The Christian Vegetarian Association (CVA)
Weekly Newsletter from Christian Vegetarian Association CVA - December 10, 2022
From Christian Vegetarian Association (CVA)
1. Threats to Human Civilization: Countering the Propaganda
Prior essays have expressed concern over the power of artificial
intelligence (AI) to manipulate our minds by identifying our hopes, fears,
and desires. For example, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other media
companies send us links that, their data indicate, will keep us on their
sites. They have little interest in the content of these links. This makes
it easier for Russian trolls, terrorist organizations, and other malevolent
actors to skillfully used AI to achieve their objectives.
We might think that we can outsmart AI, but AI has the potential to
understand us better than we understand ourselves. One reason for this is
that evolution has favored minds that sometimes engage in self-deception.
For example, a certain degree of self-deception about one’s attractiveness
to the opposite sex can sometimes result in greater reproductive success.
Also, our need to belong to a social network encourages us to believe what
other members of our “tribe” believe, regardless of the contravening
evidence.
People often adopt beliefs that are very unlikely to be true, including the
conviction that their religion is the one true faith, the “superiority” of
their tribe, the conviction that we are “special” and somehow more deserving
of good fortune (which I suspect helps explain the otherwise irrational
behavior of gambling), and that one’s risk of death from accidents is lower
than average (as born out in a range of surveys). AI, on the other hand, is
not led astray by psychologically comforting delusions.
So, my first suggestion in the struggle to confront efforts of mind control
through AI is to recognize that we have prejudices and blind spots. This
will generate a sense of humility and discourage us from being dogmatic in
our convictions. While AI programs try to induce us to believe certain
“truths” that serve the interests of the sponsors of the AI, we should
remain cautious about any conclusions. It takes more work to try to tease
out the truth, it can be unsettling to regard all beliefs as tentative and
amenable to change should new information arise.
The benefit of this approach goes beyond gaining wisdom. If we accept that
our perspectives are limited and none of our sources of information are
fully trustworthy, we become much more open to the perspectives of others. I
will discuss the power of approaching conversations with curiosity next.
Stephen R. Kaufman, MD
2. From All-Creatures.Org Ministry
Dear Friends,
We hope you are enjoying a wonderful Advent season. Peace be with you!
You will find today’s newsletter filled with helpful vegan, faith-based, and
animal rights information to keep you up to date with all that is going on.
All-Creatures.org Newsletter for December 7, 2022
In the Love of the Lord,
Frank L Hoffman
All-Creatures.org
and
Kindness,
Tams Nicholson
Executive Directress
All-Creatures.org
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