Nukes and AI
Some scholars say that human threats such as nuclear war pose greater dangers than the use of artificial intelligence. (Photo by Maria Oswalt on Unsplash)
A United Methodist Insight Column
Make no mistake – I'm on record opposing the rapid, unregulated spread of artificial intelligence, or AI, especially into the church. Even so, I'm willing to moderate my stance given sufficient evidence to allay my apprehension. Two scholars writing for the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists recently provided some, well, if not moderation at least additional perspective on the current AI debate.
In "If you worry about humanity, you should be more scared of humans than of AI," Moran Cerf and Adam Waytz contend that the debate of AI's rapid development is a red herring (and good PR for AI developers). The writers have the chops to make such pronouncements. Cerf is a professor of neuroscience and business at Columbia University and a former cybersecurity expert. Waytz is a professor of management and organizations at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and has consulted with Google on its chatbot, Bard.
They write:
"As one example, take the spread of misinformation, which the Future of Life Institute letter highlights in asking, “Should we let machines flood our information channels with propaganda and untruth?” Undoubtedly the spread of misinformation by AI-propagated systems is concerning, especially given the unparalleled scale of content that AI can generate. But as recent research reveals, humans are far more responsible for spreading misinformation than technology. In a study of how true and false news spreads on Twitter, researchers analyzed 126,000 stories tweeted by millions of people between 2006 and 2017 and found that false news spreads faster than true news, and that “false news spreads more than the truth because humans, not robots, are more likely to spread it” (Vosoughi, Roy, and Aral 2018). In fact, some notable signatories of the letter have themselves contributed to spreading false conspiracy theories and misleading information."
We United Methodists can certainly attest to humans spreading misinformation, given the wealth of lies that have been spun about the UMC during the past 18 months of disaffiliation fervor. But would some AI program have been better at countering such misinformation with truth? The authors point out that a) AI can better detect bias errors in human-drawn algorithms and b) do a better job than humans in weighing the factors involved in critical decisions such as nuclear and climate-crisis policies. Nonetheless, religion is a realm in which AI can disrupt and even prevent humans' connections with God when it intrudes upon spiritual development.
I commend the Cerf and Waytz article to your reading and discussion. If you come to any conclusions about AI's role in religion, send me an email.
Hot Summer Days
Summer 2023 was the planet’s hottest on record. New Climate Central analysis shows which U.S. cities, states, and regions felt the strongest influence of climate change on summer heat. In the U.S., 326 million people—97% of the population—experienced at least one summer day with temperatures made at least 2x more likely due to human-caused climate change, a datum known as the Climate Shift Index (CSI). (Climate Central Map)
Big doings on the climate front
Climate Week is upon us starting Sept. 15 and United Methodist activists are planning to participate. This year's theme is "We Can. We Will."
United Women in Faith and Third Act, an elder-focused activism organizations, support the Sept. 17 March to End Fossil Fuels in New York and concurrent marches planned around the United States. Says UWF's announcement: "Our reliance on unjust energy from fossil fuels is disproportionately harming communities across the states and the word increasing global warming and polluting the air our families breathe. It has never been clearer than this summer, with wildfire smoke and heatwaves choking us – fossil fuels are driving the climate crisis."
The march's organizers call upon President Biden to:
- Stop federal approvals for new fossil fuel projects and repeal permits for climate bombs like the willow project and the mountain valley pipeline.
- Phase out fossil fuel drilling on our public lands and waters.
- Declare a climate emergency to halt fossil fuel exports and investments abroad, and turbo-charge the build-out of more just, resilient distributed energy (like rooftop and community solar).
- Provide a just transition to a renewable energy future* that generates millions of jobs while supporting workers’ and community rights, job security, and employment equity.
If you can't make the New York City March visit endfossilfuels.us and find a local observance. If you can make it to the Big Apple, here are the details at a glance.
UWF says, "If you can't join the march but want to take action to end fossil fuels? Fill out our US Fair Share petition and ask Congress to fund our fair share of climate finance and phase out of fossil fuels to decrease our emissions! If you have any questions about these strategy and capacity building sessions, please reach out to climatejustice@uwfaith.org."
Compassion UMC Featured on Solar Energy Tour
Northern Illinois Conference reports: "Compassion UMC, Brookfield, turned a former dry-cleaner's building into a church. A priority is energy efficiency (and low environmental impact). They’ve improved insulation and installed windows that reduce heat or cooling loss, water-saving bathroom fixtures, and LED lighting. The crowning glory is their 13-kilowatt solar energy system—which has put them on the Sept. 30 Illinois Solar Energy Association (ISEA) tour!" Click on the headline above to read the full story.
USA leads fossil fuel future plans
This disturbing news from The Guardian's "First Thing" newsletter Sept. 13:
"The US accounts for more than a third of the expansion of global oil and gas production planned by mid-century, despite its claims of climate leadership, research has found. Canada and Russia have the next biggest expansion plans, calculated based on how much carbon dioxide is likely to be produced from new developments, followed by Iran, China and Brazil. The United Arab Emirates, which is to host the annual UN climate summit this year, Cop28 in Dubai in November, is seventh on the list. The data, in a report from the campaign group Oil Change International, also showed that five “global north countries” – the US, Canada, Australia, Norway and the UK – will be responsible for just over half of all the planned expansion from new oil and gas fields to 2050."
Sounds like more motivation to join the Climate March.
Cafe' to feature young adult ministries leader
Chris Wilterdink
(Courtesy Photo)
Creation Justice and Young Adult Ministries will combine for the UM Creation Justice Movement's "Movement Cafe'" on Sept. 20. Says UMCJM's announcement:
"In the September 20 Movement Café, we talk with Chris Wilterdink, director of Young People’s Ministries for Discipleship Ministries of the United Methodist Church. We’ll revisit the origins of the UMC as essentially a campus ministry movement of young adults, how that movement for change has gotten stuck, and explore examples of how some are breaking through with young people to make change through the church and beyond." Register Here
Media Mentions as of Sept. 12, 2023
North Little Rock church celebrates financial turnaround - The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
150th anniversary to celebrate German heritage of Oregon United Methodist Church – The County Press - MiHomepaper
Flag Waving Day remembers spirit of unity post 9/11 | Local News - Times West Virginian
Cabot UMC celebrates 200th anniversary with Community Fest - Butler Eagle
Wilmington church 'considering all options' after lawsuit dismissed - WECT
Monroe church turns 200: History includes growth, nearly 60 lead ministers - Journal-News
Court dismisses Fifth Avenue United Methodist Church lawsuit against NC Methodist Conference – WWAYTV3
St. Mark's United Methodist Church invites El Paso to 'Back to Church' festival | KDBC
Clergy Express Support for Homeless Nonprofit - The Georgetowner
Asbury needs many hands to make light work of meal pack - The Freeman Journal
Saratoga United Methodist set to celebrate Homecoming | Uncategorized - Herald Ledger
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An award-winning religion journalist who has reported on The United Methodist Church at all levels for 35 years, Cynthia B. Astle serves as Editor of United Methodist Insight, an online journal she founded in 2011. "Crisis Watch" forms part of Insight's participation in Covering Climate Now, an international collaboration of some 500 news outlets around the world committed to enhance climate coverage. To reproduce this content elsewhere, please email Insight for permission.