Have you ever noticed how difficult it is to recognize or talk about a particular experience or phenomenon when there are no specific words to describe it? But once you coin a term…cancel culture, ghosting, greenwashing, doomscrolling– Then collective understanding and discussion can begin. Before the term “gaslighting” was coined widely usedit has not been easy to explain the kind of deception deliberately designed to make a person question completely legitimate thoughts and experiences. It’s now easier to recognize and call out.
Overnight, I live in a world where someone talking or listening to an AI model as if it were a human is not considered abnormal, or even abnormal. We imagine that the “assistant” we are interacting with is “thinking” rather than “calculating.” And because we modeled them speaking like us and gave them names like us, it became normal for us to talk to them and think about them like we would any other human being. While it’s still unusual to declare your love for them, it’s not uncommon to think of a tool as “you” rather than “it,” or to say “please” in gratitude to a tool.
The speed at which AI is advancing and how it is changing the way we think, work, and relate is currently outpacing our ability to explain and discuss its impact. This bothers me because it means that we, individually and collectively, are not equipped to properly understand and explain what it is doing to us.
The speed at which AI is advancing and how it is changing the way we think, work, and relate is currently outpacing our ability to explain and discuss its impact.
When asked about the relationship between caring about how we speak and caring for each other, academics and language experts said: marilyn mcintyre I once used the analogy of valuing the environment, especially the soil used to grow crops.
“I think that’s what it means to value words,” she said. “The discourse and discursive environment we live in is similar to the natural environment we live in. Words can be used up. Some words need to be put to rest for a while. Sometimes words are treated as resources and used like resources, and sometimes they are really carefully cultivated to put them to good use.”
We know that terms are emerging: low-quality AI output is referred to as “slop,” experts who use AI effectively are referred to as “superworkers,” and audio or images that are indistinguishable from authentic recordings of real people are referred to as “deepfakes.” But we still need words to describe what AI is doing to us, words to describe the symptoms and effects we might want to avoid.
The new words I can actually use now, or the reuse of existing words, are words that represent a very special kind of embarrassment. It’s the feeling you get when behavior that just a few years ago would have been considered unconscionable, irrational, or insane is now treated as normal. Students who outsource their essay writing. Workers who outsource email creation. Adults who treat digital structures as friends. The term “parasocial relationships” currently applies to both “bonds” formed with robots and perceived bonds with celebrities. But is there a word to describe the feeling that the world has gone crazy? Is it now acceptable, even trivial, to deceive, deceive and deceive each other and ourselves?
Because they were created before generative AI existed, I predict we’ll already see words for books, movies, and songs that we know were made without generative AI. And that there are already circles in which they are appreciated and admired with a newfound appreciation. I know you can say that artists haven’t used AI since AI, but it’s hard to prove that.
Also, would you like to say a few words about the feelings of resentment that arise when people assume that others have used AI when they have not used it? Recognizing that the onus is on the creator to declare and prove that they are not using AI, which may prove impossible or more difficult than it is worth.
Related to this is the sense that the way we thought and acted a few years ago, when authorship mattered, cheating and plagiarism were wrong, and various tasks were expected to take time and effort, has not only changed but been forgotten. I wonder if some kind of amnesia has erased our collective memory.
Am I being sentimental, or was there a time when I would hesitate if asked if I would be willing to not only use but rely on a tool that occasionally saved time but was made using stolen materials, often caused problems, and had huge environmental costs? If it wasn’t a tool, but a person who constantly compliments us and tells us what we want to hear, I think they would be fired, even if they were cheap to hire and unconvincing. But now, not only are employers allowing their employees to use unreliable tools to complete tasks, it appears that most employers want their employees to do so.
Another feeling is one that doesn’t hit me suddenly, but gradually comes to light for me. It sinks my heart to realize that the words I have read in good faith, words that I thought were written or spoken by humans, may be people I know, but they may not be. This feeling also occurs when a great photo or video causes doubt rather than awe. Then comes the pangs of nostalgia. in front. Those days…
Am I the only one? Or would it be helpful to have words to describe these feelings and experiences? Would the ability to name them help us navigate them? Would they provide some validation? Some kind of comfort? Any agency? Will they incite resistance?
The Bible contains some of the wisest words ever written and teaches that humans are unique. We are created in the image of God. If we want to be salt and light in this place. To stand up for the truth. Pay attention not only to the ends but also to the means. They value integrity over efficiency, and gaining wisdom over getting things done. Then we need to stop accepting everything technology companies offer, stop following the patterns of this world, and start exercising discernment. If what we’re being served hurts the environment, our relationships, and our ability to think for ourselves, we shouldn’t just eat it.
One of the reasons AI is such a powerful tool is because language is a powerful tool. We need to look at what AI is doing to us, name it, and discuss it. We also need to speak in a way that distinguishes between machines that do calculations and calculations and humans who think, believe, and feel.
Words can not only describe reality, but also shape reality. Their absence can increase our confusion and foster division and paranoia. However, when used carefully, it can clarify a phenomenon or condition and facilitate understanding. May we all use words wisely in these fast-paced and turbulent times.
Source: Christ and Pop Culture – christandpopculture.com
