by Kelvin Chapman

Artificial Intelligence – Challenge or Opportunity?

It’s the latest thing in the tech world that everyone is talking about. It promises much and seems to be delivering at least some of the promises.  It is becoming more widely used but what of the doomsday predictions that are being made.

So what is AI? Is it the breakthrough that will allow many of the tasks that we now do to be done by computers perhaps executed by robots? And will these robots be able to make their own decisions – perhaps being able to turn against their creators?

Is it here now? And the answer to that is right now on our cell phones – every time you use the predictive text you are using an early form of artificial intelligence – one that learns from the messages we have previously sent – and from the message that we are replying to

To begin to understand all this we need to go back to the earliest computers – and perhaps a little earlier than that.

Alan Turing was the man behind the UK code breaking effort in WW 2 and as part of that work developed the first stored program computers – the earliest form of those we have today.  These were comparatively crude.  Transistors had not yet been invented.  But Turing saw the potential of these new computing machines and in 1952 was asking the question “can automatic calculating machines be said to think?”  This resulted in what has become known as the Turing test which in its simplest form postulates that if a human is communicating remotely with something and, whatever questions may be asked, cannot determine whether that thing behind the wall is a human or a machine.  If it is a machine, that machine can be said to have the capability of the human brain.

We will come back to the Turing test later on in this discussion

The earliest computers could only act on the information they had been given.  Their main benefit was that they could do things much faster than human computers.

But as computers have become faster the internet has come into being allowing us to access a vast range of information from our cell phones.  Artificial intelligence, first defined by Alan Turing, is the term now used to describe computers and programmes that allow questions to answered using this broad range of information and to draw broader conclusions from the data available

These answers are more likely to be accurate where the rules that apply to the question are well established.  One such case is where it is now possible to look for relationships in the health field, identifying relationships in data that are not identified by previous methods.

We are beginning to see previously unidentified responses – both favourable and unfavourable – to drugs in this data.  AI has also enabled the process by which the proteins in all living cells can “fold” – an important next step in understanding how living cells replicate.  These applications will result in a better understanding of how drugs work and lead to improve health outcomes far more quickly than earlier methods of analysis.

Another case is in the legal system where cases are fairly well documented to a common standard, making it possible to identify relevant details in past cases both quickly and comprehensively. Answering exam questions is a doddle for an AI system where the course material is available on the internet.

And of course AI can correct our grammar much more accurately than we perhaps would like, while also identifying ways in which text can be made clearer.

These are useful and positive applications.  The same rules enable an AI system to take a voice sample and a face photo and create a video of the person behind the face saying anything that the author wants.  The possibility for deception is very real – and is with us now. Continue reading Sunday 21st July →

Rev Hugh Perry

Readings

2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12b-19

This reading from 2^nd Samuel records the arrival of the Ark in Jerusalem which establishes the city as both a religious and political capital that brings both northern and southern tribes together.  Jerusalem had been captured from the Jebusites and was therefore on neutral ground having not been part of either the northern or southern kingdoms.

Maurice Andrew sees David dancing before the Ark as capturing people’s imagination and notes its reference in Shirley Murray’s hymn, ‘Sing a happy alleluia’ ‘Sara laughed at God’s good timing, Mary sang and David danced’.^[1]

Saul’s daughter reproaches David for his exhibitionism and this apparently gives us the reason why she had no children so, although the house of Saul is still a factor, its possibility of continuing into the dynasty is blocked.^[2]

Mark 6:14-29

The first part of this reading flows on from the sending out of the twelve and our reading begins where we are told that King Herod heard of it.  We also get some of the things people were saying about Jesus and the movement his mission had become.  A resurrection of John the Baptist—a continuation of John’s mission of repentance and baptism while others said it was Elijah returning from heaven with the implication that he was the forerunner of the Messiah.  Still others said that it was a new prophet. Herod’s comment was that John, he had executed, had been raised.’  In other words the unrest and insurrection that I thought I got rid of by executing John has started up all over again.’

Then we get a description of John’s arrest and execution which focuses on the legitimacy of Herod’s marriage which was also a suggestion about Herod’s legitimacy to rule. ^[3]

Sermon

David had not only secured the throne but had brought Judea and Israel into one Kingdom.  He had captured Jerusalem and made that his capital.  As it had never been part of Judea or Israel it was a neutral city that gave no benefit to the tribes of Judea or Israel.  It was like Australia building Canberra as a capital city independent of any State capital.

Today’s reading is about demonstrating that David had divine approval for his reign.  The Ark was the symbol of divine presence during the Exodus and, having that in the capital city, was a demonstration that he had divine approval of his reign.

Remember that King Charles coronation was a religious service.  That not only confirmed him King but also head of the Church of England.  In recognition of his authority within the commonwealth and the reality that Britain is now both a multi racial and multi faith nation, representatives of different faiths were also involved.  There was even an ex all black captain there, no doubt representing New Zealand’s national religion. More significantly the moderator of the Church of Scotland presented the King with a Bible and told him that was the only authority needed confirming the reformation principle of the authority of scripture over church hierarchy.

I am sure I was not the only Presbyterian whose heart was strangely warmed at that moment.  It’s not just Methodists that can have that experience.

By contrast our Gospel reading involves a time when the authority of the Israeli monarchy was severely limited by Imperial Rome.  Various religious leaders, including John the Baptist, were criticising Herod’s authority.  The issue quoted in our reading is one of the scriptural marriage laws.  I suspect there was a feeling that if their king really ruled on God’s behalf then he would be able to get rid of the Romans and more particularly Roman taxes.

Tax cuts always make good headlines.

In fact, the Rev Dr Bill Loader suggests this story from Mark’s Gospel ‘sounds like a bizarre story, lifted from the ‘popular press of the day’.

Loader goes on to say that it cast a shadow over what is to come.  That indeed was what Mark was intending.

Reading on we would discover that fickle, exploitative political powers will perform another convenient execution.  We will wonder if someone can be so callously executed and come to life again.

We are invited by this Gospel to ask ourselves if we see the risen Christ wherever such powers are confronted. Do we confront such injustice as individuals or collectively with our society? Continue reading Sunday 14th July →