Right now, the “smartest people in the room” think they’re “above” AI. Soon, I think they’ll be bragging about using it. And they should. Why would anyone hire a doctor, lawyer, or consultant who’s slower and dumber than their peers? Would you hire someone with a fax number on their business card? As Scott says: “AI won’t take your job, but someone who understands AI will.”
'If you are a process safety expert AI will not replace you. But another process safety expert using AI will.'
Replace the words ‘process safety expert’ with any other thought leader, such as clergy, and the message remains the same.
(Come to think of it, ChatGPT will write a superb sermon because there is so much information available to it. My first pass at this was ChatGPT and the Perfect Climate Change Sermon at https://faithclimate.substack.com/p/chatgpt-and-the-perfect-climate-change. It was good. Expectations for sermon quality are going to rise exponentially.)
Very isightful. ian, Those who use AI as a tool will not be defeared by AI. Regarding clergy, it is not just that better sermons can result from an alliance with clergy and AI, but also that the sacraments require the living clergy. An AI substitute for clergy may be able to give a better Eucharistic Prayer, but it won't be able to bless tbe body and blood of Christ. I am sure Wallmart or Target will have AI prayers that bless the sacraments, but I don't think people will ever buy that AI can do the magic that is required for batism or holy communion to be efficacious. But it really depends on the consumer. If the consumer of communion thinks that it is effective, then it will become the work of AI.
Perhaps on Labor Day clergy should form a union to lobby for the human element in sacraments. I suppose the most effective way we could influence the world is to produce a movie that effectively dealt with the issue. How could we make it a block buster that changed how the world thinks. That is the challenge we face Perhaps we should partner with AI to answer these questions and make that movie.
Chat GPT wrote this: “AI cannot replace preachers because preaching is deeply rooted in human connection, empathy, and spiritual guidance that goes beyond mere information delivery. Preachers offer emotional support, understand the complexities of human experiences, and provide personalized counsel tailored to individual needs, which AI lacks the ability to genuinely feel or comprehend. Preaching involves conveying spiritual truths with passion, emotion, and cultural context, elements that are inherently human. Moreover, faith-based leadership often requires moral discernment and wisdom that come from personal experiences, a quality that AI cannot replicate. While AI can assist in research or enhance accessibility to religious texts, it cannot substitute the relational, empathetic, and spiritually attuned role of a preacher in a faith community.”
It is not wrong, but left out the explicit sacramentality of preaching.
Wow. That is good. Even when it "speaks" about its own limits. THanks for the real example.
While many churches consider preaching to be a sacramental act, meaning grace flows through it, and it is a sign of that grace, the only branch of the church that considers preaching to be one of THE 7 Sacraments is the Polish National Catholics. THey consider confirmation to be an aspect of baptism, and so that is how they fit it it. That is my understanding which you may correct.
If we need to check facts in a sermon, then we use Google. (In the old days we used books.) We use LLMs to emulate intelligence. Here is what AARP ― hardly a Silicon Valley hotspot ― says.
How can ChatGPT help people 50 and older?
For this question, we asked ChatGPT itself,
1. Providing companionship: Many older adults may feel isolated or lonely, especially if they live alone. ChatGPT can provide companionship by engaging in conversations and responding to their queries, thus reducing their sense of isolation.
2. Offering mental stimulation: Engaging in conversations with ChatGPT can provide mental stimulation, which is essential for brain health. It can help older adults stay mentally active and keep their cognitive abilities sharp.
3. Sharing stories and experiences: ChatGPT can listen to stories and experiences that older adults wish to share. This can be therapeutic and help them feel heard and valued.
On top of that, ChatGPT is available 24/7, is always even-tempered, does not have personal opinions, and has no off-putting mannerisms.
It’s not an all-or-nothing situation. The question is not, ‘Will ChatGPT replace preachers?’ but ‘Will ChatGPT replace and supplement some of the functions of preachers?’ Note that Scott Galloway talks about a Thought Partner ― not Thought Replacement. Effective preachers will use LLMs to improve the service they provide to their congregations; those that do not will be ‘the seed that fell on stony ground’.
I keep thinking about what I wrote in ChatGPT and a Sermon Near You at https://faithclimate.substack.com/p/chatgpt-and-a-sermon-near-you. A preacher I know stated adamantly that he would not use ChatGPT to write his sermons. I did not say anything, but my unspoken replies were,
• Why not?
• How would I know?
I wonder how many sermons are already created, at least partially, by LLMs.
It’s interesting that ChatGPT said to you,
'Preaching involves conveying spiritual truths with passion, emotion, and cultural context, elements that are inherently human.'
Those are exactly the attributes that it provided in my ChatGPT’s HF Alky Operating Procedures post at https://psmreport.substack.com/p/chatgpts-hf-alky-operating-procedures. (See the comment about the two Freds.) It fully understood the passion, emotion and cultural context of running a highly hazardous unit in an oil refinery.
