Episode 236: understanding AI - part 5 - a spiritual understanding and summing up the series
Episode 236: understanding AI - part 5 - a spiritual understanding and summing up the series
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Understanding AI - Part 5 - a spiritual understanding and summing up the series -Â episode 236
Understanding AI - Part 5 - a spiritual understanding and summing up the series -Â episode 236
“Work is essential for our spiritual progression”  This episode I finish up with the Understanding AI series. First talking about Elder David A. Bednar’s talk “Things as they really are, 2.0” from 2024. Where Elder Bednar reminds us of our moral agency to admonish us not to become objects but that we are agents. I share his reminder of the divine attribute of creating and working to help us in our becoming. At the end I share 10 things ChatGPT came up with to use AI in my everyday life - that will help assist but not take away my agency. I think my favorite is that I can give Chat a list of things in my fridge and pantry and it will suggest some meals to make. This has been a helpful exploration for me as I have learned just a little bit more how LLMs can be a tool for my good.
Show Notes: Hi Friends! I hope you enjoyed listening to this episode. Below are all the references.Â
Quote From the Episode
Quote From the Episode
“AI can create a potentially beguiling, addictive, and suffocating influence on the exercise of our moral agency… We might be seduced into surrendering our precious moral agency to a technology that can only think telestial.”
Key Topics
Key Topics
Spiritual framing of technological advancement
Elder Bednar’s teachings on moral agency and human purpose
The premortal plan and why agency matters
The danger of becoming “objects” acted upon
AI’s potential to enhance or hinder spiritual growth
Creativity, work, and divine potential
The role of challenge, effort, and creation in God’s plan
Media and technology use: inviting vs. impeding the Spirit
Emotional intimacy and the risks of AI “companions”
Practical everyday uses of AI (10 examples from Camille’s prompt)
Summary of the five-part AI series
Halloween costumes and family fun
Spiritual Highlights
Spiritual Highlights
Elder Bednar’s key teachings referenced in the episode:
All true scientific discovery comes from God and is meant to help hasten His work.
Moral agency is a divine gift that must not be surrendered to technology.
We are meant to be agents, not objects, choosing to act rather than be acted upon.
Our ability to work and create is central to becoming like our Heavenly Father.
Technology is neither good nor evil; its value depends on our choices.
Two guiding questions from Things As They Really Are:
Does this technology invite or impede the Spirit?
Does it enlarge or restrict my ability to live, love, and serve?
Practical Uses of AI (from my prompt)
Practical Uses of AI (from my prompt)
Writing show notes
Brainstorming titles
Backup lesson plans for substitute teaching
Explaining concepts simply for different grade levels
Classroom management strategies
Meal planning with what’s already in the fridge
Family scheduling and reminders
Creative home project ideas
Quick craft or activity suggestions
Journaling and reflection prompts
Sources
Sources
Sources & Mentions
Sources & Mentions
Things as They Really Are 2.0 — Elder David A. Bednar
Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI — Ethan Mollick
The Anatomy of Peace — Arbinger Institute
Quote from Brigham Young on scientific discovery
Quote from Thomas S. Monson on creation and raw materials
transcript
transcript
Audio file
Audio file
Ep. 236 Ap spiritual understanding of AI and summing it all up.mp3
I am Camille Johnson, and this is Finding the Floor.
Stories and reflections of midlife motherhood, family, and finding meaning in it all.
Join me as I share a little piece of my life and figure out what I want to be when I grow up.
Hey friends, welcome to Finding Before.
member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
And he gave a talk last year called Things as They Really Are 2.0, which you can find on YouTube.
kind of like understanding of the purpose of these technologies.
not be afraid of the new technologies and see how you can find ways that it can be used for good.
the idea of moral agency, and that we have been given that specifically from God.
But there was going to be a little bit of an issue, like how do we make sure people can return home?
What would be the way that we would make that happen?
And this is where Lucifer, who became Satan, provided his plan of
I will make sure everybody comes back.
They will just have to do exactly what I say and they will return home to you.
And the other plan was through Jesus Christ, that he would be willing to do the will of the Father.
We can behave in a way that is hateful.
But when we see people as people and not as objects, then we behave in a different way.
So Elder Bednar's point about not being an object.
There's telestial, terrestrial, and celestial.
So telestial is a very worldly way to think, if that makes sense.
So they can be used for both good and evil.
It's just a good reminder to think about that.
The purpose that we keep our agency, don't just let AI kind of take over and do all the work.
And then I also love that point.
He said, our ability to create and be creative and not just leave that to somebody else is
Again, the ability to work and create.
And I had an episode way back.
So this idea of instead of just being a consumer,
We need to think about creating and contributing and cultivating.
And I think that goes along with the whole work and creating.
He said, this is a quote by Thomas S.
Monson, God left the world unfinished for men and women to work their skill upon it.
He left the electricity in the cloud, the oil in the earth.
He left the rivers unbridged and the forest unfelled and the cities unbuilt.
God gives us the challenge of raw materials, not the ease of finished things.
stronger individuals with more depth when we are challenged rather than when things are just easy.
