The AI Hype: Doom, Boom, or Just Flyers?

The Past

“You’ve got mail!”

That was a magical sound in 1994 when I got my first computer. My mother found a way to get me one, and after a few repairs, I was off and running. Well, almost. First, I had to save up and pay the back charges on our disconnected phone bill. Then I was off and running. It was amazing, and for once, I was ahead of the curve.

I graduated in the year 1999. I learned to type on both a typewriter and a computer. In college, I wrote papers by hand for the first two years and on a computer for the rest of my degrees. My peer group has been uniquely situated in the technology revolution. We remember the before and have lived through the after. We are blessed to have seen the waves roll in.

Technology seems to arrive in waves. Some people jump right in, others are skeptical, and a few declare it the Antichrist. Remember the iPhone? I thought there was no way those touchscreens would ever work. Well, they do. I was a late adopter on that one.

I would argue that the internet and the smartphone together changed American daily life, business, and culture as profoundly as the automobile did a century ago. The changes have been earthshaking. So, what will AI change?

The Present: The Flyers

This wave feels like the early internet, except bigger. We don’t know what we don’t know. AI can help with a task, but it can also complete the task while making mistakes that look convincing. Hallucinations, errors, and oddities are part of daily use. If it becomes easier to create a believable image, video, or article, what are we supposed to believe in the media?

I’ve watched technology waves roll through education, each accompanied by advertising and hype. Computers arrived, and few people wanted them. Ten years later, everyone was using them. Fifteen years later, we couldn’t do our jobs without them. We saw versions of the same thing with document cameras, projectors, Smart Boards, and Chromebooks.

AI is different because it challenges the way we think. In some cases, it makes us think more and ask better questions. The goal, of course, is to let AI handle the busywork so people have more time for meaningful work. We aren’t there yet. Anyone who has learned new software knows there’s a stage when putting information in takes more time than the tool gives back.

The first three years of generative AI in education have been uneven. There are pockets of excellence and innovation, but many schools are still figuring out what to do with it. Some early adopters use it for EVERYTHING and are forging a path. A much larger middle group makes AI graphics and flyers. And then there are folks who think AI is the Antichrist.

The gap between people who know a lot about AI and those who know little may seem small right now, but I believe it will grow. Someone who knows almost nothing about coding or websites can now build one. I’m proof. You can create an automation that sends weekly emails or have an “agent” read teachers’ lesson plans, summarize them for you, and sort and store them. With an idea, a computer, and a relatively cheap subscription, people can create digital materials that once required a whole team.

That possibility excites me. It also makes judgment more important. The divide that matters most won’t simply be between people who use AI and people who don’t. It will be between those who use it with sound judgment and those who let it replace their judgment. Adoption is moving faster than our understanding of its effects, so leaders need to experiment carefully and measure honestly.

I think a second wave is upon us. People who have learned to move beyond the flyer are beginning to push the limits and teach others a different way to think about this technology. I share something almost daily: a new thing I’ve learned or an idea for something AI might help us do that previously seemed impossible.

The Future: Apocalypse or Utopia?

I read Walter Isaacson’s biography, creatively titled Elon Musk, and I get the appeal of Musk’s vision. He is a force, and in my opinion, often a force for good. I can see why the future he imagines excites people.

At the same time, some of the biggest companies developing AI are calling for the industry to slow down and put up guardrails. I take safety concerns seriously. I also wonder whether rules shaped by the largest companies could make it harder for smaller competitors to enter the market. We should ask who benefits from a proposed rule as well as what danger it is meant to prevent.

My worldview keeps me from settling into fear. Psalm 27:1 says: “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” I want to work toward a better future, not just for myself, but for my boys.

Based on history and what I’ve seen firsthand, I believe AI will become a routine part of most professional work within five years, much like computers are now. It will draft, analyze, summarize, and handle repetitive steps that used to fill the day. People will spend more time directing it and checking what it produces. Small teams will accomplish more. Hopefully we can get some robots to do the laundry (my wife would like that Elon).

I also think some entry-level jobs will shrink. The tasks people once learned on are often the easiest to automate. That leaves employers and schools with a serious question: How do beginners build skill when the beginner tasks are disappearing?

In classrooms, AI will give teachers faster ways to plan and adapt lessons. It will also force us to rethink assignments and how we verify that students learned something. A polished paper doesn’t tell us as much when a student can produce one in seconds.

AI Will Never Replace BEING Human

Movies are movies. I don’t believe AI will wake up one morning and decide to be evil. The danger I see is in people who build it, control it, misuse it, or trust it without checking its work. People have always been capable of harming other people. And people with power usually want to keep it.

I also believe we are made in God’s image. Our minds are astonishing, but we are more than our ability to process information. AI may outperform me at a particular task. It may write faster than I can, sort information faster than I can, and build a website I could never code from scratch. But it cannot love my children, care for my family, or be guided by the Holy Spirit. It has no conscience or moral responsibility for what it produces. That is why I will not hand over human judgment to it.

Scripture gives me language for the difference. Genesis speaks of knowing good and evil. Proverbs teach that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Isaiah speaks of the Spirit of wisdom, understanding, counsel, and might. Paul writes of wisdom and revelation in knowing God, and of the things the Holy Ghost teaches. Having access to more information is not the same as possessing wisdom or choosing to do what is right.

So, yes, let’s learn to use AI. Let’s see what it can do for teachers, leaders, and people with good ideas who never had the money or technical skills to bring them to life. Let’s keep our hands on the wheel, our minds engaged, and our values intact.

And if you’re still worried about the robots, I’ll leave you with Dwight from The Office. When he drew up plans for a robot, he gave it a six-foot extension cord so it couldn’t chase anybody.

Maybe we should start there.

Robin