Learning from AI
The headline grabs our attention: “Israel uses AI to identify, prevent terror threats, says Israeli security chief.”[1]
Ronen Bar heads up Shin Bet, Israel’s equivalent to the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the United States. Being responsible for the internal security of most any nation would have its challenges. To defend a nation where the threat of terror attacks is a daily reality must require a level of alertness and preventive measures beyond what most of us could imagine. As the saying goes, “The successful terrorist only has to get it right once; the defenders must get it right 100% of the time.”
By all accounts, Israel is a small country on the world map. But she is a giant in the development of technology. Humanity has benefited in countless ways from Israeli inventions.[2]
So it comes as no surprise that some of the globe’s best and brightest brains are focused on applications for the fast-developing field of AI, or Artificial Intelligence. Since a government’s top priority is securing the safety of its citizenry, unleashing the latest capabilities of computers to uncover plots of those seeking to do harm makes perfect sense.
Mr. Bar likens Israel’s cybersecurity efforts to the vaunted Iron Dome anti-missile system. Artificial Intelligence is searching the internet for indications of nefarious activities which threaten Israel. According to Bar, “We are in the depths of the network and see very well what is happening in it: espionage, terrorism, incitement, and foreign influence. The network, like the terrorists' nests in Jenin and the terror tunnels in Gaza, is not a safe space for our enemies.”[3]
As with any developing technology, exciting new capabilities are already being rolled out. I find testing ChatGPT[4] to be a fascinating exercise in exploring the power of an AI chatbot already trained to perform impressively – even with its “beta version” limitations.
But not everyone is delighted with the pace of progress in the AI arena. When someone as tech-savvy as electric-car-and-rocket-man Elon Musk expresses reservations, “One of the biggest risks to the future of civilization is AI,”[5] surely we have reason for caution.
The list of potential abuses is long. AI-generated “deepfakes”[6] are already a present reality. University of South Carolina’s Andrea Hickerson states, “At the most basic level, deepfakes are lies disguised to look like truth. If we take them as truth or evidence, we can easily make false conclusions with potentially disastrous consequences.”[7]
Concerns for AI interference in elections are real in the U.S., compounded by the reality that Russia and China are also developing AI capabilities.[8] Beyond that, worries about a computer self-initiating a thermonuclear missile launch[9] only increase as computers are programmed to “think” on their own. A further concern is that governments are being challenged to legislate technology which is morphing at light speed and already is beyond the understanding of most elected officials.[10]
All this brings to mind the prophetic description by the heavenly messenger to Daniel regarding “the end of time” when “many will go back and forth, and knowledge will increase” (Daniel 12:4). Never in human history has travel been as extensive or access to knowledge so wide – and growing exponentially. We are only beginning to see how closely generative AI[11] can mimic (or replace) human creativity and capacity.
In the Information Age we have ready access to incredible amounts of data. The question going forward will be, how closely does an AI-generated answer correspond to reality? If “seeing is believing,” what do we do when the picture we’re seeing and familiar voice we’re hearing aren’t real at all?
This discussion brings me back to another “Ai.” In view this time is not modern technology but the ancient Canaanite city that was Joshua’s second target for conquest. Following the death of Moses, Israel’s newly-installed leader had led the people of God across the Jordan River. Under divine direction, the Israelites encircled the walled city of Jericho and witnessed an amazing defeat of the stronghold, as recorded in Joshua 6.
As a wise military strategist, Joshua understood the necessity of good intel.[12] “Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth-aven, east of Bethel, and said to them, ‘Go up and spy out the land.’ So the men went up and spied out Ai” (Joshua 7:2).
Verse 3 relates, “They returned to Joshua and said to him, ‘Do not let all the people go up; only about two or three thousand men need go up to Ai; do not make all the people toil up there, for they are few.’”
In spy novels, HUMINT (“human intelligence” from “eyes on the ground”) is prized above other-sourced material.[13] The returning scouts assessed that the city of Ai presented a smaller challenge, one which would easily fall to a military operation of only a couple thousand attackers.
In contrast to the overwhelming victory at Jericho, with no recorded loss of life, the battle for Ai was an unexpectedly sound defeat. “So about three thousand men from the people went up there, but they fled from the men of Ai. The men of Ai struck down about thirty-six of their men, and pursued them from the gate as far as Shebarim and struck them down on the descent, so the hearts of the people melted and became as water” (Joshua 7:4-5).
Joshua’s response is recorded in verses 6-9. He prostrates himself before the Lord at the Tabernacle and pours out his anguish regarding the implications of this defeat: Israel’s enemies will hear of it and be emboldened to wipe out the Jewish people. And God’s name will be sullied.
Like others before him in the Exodus story, Joshua’s despair over calamitous circumstances colors his view even of God. “Alas, O Lord God, why did You ever bring this people over the Jordan, only to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? If only we had been willing to dwell beyond the Jordan!” (vs. 6-7).