In the case of your example, I would reject the advice of my preacher Thought Partner.
A vital attribute for professionals in the coming years, whether they are preachers or chemical engineers, will be imagination: the ability to think the unthinkable.
I have found that ChatGPT is very good at offering well-thought out opinions, but wobbly when it comes to common sense. I once asked it how to reduce the number of accidents on passenger trains. It replied ‘Stop the trains’. That answer is both correct and dumb.
Comment on the labor movement: I think something is lost in the oppositional character of the various movements that go into business and industry. Industry really is people coming together to gain power. Owners band together as stockholders to further their cause. Managment come together together to push their power and get larger bonuses or pay. They company itself is a coming together to accomplish tasks no individual could do alone. Workers band together to secure their fair share safely. Consumers come together to be a political force that holds down prices, guarantees truth in advertizing so they get what they think they are getting, and to advance safety, Political parties are gatherings of like minded people who come together to sway society towards their values, and to regulate the other groups (Republicans want to regulate and limit the ability of workers, consumers, voters, or sometimes even managmet to come togehter. Democrats just want to ensure the power of consumesrs, workers and voters. I think it is helpful to advocate in terms of who is coming together for what purpose. It solidifies the right of workers to come together to be a unified power, when it is understood that unions uniting is exactly what the stockholders are are doing but with different goals. It justifies the workers union. It also claarifies a goal to gain even more power by allying with other groups. Unions join with a poliitcal power, consumers and voters to promot similar values. Management often join forces with owners , or they are often used as the stooge of owners. I think it would be a good argument for unions to say, we are coming together just like owners and management come together, but with these contasting causes. I don't know why they don't make the argument in that way,
Labor Day and here I am working on the meditations for next Sunday. Yes, working on them is only copying several other people's meditations, given for the purpose of sharing, from qualified people (like you). But it is work that needs to be done, since I haven't failed them for the last 10 years at least and definitely not during the COVID 19 shutdown. It was my concern that they know that they were not forgotten in their incarceration. As I complete 17 years of prison ministry, I am looking forward (not with pleasure) to the coming of the need to step back from the drive and the personal relationships we have developed.
AI will be very helpful to those who want to be helped. Scott Galloway’s Thought Partner at https://www.profgalloway.com/what-does-ai-think/ provides valuable insights. He says,
Right now, the “smartest people in the room” think they’re “above” AI. Soon, I think they’ll be bragging about using it. And they should. Why would anyone hire a doctor, lawyer, or consultant who’s slower and dumber than their peers? Would you hire someone with a fax number on their business card? As Scott says: “AI won’t take your job, but someone who understands AI will.”
This morning I published ChatGPT’s HF Alky Operating Procedures at https://psmreport.substack.com/p/chatgpts-hf-alky-operating-procedures. I had ChatGPT write me a story about running a refinery. It was pretty good. At the start of the post I state,
'If you are a process safety expert AI will not replace you. But another process safety expert using AI will.'
Replace the words ‘process safety expert’ with any other thought leader, such as clergy, and the message remains the same.
(Come to think of it, ChatGPT will write a superb sermon because there is so much information available to it. My first pass at this was ChatGPT and the Perfect Climate Change Sermon at https://faithclimate.substack.com/p/chatgpt-and-the-perfect-climate-change. It was good. Expectations for sermon quality are going to rise exponentially.)
Very isightful. ian, Those who use AI as a tool will not be defeared by AI. Regarding clergy, it is not just that better sermons can result from an alliance with clergy and AI, but also that the sacraments require the living clergy. An AI substitute for clergy may be able to give a better Eucharistic Prayer, but it won't be able to bless tbe body and blood of Christ. I am sure Wallmart or Target will have AI prayers that bless the sacraments, but I don't think people will ever buy that AI can do the magic that is required for batism or holy communion to be efficacious. But it really depends on the consumer. If the consumer of communion thinks that it is effective, then it will become the work of AI.
Perhaps on Labor Day clergy should form a union to lobby for the human element in sacraments. I suppose the most effective way we could influence the world is to produce a movie that effectively dealt with the issue. How could we make it a block buster that changed how the world thinks. That is the challenge we face Perhaps we should partner with AI to answer these questions and make that movie.
Peace and all good,
RIck Bellows
Chat GPT wrote this: “AI cannot replace preachers because preaching is deeply rooted in human connection, empathy, and spiritual guidance that goes beyond mere information delivery. Preachers offer emotional support, understand the complexities of human experiences, and provide personalized counsel tailored to individual needs, which AI lacks the ability to genuinely feel or comprehend. Preaching involves conveying spiritual truths with passion, emotion, and cultural context, elements that are inherently human. Moreover, faith-based leadership often requires moral discernment and wisdom that come from personal experiences, a quality that AI cannot replicate. While AI can assist in research or enhance accessibility to religious texts, it cannot substitute the relational, empathetic, and spiritually attuned role of a preacher in a faith community.”
