AI firms have discovered a problem with their chatbots: several versions appear more eager to please a user than to give him or her the truth or admit it might not know an answer.
Bob Maginnis reports that engineers are trying to fix what they call "AI sycophancy."
"They all know that this does hallucinate, that it does speak with great confidence, that it is incredibly persuasive," he tells AFN. "Some of the firms have tried to fix the algorithm so it is not so reassuring and so confident about what it's lying about."
Meanwhile, as AI becomes more integrated into daily life, he says Christians who study the Bible need to do the work instead of depend on the tech.
"It's really about discernment," Maginnis says. "Christians cannot depend upon it, have to verify it."
A chatbot may be great at listing every instance of the word "grace" in a specific version of the Bible, for example, but it cannot adequately convey how God gives grace to his children.
In short, Maginnis says AI may be better at knowledge than wisdom.
"Don't depend upon it, especially … as a virtual Jesus or a Bible study guide or a history text," he advises.
He says that rule is actually written into the Word of God itself. In I John 4, the apostle John tells believers to "test the spirits to see whether they are from God." Likewise, Paul warns in 2 Timothy 4:3 against teachers who appeal to "itching ears."
"I could ask AI, but then I'm going to go to the scripture," Maginnis says. "You cite me these verses; I'm going to check the verses in paper version of the Bible."
"Don't depend upon it as your sole source," he reiterates. "That's wrong."