We soon discover the defeat at Ai was not caused by a lack of intelligence – AI, HUMINT, or other. God both diagnoses the problem and provides instructions for remediation:
So the Lord said to Joshua, “Rise up! Why is it that you have fallen on your face? Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. And they have even taken some of the things under the ban and have both stolen and deceived. Moreover, they have also put them among their own things. Therefore the sons of Israel cannot stand before their enemies; they turn their backs before their enemies, for they have become accursed. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy the things under the ban from your midst (Joshua 7:10-12).
The transgression of Achan is quickly outed and dealt with severely. Rather than abandoning Israel, God removes the sin within the camp. Once again His favor rests upon His people and the conquest of Canaan is successfully carried out in the ensuing chapters.
In our day, conflicts continue to rage on Planet Earth. Much of our attention is focused on the continuing carnage in Ukraine, but well-armed foes are killing each other on multiplied fronts. (The Council on Foreign Relations highlights 23 “hot spots” globally, including Israel.)[14]
The global arms race certainly includes harnessing the incredible power of AI. ChatGPT provided this immediate answer to my query, “What is cyber warfare and who is winning?”:
Cyber warfare refers to the use of digital attacks, such as hacking, to disrupt or damage the information systems of individuals, organizations, or even nations. It involves the exploitation of vulnerabilities in computer networks, systems, and devices for various purposes, including espionage, sabotage, or gaining a strategic advantage.
Determining who is "winning" in cyber warfare is a complex and evolving question. Attribution in cyberspace can be challenging, as attackers often employ sophisticated techniques to obfuscate their origins. Additionally, the outcomes of cyber conflicts are not always immediately apparent, and the effects can be widespread and long-lasting.[15]
But we’ve already learned with nuclear weapons that mankind’s advances in technology neither bring peace nor guarantee safety. As Joshua learned at Ai, the most intelligent option available to us as individuals or nations is to seek wisdom from the Lord and walk in humility, faith, and obedience to His Word.
As the mighty warrior King David counsels, “Some boast in chariots and some in horses, but we will boast in the name of the Lord, our God” (Psalm 20:7). We would do well, individually and as nations, to deal with “sin in the camp” and seek God’s help and protection from our enemies.
Written by Wes, Life in Messiah Global Ambassador
What is your attitude toward the world of technology and advancements like AI?
How would God have you use the capabilities available to us to communicate His truth?
Did you know that the last few Life in Messiah blog pictures have been created using AI? Can you tell which ones?
Endnotes:
[1] https://allisrael.com/israel-uses-ai-to-identify-threats-says-israeli-security-chief.
[2] Recent examples of leading tech breakthroughs are detailed here: https://www.israel21c.org/6-israeli-firms-named-wec-technology-pioneers-for-2023/.
[3] https://allisrael.com/israel-uses-ai-to-identify-threats-says-israeli-security-chief.
[4] https://www.zdnet.com/article/what-is-chatgpt-and-why-does-it-matter-heres-everything-you-need-to-know/.
[5] https://www.forbes.com/sites/qai/2023/02/16/elon-musk-has-issued-a-stark-warning-over-ai-this-isnt-his-first-time/?sh=6d9e57646509. The race between Microsoft-funded OpenAI and Google in the search engine space fuels fears that developing safeguards will not match the speed of technology advancement.
[6] https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/security/a28691128/deepfake-technology/.
[7] https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/security/a28691128/deepfake-technology/.
[8] https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/how-ai-puts-elections-risk-and-needed-safeguards.
[9] https://www.nextgov.com/emerging-tech/2023/04/lawmakers-initiate-several-efforts-put-guardrails-ai-use/385711/.
[10] https://www.wired.com/story/us-ai-regulation-congress-briefings/.
[11] https://www.techrepublic.com/article/what-is-generative-ai/.
[12] When Israel was still encamped east of the Jordan, Moses had deputized Joshua along with Caleb and 10 other “princely men” to reconnoiter the Promised Land (see Numbers 13-14).
[13] https://www.dni.gov/index.php/what-we-do/what-is-intelligence.
[14] https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/. Of interest, in answer to my question, “How many wars are ongoing on earth presently?” ChatGPT returned this response: “As an AI language model, I don't have real-time data access, and my knowledge was last updated in September 2021. Therefore, I cannot provide the exact number of ongoing wars at this moment. The number of conflicts and wars can vary over time as new conflicts emerge or existing ones are resolved. It's advisable to refer to current news sources or reliable databases specializing in tracking global conflicts for the most up-to-date information on ongoing wars.”
[15] https://chat.openai.com/?model=text-davinci-002-render-sha. Major players named include China, Iran, North Korea, Russia, and the United States.