Beneath the facade of Artificial Intelligence

The article linked below talks about researchers successfully inventing a liquid metal robot that can shapeshift like a Terminator:

A liquid metal robot that can shapeshift like a terminator, 28Jan23.

Software and robotics engineers are making rapid progress in artificial Intelligence.

Soon, AI stuff like ChatGPT will become child's play.

Here's my two cents worth of opinion on the recent emergence of artificial intelligence on the Internet:

From electronic calculators to supermarket point-of-sale terminals to utility bills, from bar codes to Quick Response codes, from e-banking to e-wallets, we have steadily "surrendered" the task of checking and counting to computer systems.

We trust the computer to be correct all the time, as long as the input data has been keyed or scanned in correctly.

Few realise that such trust can be misplaced when we depend on sophisticated software systems like google search, for instance, to look for answers to questions, for general knowledge and for links to websites.

It is no longer a matter of computation or calculations.

Instead, the people who control the search engine can control what we see and what we don't see. They can conceal some inconvenient truths or hide some historical facts if they want to, perhaps at the behest of a powerful "deep state".

Recently, AI has made another leap forward in providing, and also controlling, answers to our questions.

Instead of being a search engine that merely displays a list of stuff for us to browse through, AI robots like chatGPT responds to our questions (called prompts) by replying us in complete and articulate sentences composed into a coherent passage.

In other words, it combines information from multiple sources, including language and even local culture (I have seen examples of chatgpt replying in malaysian slang) when responding to our prompts.

In doing so, this artificially intelligent robot seems to converse intelligently with us. Hence its name "chatbot".

Here is where our fascination should end, and our precaution should begin:

1. The organisations that produce chat robots can control what sources the chatbot includes and what it leaves out, i e. it can control what it wants us to read or learn. Imagine an entire generation of young people who take chatbots as the final authority in all areas of knowledge without question.
2. Chatbots will continue to advance rapidly, to reply our prompts with such flair and eloquence, with such persuasive statements and convincing arguments that we will gradually, even progressively lose our ability to think, to write and to articulate our thoughts. We will soon be surrendering yet another basic life-task to the computer.
3. AI users who steadily lose their ability to carry out basic tasks, will increasingly become more dependent on such robots.
4. Such chatbots will continue to evolve into "higher" forms e.g. a life-like robot who actually sits down and chats with you at Starbucks, or in a more undesirable way, a robot that can threaten you with harm and violence.

The shape shifting liquid metal robot described in the link at the beginning of this article is a precursor to more sinister AI stuff in years to come.

It may herald the fulfillment of some of the prophecies in the Book of Revelation e.g. the image of the Beast.

Brothers and Sisters in Jesus the Anointed One, let us be watchful. We are living in the last days.

NPY
20Feb23
17:55 hrs GMT+8

God our Father raised His Anointed Iesus from the dead

During my readings in the recent week, my attention is drawn to the words of the Apostles in the Book of Acts, reiterating their affirmation that God raised His Son Iesus from death.

I came away with the deep conviction that the Resurrection of Our Lord Iesus was the very act of God our Father in Heaven.

The Apostle Peter and the other Apostles told the High Priest and the Council in Acts 5:32 that they were witnesses of "these things" and that the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to all who obey Him, is also a witness too. See passages quoted below:

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22 Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:
23 Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:
24 Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.
Acts 2:22 – 24  King James Version

This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.
Acts 2:32  King James Version

13 The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go.
14 But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you;
15 And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.
Acts 3:13 - 15  King James Version

Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.
Acts 4:10  KJV

30 The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree.
31 Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.
32 And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.
Acts 5:30 - 32  KJV

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Between 2010 and 2013, I have written my observations and thoughts, in three separate blog posts, on the teaching that God raised His Anointed One from the dead. Links below

• Did the Messiah raise himself from the dead? (Jan2013)
• Implicit allusions vs Explicit Assertions (Dec2012)
• Reasons why you should not believe in the Trinity (Sep2010)

I am He

This morning in my readings from the Gospel according to John, my attention was drawn to two passages in chapter 8, quoted below:

28 Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.
29 And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.
John 8:28 – 29  King James Version

56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.
57Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?
58Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
59Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.
John 8:56 – 59  King James Version

The scribes and Pharisees who questioned the ancestry of our Lord in John chapter 8 could not believe and refused to understand the truth that our Lord Iesus came from God.

" . . . he that hath sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone;" said the Lord in verse 29.

