What happened: While the world continues to grow increasingly reliant upon artificial technology, many are becoming disillusioned with the society it’s creating at an even faster pace. Between concerns about the job market, to massive data centers and beyond, AI is quickly becoming an appealing target for the frustrations of those who are starting to feel left behind.

Why it matters: Even though sentiment is quickly turning against AI, most do not feel like they can afford to avoid it. As such, there’s a sense of impotent acceptance that’s becoming the norm among many, despite their concerns. However, the difference between people accepting AI and embracing AI could have a profound impact on the ways in which the technology is integrated into our society going forward.

The backstory: “A collective, ‘This sucks’”

“The only thing growing faster than the artificial-intelligence industry may be Americans’ negative feelings about it.”

That’s how the Wall Street Journal began a recent article examining the shifting dynamics of how many are coming to view the pervasive influence of artificial intelligence on our world. Those who have studied the shift note that “the souring of public opinion is all but unprecedented in its speed.” And the timing couldn’t be worse for those who have already invested billions in the belief that AI is the future.

To be fair, though, they’re probably still right.

Even though an increasingly large percentage of the population doesn’t like AI, few think they can actually stop its progress. Most just hope not to get swept aside in the process. And that particular fear seems most acute among the younger generations.

At the University of Central Florida, for example, recent graduates were treated to a speech by Gloria Gaulfield in which she noted they were entering the workforce at a time of “profound change” before touting AI as “the next industrial revolution.” The students in attendance replied with a chorus of boos that only grew louder as she continued to speak.

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt received similar treatment at the University of Arizona. Granted, at least some of the negativity levied at him was the result of sexual harassment accusations and a host of other allegations, but the loudest boos were reserved for when he tried to describe all the ways that AI would make their lives better.

And it’s not hard to understand why. The job market for 22–27-year-olds is the worst it’s been since the pandemic, and even Fed Chair Jerome Powell acknowledged that AI is largely to blame. A recent survey found that 43 percent of global CEOs plan to hire fewer junior roles over the next few years, which is roughly twice as many as last year.

As one student explained, the response at graduation was “just sort of like a collective, ‘This sucks.’”

And they’re not the only ones who feel that way.

Are AI data centers worth it?

While college graduates booing commencement speakers is making headlines, the concerted effort across much of rural America to stop big tech companies from building data centers in their midst is a more telling story. As Frannie Block describes, “These data centers are the physical footprint of the artificial-intelligence boom in America.” Companies like Google, Amazon, Meta, and others are planning to invest upwards of $600 billion in AI computing power this year alone, and these data centers are a big part of that equation.

The Tangle offered a very helpful back-and-forth on the reasons why many support building more data centers while others oppose them, and it’s a great resource for understanding the main arguments on both sides.

What the debate often comes down to, though, is that these data centers are essential as AI becomes more integrated into our daily lives, and the current systems are simply not up to the task of meeting those needs. As such, the choice is either to retrofit older centers and rely on other nations to provide the necessary computing power, or to build new ones that are both more efficient and better suited to the required tasks.

Europe is a good example of what can happen when you fall behind that curve, with experts warning that it is in danger of becoming an AI “vassal state” to America if it cannot become more self-reliant in the next two or three years.

At the same time, these data centers are enormous, and so is the quantity of resources they consume. One such proposed site near Pike County, Ohio, is set to encompass 1,700 acres—roughly 1,200 football fields—and include a 9.2-gigawatt natural gas plant to power it. The power plant is an essential part of the construction because the 10-gigawatt data center is expected to require as much energy as all of New York City.

And while these projects will create thousands of jobs for local residents during construction, they will require a fraction of that number to operate once they’re finished. As a result, the economic benefit of their presence is often overstated.

All of that is why Elon Musk and others are looking to move these data centers to space, instead. That may happen eventually—though perhaps not in the two-to-three years he projects—but it feels like we’re still a long way from it being a realistic alternative.

As such, at least for now, we’re left to live in the uncomfortable truth that AI—and everything that comes with it—is becoming increasingly essential, and there’s not much we can do about it. And I suspect that sense of inevitability is where a large percentage of the fear and mistrust is coming from.

Spiritual application: Why do you want a relationship with God?

The idea that you’ll fall behind if you don’t use AI, or that nations will become vassal states if they don’t embrace it, means that many of those who integrate artificial intelligence into their daily lives do so because they feel like they have to rather than because they genuinely want to. Unfortunately, I think many Christians see God in much the same way.

I’ve known many people who follow Jesus more because they don’t want to go to hell than because they are genuinely excited about the prospect of making him the king of their lives. To be honest, there have been many days when that described me as well.

Embracing the prospect of turning the leadership of your life over to a being you can’t see in order to trust that his plan is ultimately best—especially given that he promises that plan will lead to times of persecution and hardship (John 15:20–21)—is a big ask, and it’s not a sin to recognize that fact.

The problem comes when those doubts, or a reluctant submission to his will, become the foundation of our relationship with him. Again, God knows there will be days where that’s how it feels, but he also promises that the blessings of a life fully committed to him will so far outweigh the costs that they are not even worth comparing (Romans 8:18, Philippians 3:7–11).

When you read the Bible, those who know God best are the ones who trust him most. By contrast, it’s the people who evaluate the Lord through the lens of their own desires and weigh the present-day cost of submitting to his will over the bigger picture of all he has in store for them who have the most trouble trusting that his ways truly are best.

I know which of those people I want to be. That doesn’t mean I’ll always succeed or that there won’t be days when that kind of faith feels beyond me. But the doubts don’t have to be the foundation of your walk with the Lord, and he wants to help if you’ll let him.

So, how would you describe your relationship with God today? Have you embraced the opportunity to recognize him as Lord of your life, or does it feel more like resigning yourself to a reality you wish you could change?

God knows your heart and mind, so don’t be afraid to be honest with him. And if the best prayer you can offer today is “I believe, help my unbelief,” then know that request is just as acceptable now as it was nearly two thousand years ago (Mark 9:24).

Praise God for that.

 

Denison Forum