AI Spat at the Pentagon
The U.S. Department of War (DOW) has labeled the Artificial Intelligence company Anthropic as a “supply chain risk.” The announcement comes after the DOW tried to negotiate use of Anthropic’s technology but would not agree to Anthropic’s insistence the technology not be used for domestic mass surveillance or autonomous weapons. The DOW was pushing for an “all lawful purposes” standard, and its designation of Anthropic as a supply chain risk threatens the company’s ability to work with others who do business with the U.S. government.
Analysis and eternal perspective: You should expect many stories in this vein in the days, weeks, and months ahead as world powers race for AI dominance and people everywhere grapple with whether, where, and how to restrain the emerging technology. This story is evidence of just how intense those debates will be, as even a proposed restriction on mass surveillance and autonomous weapons triggered not just a failed negotiation but also a retaliatory governmental strike at Anthropic’s ability to do business.
Meanwhile, on a personal level, how will you use AI? Where should it expand your horizons, and where should your personal limits be set? We will not settle those very big questions here and now, but God’s Word encourages you to understand the times (Eph. 5:15-17) and to be wise about stewarding your unique capacities and giftings (Ex. 35:31-35, Eph. 2:10, Col. 3:23, 1 Tim. 4:14). You should proactively spend time in God’s presence asking for wisdom to steward both your giftings and emerging technology. Your heavenly Father has promised to hear and grant such a request (Jam. 1:5)!
God has given mankind an extraordinary ability to expand our knowledge of His magnificent created universe. In my book My Fame, His Fame, I explore how this journey into the unknown helps us discover the vastness and mystery of our God. It is a very good thing to pursue a deeper knowledge of the Creator’s world. Even so, there are certain things He vested intentionally into mankind, chief among them that we would have relationship with, and worship, Him (Is. 43:21). If and when any new horizon offers a substitute for that pinnacle purpose, we should exercise wisdom in holding fast to the intimate relational purpose endowed in us.
“The people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise” (Is. 43:21).