And then, so that we might know the joys and the glories of creation.
Both of those are so important.
Then in that talk, he also points out that our faith in Jesus Christ always leads us to action.
Like faith is a principle of action and power.
That is not the point of why we're working.
It's that our work helps us grow.
And he had this great quote from Ezra Taft Benson.
Only thus may we grow in godly attributes.
Only thus may we become worthy instruments in the hands of the Lord.
again, is that we are always striving to be agents.
How can we use technologies to be agents?
We can do that with our phones.
We can choose when we have our phone on and when we have it off.
So we're not always looking at our phones.
I mean, that's one simple thing that we don't even involve artificial intelligence.
or want to watch a certain show.
Like so many different things can be both so fine and then also addictive.
And in that, he mentioned two things.
our capacity instead of restrict it as we love, live, and serve in meaningful ways.
That will just make us laugh at the end of the day.
And it's really fun and bonding.
Because being intimate with an algorithm
is very different and not even how real life should be.
And just making sure that you're not replacing that with actual emotional intimacy.
and it is a violation of your commitment to a spouse, even though it's not really a person.
Realize that we are here to work and to be challenged.
And we may not want to do that, but all those things actually make us deeper people.
And if we just try to circumvent that by using AI or not, or avoiding things like that,
we will become shallow people and more like objects just to be moved around.
work physically, emotionally, and mentally, and spiritually, those are all good things.
And luckily, like right now, AI can't like work our bodies.
I know it is important to work our muscles.
And then the opportunity to like figure out how you can process
Like being familiar with that and not avoiding that, I think it's so good.
AI can be treated like a person, but is not a person.
You can think of it like that, but it's not like that.
So the things we learn from chat is that we can enhance our creativity,
But again, we're not letting it do everything.
We're not just pushing that easy button.
Using that balance of the back and forth, the style of
the cyborg as opposed to the centaur when we talked about that too a couple weeks ago.
Okay, so I thought, okay, well, what are some really practical ways I could use chat?
I've mentioned a couple throughout this time, but I thought, well, why don't I ask chat?
So maybe I can finish off with asking chat.
What are 10 really practical ways?
And so I'm going to tell you what Chat came up with, and I thought it was actually pretty good.
So #1, it said it could help me write show notes, which I've done before.
I can upload transcripts and have A pull out the key ideas and even write a short summary.
which would save me a lot of time.
Chat can help me brainstorm titles.
When I get stuck on what to call an episode, I could ask AI to come with a list of possible titles.
So maybe AI would come up with something not so great, but then that could spark maybe a new idea.
I thought this was a great idea for substitute teaching.
I hadn't ever thought about that.
Maybe help me put together a quick discussion for whatever subject I'm in.
Number 5, it said chat could help me explain things simply.
That can maybe be tricky for depending what grade level I'm subbing.
He said like fractions or photosynthesis.
I could ask AI an age-appropriate way to describe things that would make sense.
Even #6, it said classroom management ideas.
Maybe if the class is getting a little wild, I could sit down and ask for some ideas.
Then for home, I thought this was an interesting thing.
Okay, that was actually really practical.
Then #9, it said creative home ideas.
And then this last one was #10, journaling and reflection.
Okay, so very practical things.
That would actually save you time.
And I think that is not putting yourself as an object and not like using your creative brain.
Because sometimes at the end of the day, your creative brain can't work as well.
And when people are hungry, you just need some ideas.
So I thought that would be good.
I mean, I've just been looking at my front yard and sometimes I'm surprised.
I'm like, oh yeah, it's not like a bunch of weeds anymore.
provide that in a way that is like helpful to my life.
So understanding artificial intelligence.
And some of the really key things I think when providing questions or prompts for ChatGPT,
And then I think you'll probably get a better answer.
But we just have to try it out.
Like even when I was asking about ideas,
It's like, okay, do you want me to make Instagram posts?
Do you want me to do this and this?
It's a very eager intern, as Ethan Mollick has described in his book, Co-Intelligence.
And I think we just need to be aware that, okay, nope, I don't need that right now.
So giving yourself a time limit or a specific outcome you wanted, I think is also a good reminder.
Okay, I think that's it, you guys.
I just think that's such a cool thought.
Okay, that's it for this week.
And I forgot to say at the beginning, this comes out on Halloween.
So happy Halloween for everybody today or
or hope you had a happy Halloween.
We had our trunk or treat last night and it was really fun.
And my daughter's costume, she was being Tiana from Princess and the Frog.
Like I was so worried when we first got it, but like just adding our little accessories and
And my costume, I was like a portrait of the girl with a pearl earring.
It was actually really fun and just a simple way to dress up.
So I hope you guys have a fun or had a fun Halloween or you have one tonight.
I just, I don't know why I love Halloween so much.
I don't love like the dark, scary part of Halloween.
make costumes out of sweatshirts and hem dresses.
And anyway, it's just a fun, creative way to have a release.
And I can't believe we're already in November.
I hope you enjoyed today's episode.
Special thanks to Seth Johnson for creating and performing the theme music.
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