN AN AGE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
12 May 2024, Sunday, 7th Week of Eastertide (World Communications Day)
First reading |
Acts 1:15-17,20-26 © |
'Let someone else take his office'
One day Peter stood up to speak to the brothers – there were about a hundred and twenty persons in the congregation: ‘Brothers, the passage of scripture had to be fulfilled in which the Holy Spirit, speaking through David, foretells the fate of Judas, who offered himself as a guide to the men who arrested Jesus – after having been one of our number and actually sharing this ministry of ours. Now in the Book of Psalms it says:
Let someone else take his office.
‘We must therefore choose someone who has been with us the whole time that the Lord Jesus was travelling round with us, someone who was with us right from the time when John was baptising until the day when he was taken up from us – and he can act with us as a witness to his resurrection.’
Having nominated two candidates, Joseph known as Barsabbas, whose surname was Justus, and Matthias, they prayed, ‘Lord, you can read everyone’s heart; show us therefore which of these two you have chosen to take over this ministry and apostolate, which Judas abandoned to go to his proper place.’ They then drew lots for them, and as the lot fell to Matthias, he was listed as one of the twelve apostles.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 102(103):1-2,11-12,19-20 © |
The Lord has set his sway in heaven.
or
Alleluia.
My soul, give thanks to the Lord
all my being, bless his holy name.
My soul, give thanks to the Lord
and never forget all his blessings.
The Lord has set his sway in heaven.
or
Alleluia.
For as the heavens are high above the earth
so strong is his love for those who fear him.
As far as the east is from the west
so far does he remove our sins.
The Lord has set his sway in heaven.
or
Alleluia.
The Lord has set his sway in heaven
and his kingdom is ruling over all.
Give thanks to the Lord, all his angels,
mighty in power, fulfilling his word.
The Lord has set his sway in heaven.
or
Alleluia.
Second reading | 1 John 4:11-16 © |
Anyone who lives in love lives in God, and God lives in him
My dear people,
since God has loved us so much,
we too should love one another.
No one has ever seen God;
but as long as we love one another
God will live in us
and his love will be complete in us.
We can know that we are living in him
and he is living in us
because he lets us share his Spirit.
We ourselves saw and we testify
that the Father sent his Son
as saviour of the world.
If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God,
God lives in him, and he in God.
We ourselves have known and put our faith in
God’s love towards ourselves.
God is love
and anyone who lives in love lives in God,
and God lives in him.
Gospel Acclamation | cf.Jn14:18 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
I will not leave you orphans, says the Lord;
I will come back to you,
and your hearts will be full of joy.
Alleluia!
Gospel | John 17:11-19 © |
Father, keep those you have given me true to your name
Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said:
‘Holy Father,
keep those you have given me true to your name,
so that they may be one like us.
While I was with them,
I kept those you had given me true to your name.
I have watched over them
and not one is lost
except the one who chose to be lost,
and this was to fulfil the scriptures.
But now I am coming to you
and while still in the world I say these things
to share my joy with them to the full.
I passed your word on to them,
and the world hated them,
because they belong to the world
no more than I belong to the world.
I am not asking you to remove them from the world,
but to protect them from the evil one.
They do not belong to the world
any more than I belong to the world.
Consecrate them in the truth;
your word is truth.
As you sent me into the world,
I have sent them into the world,
and for their sake I consecrate myself
so that they too may be consecrated in truth.’
COMMUNICATING TRUTH WITH LOVE IN AN AGE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ACTS 1:15 – 26; PS 103; 1 JN 4:11-16; JN 17:11-19]
We are living in an age of Artificial Intelligence. The use of AI is becoming more and more prevalent in our world, whether for study, business, or even religion. Many of the mundane tasks, and even research, can be performed by AI. Some videos produced by AI are very similar to real life videos. These will get better and better until it would be impossible for one to know what is deep-faked and what is real. For this reason, Pope Francis highlighted the double-edged sword of AI in his World Communications Day message this year. The Church is not against the use of AI in daily life, or in business and work, or even in the spread of the faith. But the Holy Father cautions us on the dangers of the way AI is abused by people to disseminate disinformation, distort truth and facts, causing division in humanity.
Why does the Church need to speak out on the use of AI? This is because the proclamation of the Gospel is the proclamation of the Good News. This is the Truth, which must be proclaimed with charity. Communication must always be for the good of the people. We must not use it to spread falsehood, promote hatred and aggression, destroy the reputation of others, or create confusion. Unfortunately, AI, and social media have been used to deceive undiscerning people. For this reason, the Church has a duty to champion the Truth as the Lord commanded His disciples, “Consecrate them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world, and for their sake I consecrate myself so that they too may be consecrated in truth.”
