Human versus machine: questioning our place
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FOOD FOR THOUGHT by Rev Andrew Barrie, minister of Pulteneytown and Thrumster Church
Twenty-six years ago today, a sporting contest seemed to define the destiny of humanity. It was a game of chess. The grandmaster Gary Kasparov played Deep Blue, a computer. Although Kasparov prevailed 4-2, it was the first time that a grandmaster had been beaten by AI under tournament conditions. While Kasparov quipped that the programmers “should teach it to resign sooner”, just one year later, Kasparov resigned in defeat.
These events make us question the human condition. What is it to be human? Are we in control of our destiny? Are we the ultimate force for good? Or are we too arrogant, destined to be brought down by our own cleverness?
Today, there are two equally flawed views of humanity. One is our default religion, Humanism: We believe that humans are intrinsically good, able to solve our problems and remake the world. The other is that we are the problem in this world, the parasites who pollute and exploit it for our own gain.
The Christian view makes best sense of this confusing condition. Humans are amazing. We are the pinnacle of God’s world, even made in His image and likeness. But we have turned from God and have become corrupted. While we seek to do great things, we can never exactly achieve them. Even the best of us and the best parts of what we do are a frustrating mix bringing blessing and brokenness, help and hurt. We are exasperatingly trapped in falleness. We need redeemed and saved from ourselves. God has made this possible. He became a man, took on our nature and by his life, death and resurrection and made it possible for us to know the salvation we need.
By being reconciled to God in Jesus Christ, our arrogance is defeated and cleared. By His help, we can rediscover the high and beautiful purpose for which we were made, flourish and be a blessing to each other, our fellow creatures and this world which has been given to us.
