INTELLIGENCE: FINITE AND INFINITE.
Intelligence: what is it?
Intelligence is, as many words in the European languages, derived from two Latin sources: Inter and Lego: ‘inter’ meaning ‘between’, and ‘Lego’ meaning ‘I read’. Basically, it means: ‘Reading between the lines’.
“Reading between the lines”, suggests a psychological approach. And ‘psychology’ calls for knowledge of the human character, and also general insight into the persons’ background and circumstances. In other words: the concept of intelligence is quite a complicated matter.
The general meaning of intelligence tends to indicate ‘being brain-smart’. Most countries, however, explain ‘intelligence’ differently. Special government departments have the name ‘Intelligence’ in them, such as the CIA in the USA, CSIS in Canada, MI5 and MI6 in Great Britain. These agencies specialize in obtaining ‘intelligence’ from and about foreign nations and persons seen as hostile to the country’s goals.
I, however, distinguish between Infinite Intelligence, and Finite Intelligence.
There is no doubt that these two exist. One example of Infinite Intelligence is creation, is God’s direct act of calling matter into existence. How he did that remains a mystery. Psalm 33: 9 gives us a hint: “God spoke and it came into being”, that explains verse 5: “The earth is full of his unfailing love”, which is confirmed in John 3: 16, “God so loved the world, a love exceeding his love for his Son. Believing in God’s love for creation (and us loving it in turn) makes us eligible for eternal life.” Infinite Intelligence does that. Please note: God’s love is not primarily for the church, or for the Bible, or for us, but for his Creation.
That same Intelligence is evident in the person of Daniel, and by virtue of Daniel, in God’s children today and in the past.
Here’s why: (Daniel 5: 11): There is a man in your kingdom who has the spirit of the holy gods in him. In the time of your father, he was found to have insight and intelligence and wisdom like that of the gods.
That text gives us also a clue to true intelligence: it is of divine, infinite origin, also confirmed in the well-known text: “The fear of the Lord is the onset of wisdom.” That ‘fear’ is not a negative ‘anxiety’, but a positive ‘awe’.
And then there is Finite Intelligence, Intelligence that leads to death.
Today the word ‘Intelligence’ is most prominently featured in AI, meaning Artificial Intelligence. The pursuers of perfecting the expansion of the Google search machine, are aiming for the same goal as the builders of The Tower of Babel: dominance of Creation, God’s handiwork, an attempt bound to fail.
I do question the word ‘artificial’. I live in an area where ‘flowers’ are a main industry, genuine flowers, started from seed, and grown with care. Artificial flowers are immediately detected, because they feel different and lack aroma. So it is with AI: not original, not a product of God’s ‘wisdom’, but with an immense need for polluting energy, a never-satisfied thirst for electric power, already in short supply, and may cause world-wide blackouts.
Here’s what I read this week:
“The world could be pulled into recession by the force of energy inflation, even if (the Iran) conflict subsides soon”. These events might pop the A.I. bubble that is keeping the American economy afloat. A food crisis to dwarf the one that followed the invasion of Ukraine could follow, as the Iran war disrupts not just the price of food but also the global flow of fertilizer — another product of fossil fuels — on the brink of planting season.”
That’s what “Finite Intelligence” could do to us.
There also is another distinction: Where Infinite Intelligence – a gift of God – leads to greater wisdom, Finite Intelligence may lead to more stupidity.
My use of calculators has certainly stymied my math skills, while my use of mapping services has allowed my (already poor) sense of direction to diminish further. AI may simplify writing, but it cannot replace the messy, difficult work of being human, of trying to write a blog that tries to reflect a Christ-centred approach to today’s events.
I have no idea what God’s foolishness is – perhaps saving people like me – but I think that human wisdom is culminating in AI, the accumulation of all human knowledge, obtained by skimming off the cream of human know-how and calling it ‘intelligence’. The designation of ‘artificial’ is added, which is an admission that it is not the real thing.
The concept of ‘intelligence’ should be further examined. Can it also apply to non-humans? Does a tree have intelligence? Does an animal have it? Is the cosmos the source of intelligence? There is increasing insight into the make-up of elephants and whales, how these large animals display thought patterns, and can figure out solutions to complicated issues.
In my book, Day without End, I describe a soccer game between tigers and lions, assuming strategy and intense cooperation. Was that warranted?
I believe AI dulls our minds, as calculators robbed us of mental arithmetic, and Google maps resulted in us missing out on seeing landmarks and natural phenomena?
Our lives are training grounds for the New Creation. Harness that Holy Intelligence now.