Just before making that statement, Iesus had told his skeptics that when they had "lifted up the Son of Man" then will they know that "I am He", i.e. Iesus is the promised Messiah, the Christos, the Anointed One.

The expression lifted up was used in those days to refer to death by crucifixion, during which a convict was lifted up on a cross. See John 3:14; 12:32,33.

Later on in the passage, the Jews questioned the credibility of our Lord's assertion that Abraham rejoiced to see his day – perhaps referring to his advent and earthly ministry. They asked Iesus how he could have seen Abraham when he was not even fifty years old yet, to which our Lord gave his famous reply in verse 58, "Before Abraham was, I am."

John 8:58 comes across to me with a profound meaning — that our Lord had already existed in eternity long before Abraham came into being.

Brothers and Sisters in the Anointed One, let us hold fast our belief the words of our Lord, " . . . then shall ye know that I am He."

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About ten years ago, I wrote my observations from John chapters 7 and 8, that Iesus is the Anointed One who came from God. In another post that I wrote the following year, I elaborated on the need to understand correctly the expression "lifted up", that our Lord was crucified when he was lifted up on the cross.

• Do we really know him? (17Mar2013)
• Lift Iesus higher (16Mar2014)

Each day at the temple, each night on the hill

Each day Iesus was teaching at the temple, and each evening he went out to spend the night on the hill called the Mount of Olives,
and all the people came early in the morning to hear him at the temple
Luke 21:37 – 38  New International Version

Our Lord Iesus showed us the necessity of spending much time alone in prayer with God each evening, even through each night, before he goes to teach in the temple each morning and through the day.

For each day he taught in the temple, he spent each night on the hill.

Brothers and Sisters in the Anointed Iesus, let us learn from our Lord how to find strength and wisdom from God by spending much time alone in prayer before we embark on doing His work.

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Last month I wrote briefly on similar observations from the Gospel of Luke chapters 5 and 6:

• Our Lord prayed alone (29Jan23)

The believers from Cyprus and Cyrene

After the disciple Stephen was martyred, a great persecution arose and many Jewish believers in the Lord Iesus had to flee to faraway places like Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch (Acts 11:19). There they continued to speak the Gospel of the Anointed One to the Jews.

One day something different happened.

Some men from Cyprus and Cyrene went to Antioch and preached the Gospel of the Lord Iesus to the Greeks there for the first time. A large number of the Greeks believed in the Lord.

20 But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who, when they had come to Antioch, spoke to the Greeks, preaching the Lord Jesus.
21 The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord.
Acts 11:20 – 21  World English Bible

We can make at least three observations about these Jewish men from Cyprus and Cyrene:

Firstly, they went with a Deliberate Purpose.

The men from Cyprus and Cyrene had made up their minds purposefully to preach the Gospel of the Anointed Iesus. They did not just go to the city of Antioch merely to trade, or to buy supplies, or perhaps to settle down in that new land. Instead, they preached the Gospel of Iesus when they reached Antioch.

It was not by chance nor by accident that the Greeks in Antioch heard the Gospel. It was by the deliberate purpose of the Cypriot and Cyrenean believers that resulted in a large number of Greeks turning to the Lord.

Secondly, they went to a Distant Place.

The city of Antioch (present Antakya) was a long way from Cyprus, more than 270 km by sea. It was even further away from the city of Cyrene (present day Shahat, Libya), a distance of more than 1,000 km on the North African coast. In those days it took much time and patience to travel such long distances.

The believers from Cyprus and Cyrene did not merely go out to a nearby village to spend a few days. They went to a city far from home, on a journey that was hazardous and fraught with great danger along the way. Perhaps they could not ascertain when exactly they would be able to make their way back to Cyprus and Cyrene.

They had to sacrifice much to bring the Gospel to the Greeks at Antioch.

Thirdly, they went among a Different People

Those men from Cyprus and Cyrene were Jews. Despite having believed in the Lord Iesus as their Christos, their promised Messiah of God, nobody among them had preached the Gospel of Iesus to any Gentile friends. In those days, many continued to hold fast the belief that only the Jewish race were the chosen people of God, that only Jewish people were called into the Kingdom of God.

It would have taken them much courage and conviction to preach the Gospel to Gentile "outcasts", to bring them into the Kingdom of God in the Name of Iesus His Anointed King.

Without them, the Gentile people in the city of Antioch would not have had the opportunity to enter the Kingdom and become part of the children of God our Father.

Brothers and Sisters in the Anointed Iesus. Let us learn from the examples of the believers from Cyprus and Cyrene. As many among us as are called, let us go out to preach the Word of the Lord with a deliberate purpose, even to a distant land, among a different people

May God help us. Amen

Why did the LORD drive out the Canaanites?

