AI is a tool insofar as it can be used to help aid human flourishing, which usually amounts to doing some sort of busywork at scale, in alignment with human direction and intent. It is diabolical insofar as it undermines and shapes human intent, and is uniquely pernicious in that 1) it reliably lies, and has no reference to reality beyond the syntactical and nominal; 2 ) it apes human "consciousness"; 3) it is not embodied, certainly not in any human way, and so almost certainly will not align with human values and intent.
We inhabit a fallen world, so our encounters with these inhuman technologies and forces is virtually guaranteed. If we can trust Enoch—and although not scriptural, I suspect we can, to some degree—tools and technologies, broadly speaking, were introduced to humankind by fallen angels, and I suspect the persuasion of hostile, unseen actors continues to shape many "innovations" in our world. That said, every tool and technology poses some moral question: do we keep our foot firmly on its neck, knowing full well its provenance? Or do we let it run loose and become its servants?
Dear Peter, this doesn’t have very much to do with your Roundup (except for the accompanying photo), but… don’t you think that it was unfortunate for Benedict XV in 1921 to fix the Feast of the Holy Family on this Sunday (traditionally, the Sunday within the Octave of the Epiphany), effectively trumping for good the ancient propers? Just a few years before, in Abhinc duos annos (the follow-up to Divino Afflatu), Pius X had ordered not to institute new feasts on Sundays, so that the ancient cursus dominicarum wouldn’t be hindered.
Wouldn’t have it been better to just prescript for today additional orations to the Holy Family? Especially since, in any case, the Gospel would have been the same…
Yes, I was just thinking about that this morning -- what a loss of riches from the Sunday in the Octave of the Epiphany! (And in the Novus Ordo, it's even worse: the ancient Sunday in the Octave of Christmas gets plastered over with the Holy Family, and the next Sunday with the Baptism of the Lord.) What a train wreck. At VERY least, it would have been best to retain the commemorations of both the Sunday in the Octave of Epiphany and the Epiphany itself, as is the case in the pre-55, with three orations.
AI is a tool insofar as it can be used to help aid human flourishing, which usually amounts to doing some sort of busywork at scale, in alignment with human direction and intent. It is diabolical insofar as it undermines and shapes human intent, and is uniquely pernicious in that 1) it reliably lies, and has no reference to reality beyond the syntactical and nominal; 2 ) it apes human "consciousness"; 3) it is not embodied, certainly not in any human way, and so almost certainly will not align with human values and intent.
We inhabit a fallen world, so our encounters with these inhuman technologies and forces is virtually guaranteed. If we can trust Enoch—and although not scriptural, I suspect we can, to some degree—tools and technologies, broadly speaking, were introduced to humankind by fallen angels, and I suspect the persuasion of hostile, unseen actors continues to shape many "innovations" in our world. That said, every tool and technology poses some moral question: do we keep our foot firmly on its neck, knowing full well its provenance? Or do we let it run loose and become its servants?
I agree 100%.
Dear Peter, this doesn’t have very much to do with your Roundup (except for the accompanying photo), but… don’t you think that it was unfortunate for Benedict XV in 1921 to fix the Feast of the Holy Family on this Sunday (traditionally, the Sunday within the Octave of the Epiphany), effectively trumping for good the ancient propers? Just a few years before, in Abhinc duos annos (the follow-up to Divino Afflatu), Pius X had ordered not to institute new feasts on Sundays, so that the ancient cursus dominicarum wouldn’t be hindered.
Wouldn’t have it been better to just prescript for today additional orations to the Holy Family? Especially since, in any case, the Gospel would have been the same…
Yes, I was just thinking about that this morning -- what a loss of riches from the Sunday in the Octave of the Epiphany! (And in the Novus Ordo, it's even worse: the ancient Sunday in the Octave of Christmas gets plastered over with the Holy Family, and the next Sunday with the Baptism of the Lord.) What a train wreck. At VERY least, it would have been best to retain the commemorations of both the Sunday in the Octave of Epiphany and the Epiphany itself, as is the case in the pre-55, with three orations.
I have begun the book. Thank you for the recommendation!