I read an article the other week where the author argued that within about 50 years, we will have a robot artificial intelligence for president. This is simply an extreme form of an increasingly common way of thinking. It goes like this:

These types of decisions will eventually be made much better by an AI than by humans, because AI is developing at such a fast rate that just about every task that requires human intuition and intelligence will be solvable by AI….

So if you have AI that is better at say economic planning than any human, which would you sooner have in charge of your country’s economy, a human or a superior AI?

Aside from the fact that in a free democracy it is emphatically not the task of the president to plan the economy (thus we see one additional reason we should not trust these folks that say AI can do everything better — often, they don’t even understand basic principles of freedom, economics, and philosophy), there are at least three major flaws with this line of thinking. There are more, but I’ll keep this post at three.

1. Not All Problems Have One Best Answer

First, this is classic “one best way” thinking. In some decisions, there is only one best way. But that is only one kind of decision. In many cases, there are multiple good paths to the destination (and multiple choices among a destination). These are called design problems (as opposed to engineering problems). In design problems, there is more than one legitimate path. It is up to us to use our judgment and intuition and preferences to determine which path we want to create.

The notion that AI will take over all jobs (including that of president) because of its superiority is assuming this “one best way thinking.” It is assuming that for almost every decision, there is one optimal approach, and since computers have such immense processing power, they will soon have the capacity to always be able to figure that out better.

But what if there is not just one best course for many decisions? This brings us into the realm of art, emotion, beauty, and freedom — some of the greatest things about work and the world. If there is not just one best decision to make in most cases, then there will always be a definitive place for human beings, no matter how powerful computers become. It is not about what is the one “best” way to do something; it is about “What do we want to do? What seems great and most interesting, and reflects our values and style in the best way? What do we care most about? What do we believe?”

2. Human Participation is Part of the End Goal

Which leads to the second point: this thinking that if AI is more efficient and smarter that it should therefore do everything fails to understand one of God’s ultimate purposes in creation — namely, human participation. Consider: God himself is smarter than any human or any computer that ever will or could be. Yet he does not make all decisions for us. He doesn’t say “just sit back and watch — I can do this better.” Instead, he gives us a role — that is part of his very purpose in creation (Genesis 1:28).

Why does he do this? Because his goal is to have a people like Christ. Which means a people who are wise and capable of making their own decisions and playing a part in charting their course in life and human society. God cares about the development of the individual. He’s not just after “the right” decisions (though sometimes, of course, there is a right decision and it does matter). He is after mature individuals who are capable of working with him and playing a part in shaping their own destiny. If we have computers end up doing everything because they can “do it better,” then we are missing one of the key purposes of life altogether: namely, that we play a part in things, rather than outsource our decision making.

A world where humans have a part in shaping their work, their lives, and society is better than a world where all of those decisions are made for us, because part of the end goal itself is our act of making those decisions. In other words, the act of decision-making is meaningful in itself, and not merely an ends to a destination that could be arrived at by another means.

In contrast, a society where AI makes all the decisions is a society where humans have, by definition, become slaves. We would no longer be a free people, but rather a people ruled by another entity — justified, as it always has been, on the notion that this other entity can “do it better,” all the while failing to realize that doing it yourself, even with mistakes, ought to be an essential part of what we mean by “better” in the first place.

3. The Logic of AI Supremacy Leads to Nihilism

Also consider: if we were to follow the logic all the way that computers should always take over a task they are better at (to do this we have to forget point one, of course, but bear with me), then what’s left for people to do? Just watch. Don’t be a painter–computers can do it better. Just go to the museum and look at the paintings robots created. Don’t direct a movie–robots can do it better. Just go watch the movies that robots create. Don’t be a teacher — just let a computer adopt Wikipedia into its memory and teach students for you. Oh, wait, don’t be a student either — computers can do that better also.

This notion misses the fact that creating things is itself part of the fun. The point is not to create perfect movies, or perfect art, or perfect classes, or perfect investment decisions. The point is to have a part to play in the running of the world and doing of these things, which is the real ultimate purpose for how God glorifies himself in the world. If all that was for us to do was watch and follow in a society led by computers, with computers doing all of the work, we would become diminished, atrophied human beings. With that being the case, could we really say that the computers that are running everything really are making the best decisions? Perhaps they forgot to make a decision about the most important question of all: who makes the decisions.

Even more, if all that were left to us to do is just watch, why not outsource that as well? Can’t AI do that better, also? The notion that “AI does it better, so it should do it” ends up undermining all of human life. In other words, it ends up in pure nihilism.

