Tech-infused spirituality and Christmas tradition. Image: Getty Images

One of the things I notice after a few years of AI is that the question of how to think is just as important as ever.

I don’t know when it happened for you, but I started trying out AI models soon after the ChatGPT breakthrough nearly four years ago. 

In a way, I wasn’t overly surprised, as this is what I had intuitively expected from computers when I was younger.

Perhaps you’ll recall Ask Jeeves, the search engine from the 2000s era of the internet? Or the first time you spoke with the voice assistants Siri or Alexa?

Well, neither of those at the time answered with the insight or fluency that I assumed they would have. But today’s AI models are working at the speed of human curiosity.

This poses some interesting questions about how we think.

Human thought is something that develops as we grow, and our thinking capabilities are nurtured with the hope that we will be able to process complex information, deal with hard situations, and make good decisions.

This has always been true, and it remains so.

But our situation has changed. We now have computer models that not only point to existing knowledge but are also able to generate and connect ideas in seemingly new ways, providing contextual answers to extraordinarily complex problems and questions.

We have “intelligent” computing capabilities. So, what does this do to our own intelligence?

The first thing I notice is that thinking doesn’t happen in a void. When engaging with a large language model (LLM) or AI interface, it’s worth asking some questions.

For example: what provides an anchor for our thinking on this topic? What underlying ideas have shaped the response that this model has given? And how shall I weigh the merit of this view against alternative perspectives?

AI models generate content based on our prompts, and the direction of our questions plays a real part in the actual output. So, when you are using AI, what is it that you are aiming at? 

Motive, intention, and hope are all extremely relevant in these settings. 

For myself, I know that growing in my understanding of who I am, where I am going, and what sort of life I’m aiming to live is just as important and central as ever.

This is the most human of things and it reaches very near the centre of the Christian faith. 

For example, humans are made in God’s image, and as such are gifted with the ability to think, to name, and to create. Knowing that Christ is God who came to us makes all the difference in the world, because in him we see that we are loved by God and are bound to one another. 

It is a wild and profound truth about our home, our identity, and our purpose. It is who we are.

So, what does this mean for our thinking? 

Whether we are engaging with AI or not, we are shaped by the questions we ask. Where have we come from and who are we?

In what direction are we aiming our lives? By what standard do we measure our decisions as we go?

Questions like these initiate and guide our thought. They set the scene for the words that AI models generate in response to us. And they impact our lives as we accept answers, make judgment calls, and take action.

So, the conceptions we form about our identity, purpose, and vision are not morally neutral. They have a very real effect on the lives we live and the choices we make, as individuals and as a society.

In our day, given AI’s swift development and increasing capability, these foundational questions need our serious reflection.

Who are you? What guides your action in this life? What is your definition of success?

Different answers make different people.

More than ever, the Christ-shaped perspective is at the crux of it.

Jesus leads us beyond answers into a deep wisdom that shows what our lives are for.

Whatever your perspective about these things, mark the moment we are in and consider this question: how shall we think? 

  • Tom Mepham is the minister of Student Soul