It is not wrong, but left out the explicit sacramentality of preaching.
Wow. That is good. Even when it "speaks" about its own limits. THanks for the real example.
While many churches consider preaching to be a sacramental act, meaning grace flows through it, and it is a sign of that grace, the only branch of the church that considers preaching to be one of THE 7 Sacraments is the Polish National Catholics. THey consider confirmation to be an aspect of baptism, and so that is how they fit it it. That is my understanding which you may correct.
RIck
If we need to check facts in a sermon, then we use Google. (In the old days we used books.) We use LLMs to emulate intelligence. Here is what AARP ― hardly a Silicon Valley hotspot ― says.
How can ChatGPT help people 50 and older?
For this question, we asked ChatGPT itself,
1. Providing companionship: Many older adults may feel isolated or lonely, especially if they live alone. ChatGPT can provide companionship by engaging in conversations and responding to their queries, thus reducing their sense of isolation.
2. Offering mental stimulation: Engaging in conversations with ChatGPT can provide mental stimulation, which is essential for brain health. It can help older adults stay mentally active and keep their cognitive abilities sharp.
3. Sharing stories and experiences: ChatGPT can listen to stories and experiences that older adults wish to share. This can be therapeutic and help them feel heard and valued.
On top of that, ChatGPT is available 24/7, is always even-tempered, does not have personal opinions, and has no off-putting mannerisms.
It’s not an all-or-nothing situation. The question is not, ‘Will ChatGPT replace preachers?’ but ‘Will ChatGPT replace and supplement some of the functions of preachers?’ Note that Scott Galloway talks about a Thought Partner ― not Thought Replacement. Effective preachers will use LLMs to improve the service they provide to their congregations; those that do not will be ‘the seed that fell on stony ground’.
I keep thinking about what I wrote in ChatGPT and a Sermon Near You at https://faithclimate.substack.com/p/chatgpt-and-a-sermon-near-you. A preacher I know stated adamantly that he would not use ChatGPT to write his sermons. I did not say anything, but my unspoken replies were,
• Why not?
• How would I know?
I wonder how many sermons are already created, at least partially, by LLMs.
It’s interesting that ChatGPT said to you,
'Preaching involves conveying spiritual truths with passion, emotion, and cultural context, elements that are inherently human.'
Those are exactly the attributes that it provided in my ChatGPT’s HF Alky Operating Procedures post at https://psmreport.substack.com/p/chatgpts-hf-alky-operating-procedures. (See the comment about the two Freds.) It fully understood the passion, emotion and cultural context of running a highly hazardous unit in an oil refinery.
In the case of your example, I would reject the advice of my preacher Thought Partner.
A vital attribute for professionals in the coming years, whether they are preachers or chemical engineers, will be imagination: the ability to think the unthinkable.
I have found that ChatGPT is very good at offering well-thought out opinions, but wobbly when it comes to common sense. I once asked it how to reduce the number of accidents on passenger trains. It replied ‘Stop the trains’. That answer is both correct and dumb.
We live in interesting times.
Comment on the labor movement: I think something is lost in the oppositional character of the various movements that go into business and industry. Industry really is people coming together to gain power. Owners band together as stockholders to further their cause. Managment come together together to push their power and get larger bonuses or pay. They company itself is a coming together to accomplish tasks no individual could do alone. Workers band together to secure their fair share safely. Consumers come together to be a political force that holds down prices, guarantees truth in advertizing so they get what they think they are getting, and to advance safety, Political parties are gatherings of like minded people who come together to sway society towards their values, and to regulate the other groups (Republicans want to regulate and limit the ability of workers, consumers, voters, or sometimes even managmet to come togehter. Democrats just want to ensure the power of consumesrs, workers and voters. I think it is helpful to advocate in terms of who is coming together for what purpose. It solidifies the right of workers to come together to be a unified power, when it is understood that unions uniting is exactly what the stockholders are are doing but with different goals. It justifies the workers union. It also claarifies a goal to gain even more power by allying with other groups. Unions join with a poliitcal power, consumers and voters to promot similar values. Management often join forces with owners , or they are often used as the stooge of owners. I think it would be a good argument for unions to say, we are coming together just like owners and management come together, but with these contasting causes. I don't know why they don't make the argument in that way,
Labor Day and here I am working on the meditations for next Sunday. Yes, working on them is only copying several other people's meditations, given for the purpose of sharing, from qualified people (like you). But it is work that needs to be done, since I haven't failed them for the last 10 years at least and definitely not during the COVID 19 shutdown. It was my concern that they know that they were not forgotten in their incarceration. As I complete 17 years of prison ministry, I am looking forward (not with pleasure) to the coming of the need to step back from the drive and the personal relationships we have developed.