ChatGPT, Tecnology, & Your Children
Christians should have an understanding of the times—especially when it comes to training up our children. 1 Chronicles 12:32 says, “the sons of Issachar who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do, their chiefs were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their command;”
Paul wrote to the Christians in Rome, “And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light” (Romans 13:11-12).
One of the things we should be informed on is ChatGPT, and chat bot AI.
While those words may seem like a foreign language to many of you, I suspect your children are not only familiar with ChatGPT, most have either already played with it or have downloaded the App.
Simply put, ChatGPT is a conversational chatbot by OpenAI that can produce text, based on any question or request. If that sentence also sounded like a foreign language allow me to try and put it into even simpler terms: The internet has a feature of programmed artificial intelligence that can write things for you and answer questions.
For instance, need a term paper on Johann Sebastian Bach and his music? Not only can ChatGPT easily handle the job, you can even tell it things like how long you want the paper (i.e., 500 words) or what grade level you would like it written in (i.e., 7th grade). [I actually asked for an essay on the life of Johann Sebastin Bach in 500 words, which it gave me. I then asked for it from a 5th grader—and it changed the wording to match words commonly used by 5th graders.]
Many people are already using ChatGPT technology to assist them in writing emails and papers. Hopefully parents are already realizing one “issue” with this new technology. Suddenly essays, term papers, and research papers can be done in the blink of an eye with little to no effort from the student. Using ChatGPT means we did not actually do the work ourselves.
So, one area we are going to have to talk to our children about is the ethics of not doing an assignment—but rather, allowing a computer to do it for us.
But what about the darker side of ChatGPT. So this technology is conversational. Many of our young people are having fun asking it all kinds of crazy questions. But some of those questions have eternal consequences. For instance, I have had a couple of young people share questions they have asked ChatGPT about things like evolution and God. The answers these young people received was definitely not from a Biblical worldview. In both cases the chat bot was sowing seeds of doubt. (In one case the young person was giving serious consideration to changing their faith based on the responses he received.)
I decided to investigate firsthand, so I asked ChatGPT “Is there a God?” Here was the response I received:
“From a religious standpoint, many faith traditions assert the existence of a higher power or divine being(s) that governs the universe and plays a role in human affairs. These beliefs are often based on sacred texts, personal experiences, and faith.
On the other hand, some individuals hold an atheistic or agnostic viewpoint, asserting that there is no evidence or convincing arguments for the existence of God. They may rely on scientific explanations, empirical evidence, and philosophical reasoning to support their position.”
Notice the first paragraph uses words like “beliefs” and “experiences.” The second paragraph, talking about atheism, uses words like “evidence,” “scientific explanations,” “empirical evidence” and “philosophical reasoning.” It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out which direction this bot leans.
I explained to both young men that the way these chat bots work is by breaking down language inputs, such as sentences or paragraphs, into smaller components and analyzing their meanings and then answering using data collected from the internet and machine learning—much of which was coming from an atheistic worldview. These bots rely on data input—and much of the data it combs through is secular and godless.
My fears were confirmed when I asked deeper—more philosophical questions such as, “Is Jesus the only way to heaven.” I asked questions about Christianity, the institution of marriage and family, etc. It became obvious very quickly that this bot is strongly advocating diversity, inclusion, and worldviews that are in direct conflict with the Bible.
I only spent a short amount of time with this chat bot, and yet, I was inundated with a tsunami of statements that would cause many young people to question their faith. Some of it very subtle and seemingly harmless. Some of it downright antithetical to God’s Word. We should not be surprised, as much of the web and the data out there were uploaded from individuals who do not hold to New Testament Christianity.
All of this comes at the same time news agencies are reporting a massive rise on AI-generated images of pornography, child porn, and child sexual abuse. Yes, you read that correctly. They are using similar technology to generate pornographic images—including child porn. Parents, it is critically important that take the role of protecting our children extremely seriously—especially in this cyber world. Make sure you know what your children are doing online. And if you don’t have filters on your devices please consider getting them!
Let me encourage parents to have a serious conversation with your children. Discuss what ethics are and where we derive our ethical standard from. Talk to them about the broad and narrow way, and which road has more people on it—and then contrast that with the data on the internet. Talk to them about why Paul wrote Philippians 4:8 and what that means in regards to the internet. Encourage them if they have Bible questions or questions about life to come and ask you first. And finally, set some boundaries on this new technology. Be proactive instead of reactive. Help them navigate through this crazy new technology.