In Leviticus chapter 18, the LORD commanded Moses to warn the children of Israel against following the ways of the Egyptians and the Canaanites, that Israel "must not do as they do in Egypt, . . . as they do in the land of Canaan".

A long list of those things that Israel must not do is given in verses 6 - 23, as shown below. A further list of things they must not do is given in Leviticus chapter 19, with their corresponding punishments spelt out in Leviticus 20.

Leviticus 18:1 – 23  New International Version

1The Lord said to Moses, 2“Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘I am the Lord your God. 3You must not do as they do in Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. Do not follow their practices. 4You must obey my laws and be careful to follow my decrees. I am the Lord your God. 5Keep my decrees and laws, for the person who obeys them will live by them. I am the Lord.

6“ ‘No one is to approach any close relative to have sexual relations. I am the Lord.
7“ ‘Do not dishonor your father by having sexual relations with your mother. She is your mother; do not have relations with her.
8“ ‘Do not have sexual relations with your father’s wife; that would dishonor your father.
9“ ‘Do not have sexual relations with your sister, either your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter, whether she was born in the same home or elsewhere.
10“ ‘Do not have sexual relations with your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter; that would dishonor you.
11“ ‘Do not have sexual relations with the daughter of your father’s wife, born to your father; she is your sister.
12“ ‘Do not have sexual relations with your father’s sister; she is your father’s close relative.
13“ ‘Do not have sexual relations with your mother’s sister, because she is your mother’s close relative.
14“ ‘Do not dishonor your father’s brother by approaching his wife to have sexual relations; she is your aunt.
15“ ‘Do not have sexual relations with your daughter-in-law. She is your son’s wife; do not have relations with her.
16“ ‘Do not have sexual relations with your brother’s wife; that would dishonor your brother.
17“ ‘Do not have sexual relations with both a woman and her daughter. Do not have sexual relations with either her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter; they are her close relatives. That is wickedness.
18“ ‘Do not take your wife’s sister as a rival wife and have sexual relations with her while your wife is living.
19“ ‘Do not approach a woman to have sexual relations during the uncleanness of her monthly period.
20“ ‘Do not have sexual relations with your neighbor’s wife and defile yourself with her.
21“ ‘Do not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Molek, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the Lord.
22“ ‘Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable.
23“ ‘Do not have sexual relations with an animal and defile yourself with it. A woman must not present herself to an animal to have sexual relations with it; that is a perversion.

Two verses in particular, tell us how grave and abhorrent these practices are in the sight of the LORD God Almighty. In Leviticus 18:24 and again in Leviticus 20:23, the LORD told the children of Israel that it was because of such ungodly and highly immoral behaviour that the LORD was driving the Canaanite nations our of their land before the eyes of Israel.

Leviticus 18:24 – 25; 20:23  New International Version

18:24

Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, because this is how the nations that I am going to drive out before you became defiled.

18:25

Even the land was defiled; so I punished it for its sin, and the land vomited out its inhabitants

20:23

You must not live according to the customs of the nations I am going to drive out before you. Because they did all these things, I abhorred them.

Brothers and Sisters in the Anointed Lord Iesous, let us beware, lest we fall into the sin of behaving like the the immoral nations around us. Let us be careful not to fall into the ungodly practices like those of the Canaanites described in today's passage.

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About three years ago, I made some observations about the commands of the LORD recorded in Leviticus chapter 19, reading from the LXX Brenton, link below:

• Looking deeper into the Ten Commandments (11Aug2020)

The Least in the Kingdom of God

In my reading from the Gospel according to St Luke today, I came across a saying of our Lord that I found difficult to understand.

In Luke 7:28, the Lord told his audience that, whilst John the Baptist was the greatest among all born into this world, the "least" in the kingdom of God is greater than John.

How can this be? Who is the "least" in the kingdom of God that our Lord was referring to?

I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John,
yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.
Luke 7:28  New International Version

I found my answer in a verse two chapters later, in Luke 9:48.

In this verse, the Lord Iesus used an example of a little child to teach his disciples that the least among them (in the kingdom of God) is the greatest.

It is not surprising therefore, that such a person, the "least", will also be greater than a great person like John the Baptist.

Then he said to them, “Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me;
and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.
For he who is least among you all — he is the greatest.”
Luke 9:48  New International Version

Dear Brothers and Sisters in the Anointed One, let us endeavour to be among the least in the kingdom of God.