Are you dropping sleep over the brand new synthetic intelligence (AI) chatbot, ChatGPT? You’ve most likely heard about AI’s scary potential. Alternatively, you could be enthusiastic about how you should utilize this new know-how to be extra environment friendly in your work. Like our personal God-given free will, it has potential in each instructions.
Earlier than we dive into synthetic intelligence, let’s first perceive what intelligence is. Swami Kriyananda as soon as stated, “Folks equate intelligence with mind, however not with consciousness.” In different phrases, true intelligence consists of consciousness and feeling. Swami Kriyananda writes about this matter at size in an essay I extremely advocate referred to as “Tomorrow’s Supermen?” from Faith within the New Age. Right here is an excerpt (it feels like he knew what was coming with ChatGPT):
‘Will computer systems sometime exceed human intelligence?’ If it involves particular problem-solving, why not? Computer systems are designed to spare man the trouble of prolonged and tedious ratiocination. There are most likely numerous different reasoning features for which computer systems wouldn’t be definitely worth the bother to program, however the place they will serve us I for one don’t have any objection. The mind is just, in any case, what we’d name an ‘digital mechanism.’ It has nothing to do with precise consciousness. Logic shouldn’t be what lifts man above the animals. It’s the a lot larger readability of human consciousness. – Swami Kriyananda, Faith within the New Age
Simply because a pc “is aware of” the reply to one thing doesn’t imply it has any consciousness behind its reply. This has been a part of the issue with ChatGPT. It’s truly not clever and even artificially clever (that’s extra of a advertising misnomer). It doesn’t perceive however makes use of information and pc packages to churn out solutions. Nevertheless, the software program itself shouldn’t be sentient. To ChatGPT’s credit score, it doesn’t declare to be self-aware. Once I requested if it possessed self-awareness, it responded:
“As an AI language mannequin, I’m programmed to simulate dialog and supply responses primarily based on patterns in language information. Whereas I can generate responses which will look like I’m self-aware, I don’t possess true consciousness or self-awareness. I’m a machine studying mannequin designed to imitate human-like responses and supply helpful data to the very best of my talents primarily based on the enter I obtain.” -ChatGPT
In distinction, God’s Intelligence is pure consciousness which is ineffably past the mechanics of reasoning. There’s a story from the lifetime of Paramhansa Yogananda that describes divine Intelligence:
A professor in a college as soon as requested me, “Are you able to give me an affordable thought by which I can consider that there’s a chance of the existence of God?” I replied, “Sure. Here’s a desk in entrance of you; there’s a tree exterior; on this room there may be air to breathe and there may be water.
Science tells us that every part got here from vibration and that every one issues on this universe are nothing however totally different charges of 1 vibration. Subsequently it’s one vibration which has created the solids, liquids, gases, and all substances. Isn’t it so?”
He stated, “Sure.” Then I requested, “How is it that one vibration turns into stable, one other turns into liquid, and one other turns into gases, and the way is it that these vibrations are so coordinated that human life turns into doable? Doesn’t it present that there’s an Intelligence behind all this?” He stated, “Sure, I’ve discovered the reply.”
– Paramhansa Yogananda, The right way to Spiritualize Your Life
ChatGPT is just pretty much as good as its database and programmers. Equally, we have to study to attune to our true supply of information in God. With out attunement to divine consciousness life is rife with sorrow. As Swami Sri Yukteswar stated to Yogananda:
“Human life is beset with sorrow till we all know the best way to tune in with the Divine Will, whose ‘proper course’ is commonly baffling to the egoistic intelligence. God bears the burden of the cosmos; He alone can provide unerring counsel.” – Paramhansa Yogananda, Autobiography of a Yogi
So, with corporations and nations racing to make use of AI for revenue and egocentric achieve, don’t overlook to develop your individual God-given intelligence in attunement with Him for the great of your soul and others. Allow us to not overlook because the Bible says, “Knowledge is the principal factor; subsequently get knowledge: and with all thy getting get understanding” (Proverbs, 4:7).
Unique Put up: Crystal Readability Publishers, March 27, 2023