*Note: Some readers might wonder how I can say that God has given us a part to play in shaping our destiny, when I believe in the absolute sovereignty of God over all things. The answer is the historic Christian doctrine of compatibilism: God does indeed determine all things, and at the same time humans make real decisions and are responsible for their actions. And in making our decisions, we don’t try to find out what God decreed, but use our judgment in alignment with Scripture. God does not whisper the answer to us, but expects us to use wisdom.

**A funny side note: As additional proof of the inflated evaluation of AI we sometimes have, autocorrect changed “compatibilism” in the above paragraph to “compatibility” without my permission. Come on, autocorrect. There is no such theological doctrine called “compatibility.” We’ve had enough of this vandalization that you bring to our sentences, in the name of knowing the English language better than real people do.

From the Wall Street Journal:

In the recent meetings with media companies, the Apple executives, including Senior Vice President Eddy Cue, have outlined new ways Apple’s technology could recognize users across phones, tablets and TVs, people familiar with the talks said.

In at least one meeting, Apple described future television technology that would respond to users’ voices and movements, one of the people said. Such technology, which Apple indicated may take longer than some of its other ideas, might allow users to use their voices to search for a show or change channels.

. . . .

Apple has worked on technologies for integrating DVR storage and iCloud, its online syncing and storage service, into the device, according to a person briefed on the matter. Such technologies could allow users to watch shows they have saved or purchased on two different devices, like a TV and a computer, without having to buy or record the shows twice.

Here’s the last sentence of Mossberg’s article:

And that’s why the day Steve Jobs resigns as CEO of Apple isn’t like the day a typical CEO resigns.

Read the whole thing.

Here’s his resignation letter, along with some more details, including some speculation (which seems right) on the reason:

We have no additional details yet on why Jobs is leaving, although the spot assumption is that it’s related to the pancreatic cancer for which he received a liver transplant in 2009 (during which time Cook was in charge). The fact that Jobs is taking over as board chairman, rather than resigning that seat too, would seem to indicate that his condition isn’t imminently debilitating — but there also is a strong possibility that the chairmanship is more symbolic than operational.

Remember to pray for Steve Jobs’ health, if you think of it. Not because he’s well known. I’ve always thought it strange, for example, when a well-known person has a problem and people say “pray for so and so.” To be honest, one of my first thoughts (and perhaps this is sin) is: “I don’t even pray for my neighbors the way I should; it seems like favoritism to pray for this person when the only reason I even know about his problem is because he’s famous.”

But I think the best principle is, to take a variation on one of Wesley’s quotes, to “pray for everyone we can.” Whenever we know of any need, we should take the opportunity to pray if we can.

And, right along with that, we should also be proactive to seek out the needs of those who aren’t well known but are, rather, the very opposite, giving extra effort to praying for “the least of these” who are so often overlooked.

Fast Company:

You know that old wives’ tale about how we only use 10% of our brain’s potential? It isn’t true, but up until now, I felt like I was using my iPad at 10% of its potential. A new software update goes a long way towards increasing that number.

Read the whole thing.

BusinessWeek has a very interesting interview with Steve Jobs’ last “boss,” John Sculley (who was Apple’s CEO back in the mid-80s and presided over Job’s departure later that decade.

A friend of mine recently recommended The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains. I haven’t read it yet, but it looks good. Here is a short description of some of the author’s findings:

Building on the insights of thinkers from Plato to McLuhan, Carr makes a convincing case that every information technology carries an intellectual ethic — a set of assumptions about the nature of knowledge and intelligence. He explains how the printed book served to focus our attention, promoting deep and creative thought. In stark contrast, the Internet encourages the rapid, distracted sampling of small bits of information from many sources. Its ethic is that of the industrialist, an ethic of speed and efficiency, of optimized production and consumption — and now the Net is remaking us in its own image. We are becoming ever more adept at scanning and skimming, but what we are losing is our capacity for concentration, contemplation, and reflection.

From the Crossway blog:

For the first time, read the ESV Bible on your iPhone or iPod Touch, with or without an internet connection — for free. Record your own notes, highlight verses, save favorites, and share with friends. Please take a look at the ESV App and tell us what you think.

A good look at current and upcoming developments by Scoble. Here’s the first sentence:

I’ve now heard from three separate Google employees that Google will release a news feed that will compete with Facebook and Twitter.

For those of you who haven’t yet informed yourself on what Facebook Connect is, here is a helpful summary.

Here’s the brief summary:

Facebook Connect is the next evolution of Facebook Platform, enabling you to integrate the power of Facebook Platform into your own site. Enable your users to:

• Seamlessly “connect” their Facebook account and information with your site
• Connect and find their friends who also use your site
• Share information and actions on your site with their friends on Facebook

I think there are some very exciting things that will be happening because of this!