Transform AI into IA

“Be who you were created to be, and you will set the world on fire.” St. Catherine of Siena

Lately, every time I start to type a text message or an e-mail, artificial intelligence (AI) tries to finish it for me. Sometimes, I’m tempted to just save the time it takes me to type it and go with the AI option because honestly, it sounds pretty good. But I refuse to allow AI to think for me.

This week I saw an interview with Jensen Huang, the CEO of Nvidia, the company that is fueling the AI revolution. He was saying that everyone should learn about AI because it will rapidly change the way we work, play, and communicate. This made me very concerned for my kids and grandchildren. I’m already in the fourth quarter of my life, but my kids are still in the prime of their lives, and my grandchildren are just starting their life journey. It was bad enough when Alexa came into the picture. I remember when a friend of mine told me that her young grandson had asked her, “Grandma, what is six plus eight?” She told him, “Think about it and figure it out.” The kid turned around and said, “Alexa, what is six plus eight?” Now, with AI, I’m afraid that they will stop using their brains completely. Their potential will be suppressed. What’s the purpose of learning anything if AI has all the answers?

To keep children’s brains from developing is cruel. Children need to memorize, read, and figure out the solutions to problems. They need to learn to write and think creatively. They need to use their imagination to come up with a science project or make up a story. AI is threatening to steal all that from them by obliterating their imagination and their ability to think.

The Catholic Church is also concerned with the potential risks of AI. In 2024, it published a document titled “Antiqua et Nova,” (“Note on the relationship between artificial intelligence and human intelligence”). The document notes that AI can lead to “harmful isolation” (par 58), and that AI poses problems for children’s growth (par 60). It’s concerned that AI “merely provides answers instead of prompting students to arrive at answers themselves or write text for themselves,” which can lead to a failure to develop critical thinking skills (par 82). Finally, the document insists that AI “should be used only as a tool to complement human intelligence rather than replace its richness” (par 112).

As I was reading this, the thought came into my mind that AI may possess a lot of knowledge, but it lacks wisdom. That is something that is developed over time in the human person. AI promises to make our lives easier, but with time it could make us dumb and ignorant. AI can provide the answers, but it will not bring us happiness. AI has gripped our brains and it will eventually bring out despair. I’m afraid that with time, AI will steal more than our ability to think, it will also steal our hope. We thrive when we have personal relationships with other humans, and robots are not human. AI will never provide the interpersonal contact that we all need in order to live happy, fulfilling lives. The technology intended to make our lives easier may make us more anxious, unhappy, and isolated.

So what should we do? We need to transform AI into IA. And what is IA? IA is insightful authenticity. A life rooted in authenticity is peaceful and orderly, whereas an artificial life invites despair and confusion. IA brings clarity about who we are, what matters most, and the essential purpose of our lives. IA can help us align our lives with God and what He wants for us. IA helps us discover who we are and it can inspire us to envision who we can become. IA provides real clarity whereas AI provides fake wisdom.

We need to guide children towards IA. We need to teach them to develop their unique personalities and to discover their passions. They are not going to discover this with AI. We need to teach them to look within themselves to gain personal awareness of the person that God created them to be. This insightful discovery will help them to learn their strengths and weaknesses, their values, their dreams, passions, and fears. This will help them to live more authentically and to become spiritually healthy. IA will awaken their hope, inspire their dreams, encourage them to persevere, and strengthen their faith.

We need to allow children’s brains to blossom in an environment of authenticity. This will help them to make wise decisions in their life choices. In a world that is filled with societal expectations, and many of them not positive, IA will give them the key to embrace their values, beliefs, and to honor their individuality. By accepting themselves as the beautiful person that God created, they will develop a sense of self-worth. This will give them the ability to engage with others from a place of self-confidence, and it will help them to remain true to their values in whichever situation they find themselves. Instead of relying on AI to express themselves, they will share their unique and authentic brain with the world. They will not allow AI to write their stories; they will be able to write their own insightful and authentic life stories.

Thankfully, my son and daughter-in-law, who are both computer engineers, are doing everything in their power to encourage their 3- and 1-year-old boys to develop their brains creatively. My grandsons do not watch TV; they are not allowed to use a computer, and when we go to restaurants with them, they don’t have a tablet to keep them entertained. The parents have adopted the old-fashioned way of using coloring books and crayons to keep the boys busy. I applaud them for it, and it gives me hope that not all is lost. The younger generation who grew up playing video games and using social media is realizing that it is not good for their kids, and thus they are transforming AI into IA.

By the way, in case you are wondering, this was not written by any AI Chatbot. It was written with IA through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.