Any gift we have can be used for good or evil. Judas, although he lived with Jesus and walked with Him, saw His miracles, and heard His teaching, instead of guiding others to Jesus, “offered himself as a guide to the men who arrested Jesus.” Such is the tragedy of one who had the privilege of coming to know the Lord so intimately. Instead of responding with gratitude, faith and love, he betrayed Him. This sadness and regret was underscored by the evangelist Luke, “after having been one of our number and actually sharing this ministry of ours.”
This is true when we consider the incalculable good or evil that AI and social media can do to transform or deform lives. When used by people for selfish interests, whether for monetary gain, spreading an ideology, or as a weapon to destroy their opponents for political, personal, or religious reasons, AI can destroy the human race and the common good of society. In so doing, we might suffer the fate of Judas when we see how this invention could cause the world to destroy itself. Indeed, the creators of AI, when they see the full impact of how it is used by evil people to achieve their selfish ends, will regret that the powerful technology for communication they invented was misused. AI must be used to communicate truth with charity.
The use of AI cannot be just functional. AI is a tool. It is neutral and powerless. It is without a heart. Left to itself, it can be used in a destructive manner. Those who create and use it can either make AI serve the common good of humanity or use it for their selfish interests. This is why the advancement of technology in the area of communication, especially AI and social media, must be complemented by advancement in the ethical guidelines on the use of such technology. It is urgent for the international community, political, corporate and religious bodies to provide these guidelines to regulate the development and use of AI in its various forms. Without proper regulation, we might be able to speak of technological advancement, but humanity will suffer. Without proper control, we cannot imagine how such technology can be used against us. Humanity will be destroyed. The time has come when we cannot trust anything that we hear, see, or read. The cliché that seeing is believing is no longer true. We cannot say that what we read or what we see on the internet, social media and videos is true or real anymore. These could be distorted information and deep fakes. When there is no trust, there will be disunity and humanity will collapse.
This is why, as Church, we are called to address the root of this potential danger to humanity by going back to the fundamental purpose of communication, which is to communicate truth and love. In the final analysis, the real problem is not AI itself, but the human person who creates and uses it. We must first deal with humanity. All the problems of the world – injustices, wars, unfair economic practices and competition, scams, global warming, and ecological destruction – are due to the fact that humanity has a fallen nature. It is the selfishness of humanity that brought disaster upon itself. For this reason, as Church, we need to mold the hearts and minds of our people. AI has no heart. The intelligence of AI is dependent on the humans who create it. The day we allow AI to act destructively because of the way we programmed it, then AI will come back to bite us. Technology is a means, and not an end in itself.
It is the duty of the Church to protect the innocent, the vulnerable, and the undiscerning from being deceived or cheated by scammers, and those who use technology to mislead them. Our Lord prayed, “Holy Father, keep those you have given me true to your name, so that they may be one like us. While I was with them, I kept those you had given me true to your name. I have watched over them and not one is lost except the one who chose to be lost, and this was to fulfil the scriptures.”
To heal the hearts and minds of humanity, we need to bring them to a consciousness of God’s love for them. St John wrote, “Since God has loved us so much, we too should love one another. No one has ever seen God; but as long as we love one another God will live in us and his love will be complete in us. We can know that we are living in him and he is living in us because he lets us share his Spirit.”
We need to form our people in love and in truth. Only when we have a heart of love can we use our intelligence for good, for the service of humanity; not for ourselves or to secure wealth, power and fame. The heart is where one encounters God and where one finds integrity. A personal encounter with Christ is a pre-requisite.
This is why the Church must use AI, and social and digital media to communicate the Truth, which is ultimately Jesus, who the Word of God. St John wrote, “We ourselves saw and we testify that the Father sent his Son as saviour of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him, and he in God. We ourselves have known and put our faith in God’s love towards ourselves. God is love and anyone who lives in love lives in God, and God lives in him.”
The apostles, in selecting someone to replace Judas, who was one of the Twelve, provide the fundamental criterion. “We must therefore choose someone who has been with us the whole time that the Lord Jesus was travelling round with us, someone who was with us right from the time when John was baptizing until the day when he was taken up from us – and he can act with us as a witness to his resurrection.” Why only this criterion among all others? This is because he is called to be a witness.
What is a witness? Someone who has personally heard and seen for himself. It is not from a secondary source but from a personal encounter with our Lord. Only then can he personally vouch for the truth about Jesus as the Messiah and the Son of God, who went about doing good, performing signs and wonders, was put to death and raised to life.
How can we find the truth about life and love? This calls for docility and a listening heart. Only the human heart knows how to use AI for the promotion of love and life. As we approach the feast of Pentecost, our Lord invites us to pray for the gift of the Holy Spirit. Only the Holy Spirit can grant us the wisdom to discern the use of technology for our people. Only those filled with the Holy Spirit can exercise the gift of technology for the love and service of humanity. Artificial Intelligence cannot provide us the wisdom of God because it has no heart, no conscience, and no compassion.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment