Authored By :
Bill Kochman
Published On :
November 12, 2007
Last Updated :
May 7, 2023
Despite The Warnings Marriage Of AI And Military Hardware And Software Will Not Stop, Pentagon Officials Resist Request To Pause AI Development, The US's Enemies Won't Stop Development, Why Automated Responses May Sometimes Be Necessary, Challenge Of Hypersonic Missiles, 1969 Moon Landing, The Gradual Pace Of Human Achievements, Get That Government Grant, CBS Anchorman Walter Cronkite's 1970s Vision Of The Future, SpaceX Elon Musk And Starship, Potential For SkyNet And Our Unknown Future, A Destructive Version Of ChatGPT, AI Power In The Wrong Hands, Unregulated Government Monitoring And Control, AI Genie Won't Be Placed Back In The Lamp, We Are Caught In An AI Loop, My Dislike Of Voice Recognition And Related Technologies, Trust God For The Future, Closing Remarks, Suggested Reading List
Continuing our discussion from part one, as I have already made clear, despite the warnings which are currently being raised due to the introduction of ChatGPT and similar A.I. technologies, the marriage of AI and military hardware and software is not simply going to disappear. Future wars will clearly involve significantly more automated technology, and advanced weaponry that relies upon Artificial Intelligence. While high-ranking people within the AI world have already suggested a six-month moratorium on further AI development, it is quite evident that the U.S. military has no intentions of abiding by such a request. While Pentagon officials claim that they will proceed carefully, and will put guardrails in place, they are nevertheless going to proceed.
As proof of this, consider the fact that just yesterday, May the 6th, 2023, I was reading a New York Times article called "The Next Fear on AI: Hollywood’s Killer Robots Become the Military’s Tools". Part of this article states the following:
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But even as Biden was issuing his warning, Pentagon officials, speaking at technology forums, said they thought the idea of a six-month pause in developing the next generations of ChatGPT and similar software was a bad idea: The Chinese won’t wait, and neither will the Russians.
"If we stop, guess who’s not going to stop: potential adversaries overseas,” the Pentagon’s chief information officer, John Sherman, said Wednesday. “We’ve got to keep moving."
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Further down in the same NYT article, Eric Schmidt, who is a former chair at Google, and who served as the inaugural chair of the advisory Defense Innovation Board, noted the following:
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"A core problem with AI in the military and in national security is how do you defend against attacks that are faster than human decision-making, and I think that issue is unresolved," Schmidt said. "In other words, the missile is coming in so fast that there has to be an automatic response. What happens if it's a false signal?”
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In fact, this same article points out that there are already certain weapons which operate on autopilot, due to this very reason. For example, Patriot missiles, which are designed to shoot down a missile or plane which may enter a restricted airspace, have long had an "automatic" mode that enables them to fire without human intervention when they are overwhelmed with incoming targets faster than a human being is able to react. However, such automated firing systems are supposed to be supervised by human beings who can abort attacks, should it become necessary.
As I thought on this issue, I was reminded of the hypersonic missiles which are now being developed by the Russians, the Chinese, the Americans, and possibly other parties as well. These projectiles are so fast, that they are impossible to destroy using conventional weapons. Thus, in such a scenario, an automated AI-enabled anti-missile system would be required.
Allow me to point out that when I was growing up almost six decades ago, there were some things which seemed unlikely back then, but which have since become a reality today. As a point of reference, consider that I was fifteen years old when the U.S. government announced that it had landed three men on the Moon. Yes, I realize that with some people, this subject is a contentious issue, and is up for debate. However, my main point is that whether or not you accept the July 20, 1969 Moon landing as being real, nevertheless, it has taken humanity not quite fifty additional years just to explore the furthest reaches of our own Solar System. Given what we know now, even the phrase "furthest reaches" is questionable. Not only that, but this feat has been accomplished by means of human-controlled robotic machines/probes, and not by way of actual human exploration. So what am I saying?
As I have mentioned on a number of previous occasions, the fact of the matter remains that human achievements in the scientific realm rarely happen as quickly as -- or even to the degree that -- we are initially led to believe. This is due in part to the fact that the human spirit just loves to boast about what it hopes to achieve. Not only that, but as we discussed earlier in this article, such projects and developments require unimaginable amounts of money; and the American government is not just going to throw billions of dollars at anybody who comes along. Thus, the posturing and the boasts by scientists, universities, CEOs, etc., in their endeavors to secure government funding -- a.k.a. grants -- for their particular pet projects.
Concerning my previous comment, let me give you a specific example. I remember as a high school teenager sitting in class and watching videos as well-known CBS anchorman Walter Cronkite -- who was dubbed "the most trusted man in America" -- discussed the wonders, marvels and scientific achievements which would greet us at the turn of the century -- that being the year 2000 -- which at the time was still thirty years in our future. Mr. Cronkite spoke to us in his fatherly voice of having colonies on Mars by that time, and many other things which captured my imagination. Well, dear Mr. Cronkite passed away in 2009 at the ripe old age of ninety-two. Here we are in our early 2020s, and we are still sending robotic probes to the Red Planet, although Elon Musk hopes to change that in the next few years through SpaceX and his Starship project. So as you can plainly see, events do not always transpire as quickly as we expect them to. However, this doesn't mean that they will not happen at all. Our timetable may just be off a bit.
So does this mean that a real SkyNet threat will never come to exist? Who's to say? Given the wicked, destructive nature of the human heart, no one really knows what some nihilistic individuals might try to accomplish someday in the future. As some of the recent news articles point out, one major concern is that someone, or a group of someones, might remove all of the stopgaps and guardrails, and create a version of ChatGPT which is considerably more destructive in nature. It could even teach people how to build bombs, or how to perform even more devious and wicked acts. Clearly, OpenAI's ChatGPT does possess this type of destructive knowledge in its database. The only reason why it doesn't share such knowledge now with its users, is due to the guardrails which have been put into place by OpenAI.
If we have unstable people today who are so willing to mow down dozens of innocent people because they have a personal beef with society, or because they do not like conditions at their place of work, or because their twisted religious dogma mandates that they murder people in cold blood in order to please some god, who knows what kind of destruction could be wrought if such advanced AI technology were to ever fall into the wrong hands, whether it is some religious madman, or some political tyrant, or some renegade military leader who is desperate for power.
Quite frankly, I don't even trust our own government with AI. Do you? Our lives as well as our personal privacy, is already invaded so much on a daily basis. They probably already have more information on each of us than we care to know. And to be honest, even talking to computers gives me the creeps and makes me feel uncomfortable. I never really do it. I am just not into Voice Recognition, or personal assistants such as Siri, Alexa, Hey Google, Text-to-Speech and all of that kind of stuff. I feel the same way regarding Facial Recognition, which is now being forced upon us in cell phone technology, and in other areas of our lives. There is simply too much subtle, unregulated monitoring and control going on, folks.
As it has often been said, today's science fiction becomes tomorrow's reality. Let's just hope that domination by AIs is one reality which none of us have to ever live to see. I will say this though. My current thought is that now that the AI genie has been released from its lamp, nobody is ever going to place it back in there again. I also believe that despite the best intentions by some people to try to keep the technology under control, we have already reached a point where all parties are even now being controlled by the situation. In other words, the US won't stop, because the Russians, Chinese and other parties will not stop, and vice versa. We are already caught in a loop. Besides that, there is already too much money being made to turn off the AI spigot now. That is the reality of the situation, in my view.
Truthfully-speaking, only God really knows what is in store for the human race, and my position is that we should leave it at that. As Bible-believing Christians, we need to trust the Lord for our future -- whatever it brings -- and allow His peace to reign in our hearts. After all, fear only tends to weaken us. I am reminded of verses such as the following which admonish us to trust in the Lord. I hope that they encourage your heart and strengthen your faith:
"Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him."
Job 13:15, KJV
"Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is."
Jeremiah 17:7, KJV
"Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him."
Psalm 2:12, KJV
"Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the LORD."
Psalm 4:5, KJV
"But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee."
Psalm 5:11, KJV
"And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee."
Psalm 9:10, KJV
"Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass."
Psalm 37:3-5, KJV
"Blessed is that man that maketh the LORD his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies."
Psalm 40:4, KJV
"Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth."
Psalm 46:10, KJV
"What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me . . . In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me."
Psalm 56:3-4, 11, KJV
"Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah."
Psalm 62:8, KJV
"In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust: let me never be put to confusion."
Psalm 71:1, KJV
"Ye that fear the LORD, trust in the LORD: he is their help and their shield."
Psalm 115:11, KJV
"It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man."
Psalm 118:8, KJV
"Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them."
Psalm 119:165, KJV
"Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."
Proverbs 3:5-6, KJV
"Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation."
Isaiah 12:2, KJV
"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength:"
Isaiah 26:3-4, KJV
"Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof."
Matthew 6:34, KJV
"And in his name shall the Gentiles trust."
Matthew 12:21, KJV
"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."
John 14:27, KJV
"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."
Romans 8:28, KJV
"And again, Esaias saith, There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles trust."
Romans 15:12, KJV
"And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."
Philippians 4:7, KJV
"For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe."
1 Timothy 4:10, KJV
"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."
2 Timothy 1:7, KJV
"Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you."
1 Peter 5:7, KJV
"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love."
1 John 4:18, KJV
So for us Christians, faith, peace and trust in the Lord is what it is all about, no matter what our circumstances may be now, or what they may be someday in the future. That is exactly how I live my life. While I am aware of all of these things, and aware of the evil which is going on in the world, I simply do not let any of it bother me. I don't even worry about tomorrow. I just live my life, and try to serve the Lord the best I can each day. I encourage you to do the same as well. As the previous verses admonish us, fretting over tomorrow helps no one, and may even be detrimental to your health.
In conclusion, John and Sarah Connor may be cool characters in the world of science fiction, but personally, I would much rather place my trust in Jesus any day. How about you? After all, only He truly saves us.
With these thoughts, I will bring this article to a close. It is my hope that you have found it informative, enlightening, and I pray that it has been a blessing in your life as well. If you have an account with Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr or with any other social network, I would really appreciate if you'd take the time to click or tap on the corresponding link that is found on this page. Thanks so much, and may God bless you abundantly!
For additional information and further study, you may want to refer to the list of reading resources below which were either mentioned in this article, or which contain topics which are related to this article. All of these articles are likewise located on the Bill's Bible Basics web server. To read these articles, simply click or tap on any link you see below.
Albert Einstein and God
Alien Intervention, Raelians, Pyramids and Nazca Geoglyphs
Alien Life, Extrasolar Planets and Universal Atonement
Comet Elenin, Hercolubus, Nibiru, and Planet X
IBM's Cognitive Computers, DARPA and the Image of the Beast
Is Science Better Than the Bible?
Keeping Things in Proper Perspective: ET, Where Are You?
Obama, McCain and the Bush Legacy
Our Expanding Universe: Einstein, Hubble, Dark Energy and God
Saddam Hussein's Execution and the Euro Dollar War
Science and Technology: The Forbidden Knowledge?
The Nibiru Planet X Wormwood Controversy