The Artificial Intelligence(AI) Chatbot “ChatGPT” has been in the news quite a bit lately. For a quick primer, A chatbot is a computer program that uses artificial intelligence and natural language processing to understand questions and automate responses to them, simulating human conversation. ChatGPT is free online and available to anybody on the internet. You can go to its website here.
So I thought I’d give it a go, and was scary good! I used the following for an input:
“write a scripture like the King James Version of the bible that tells the reader not to use tobacco or drink alcohol”
below is what it spit out!
“And the Lord spake unto his people, saying, ‘Thou shalt not partake of the vine nor the leaf, for they bringeth harm unto thy body and cloudeth thy mind. Keep thy temple pure and holy, for it is the dwelling place of the Lord. And whosoever breaketh this commandment shall suffer the consequences of their actions in this life and the next.'”
ChatGPT
I then asked it to write a scripture like the King James Version of the bible that tells the reader that polygamy is wrong
“Thus saith the Lord, ‘Thou shalt not take unto thee multiple wives, for the practice of polygamy is an abomination in my sight. Let each man have but one wife, and let her be a help meet unto him, that they may be one flesh. And whosoever disobeyeth this commandment shall be condemned in the eyes of the Lord and shall not inherit the kingdom of heaven.'”
ChatGPT
Next I asked a simple question:
What do Mormon’s believe?
Mormons, also known as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, believe in a number of core teachings that are unique to their faith. Some of these include:
- The belief that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the savior of humanity.
- The belief that the Bible, as well as the Book of Mormon, is the word of God.
- The belief that God continues to reveal new truths and commandments to His children through living prophets.
- The belief that God has a plan of salvation for all of His children, which includes the opportunity to return to live with Him after death.
- The belief in the importance of families and the potential for families to be together forever through the ordinance of the temple.
- The belief that every person has the potential to become like God through following Jesus Christ and His teachings.
- The belief that God expects his followers to live a healthy and moral life, including the abstaining from alcohol, tobacco, and premarital sex.
- The belief that Tithing, or giving one tenth of your income to the Church, is a commandment from God, and is a way to show faith and support to the Church.
- The belief that polygamy is not a current practice in the Church and it was abandoned in the late 1800s by the Church’s leader under the revelation from God.
It is important to note that the above is a simplified version of the Mormon beliefs and there are many more details, doctrines, and practices that make up the faith.
ChatGPT
I noticed above that the Church has done a good job of saturating the internet (where ChatGPT gets its information) with the idea that the Church abandoned polygamy in 1890. We all know it was much later, but goes against the accepted narrative from the Church.
Next was a little bit harder question:
Why are Mormons against gay marriage?
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) teaches that sexual relations are only acceptable within the bonds of a legal and lawful marriage between a man and a woman. The church teaches that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that children are entitled to be born within the bonds of matrimony, therefore, they believe that same-sex marriage is not in line with these teachings.
The church also teaches that sexual relations outside of marriage are considered to be a serious sin and that these sins, including same-sex attraction, can be overcome through faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, and adherence to church teachings.
It is important to note that the Church encourages its members to love and treat all people with kindness and respect, and not to discriminate or mistreat anyone based on their sexual orientation.
It’s also worth noting that the Church’s stance on gay marriage and same-sex attraction is based on its understanding of the Bible, the Book of Mormon and the teachings of its prophets and leaders. There are also many members of the faith who may have different personal views on this matter and may support gay rights and marriage equality.
ChatGPT
Interesting that the chatbot knew that that there are “many members of the faith who may have different personal views on this matter and may support gay rights and marriage equality” Very astute!
Lastly, I asked the chatbot to write a 300 word Mormon themed blog post that tells why the Mormon church having 100 billion dollars in an investment fund is wrong. Notice that since I asked it to write a blog post that it did it in the first person like I wrote it myself!
As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as the Mormon Church, I have often heard questions and concerns about the church’s finances and its use of funds. One of the most talked-about issues is the church’s reported $100 billion investment fund. Some have raised questions about whether it is appropriate for the church to have such a large amount of money and whether it is being used in a way that is consistent with the church’s teachings and values.
First, it’s important to understand that the church operates as a non-profit organization, and like many other religious organizations, it relies on donations from its members to fund its operations and charitable activities. These donations, also known as tithing, are considered a sacred responsibility by members of the church and are used to support the church’s mission, including building and maintaining temples and meetinghouses, supporting missionary work, and providing humanitarian aid to people in need around the world.
The church also maintains an investment fund, which is used to generate income to support these activities and to ensure that the church is able to meet its financial obligations in the future. The church has stated that the funds in the investment portfolio are managed with a long-term perspective and with a focus on protecting the church’s financial stability while also supporting its mission.
However, the size of the fund and its management has raised concerns among some members and non-members. Some argue that the church’s vast wealth is at odds with its teachings of humility and simplicity and that it should use the money to help the poor and needy. Others argue that the church should be more transparent about how it is using the money and that it should be used to support more charitable activities.
In my opinion, the church should be transparent about its finances and its use of funds. While it is important to ensure that the church is able to meet its financial obligations and support its mission, it should also be mindful of the impact its wealth has on the perception of the church and its members. The Church should also consider ways to use its resources to make a positive impact on the community and the world, while still being able to fulfill its obligations and mission.
In conclusion, while the Mormon Church has the right to manage its finances as it sees fit, it is important for it to be transparent about its finances and consider the impact that its wealth may have on its perception and the way it is viewed by the public. The Church should also consider ways to use its resources to make a positive impact on the community and the world, while still being able to fulfill its obligations and mission.
ChatGPT
So, what do you think? I read an estimate that in three years 70% on the content on the internet will be AI generated. Are Bishop Bill’s days as a blogger over? What do you think of the scriptures that ChatGPT produced? Have you tried ChatGPT?
Wheat & Tares 
Do not fear, Bill. Chatbots will not replace you and the other writers here. Nor will Chatbots replace the commentators. For the irrefutable fact is that Chatbots do not have the lived experience that it takes to provide written insight, rather than regurgitate things already said by humans.
For a Chatbots doesn’t know what it feels like to stare down and band of hooligans while crossing a Dairy Queen parking lot to get to the hardware store. Chatbots don’t know what it is like to try to comfort a child while the neighbor’s Bin Jovi music blares in the background. Chatbots don’t know what it feels like to be treated by an employer who acts like the second coming of Kaiser Wilhelm II.
Because Chatbots never have to feel the emotions of toil and struggle, they will never by able to produce the kind of writing that really challenges our fellow humans to think. Although for those humans who spend the days in emotionless basements playing violent video games, the bland material of Chatbots may be sufficient.
For those regular readers who suspect that JCS is a chatbot, there is this question: How many typos and grammatical errors would a chatbot find acceptable?
@BB I suppose one of the reasons that ChatGPT performs so well here is that all of these prompts have a great many sources that it can plagiarize directly from and blend together. These prompts are all well-trodden topics. But you often have fairly original ideas, which while I suspect that ChatGPT could still come up with something, it would lack the personal experiences that make it interesting and insightful, etc ..
Still one does wonder if church PR and some GAs might not benefit from using ChatGPT.
Since not all of the information on the internet is true (*gasp*) one has to wonder how a chatbot may sift through everything and come up with accuracy in its response. Will this technology amp up even a greater departure from truths in our world? I will say, slightly off subject, that I recently talked a chatbot down in price while renewing my SiriusXM subscription. That was fun!
Since not all of the information on the internet is true (*gasp*) one has to wonder how a chatbot may sift through everything and come up with accuracy in its response. Will this technology amp up even a greater departure from truths in our world? I will say, slightly off subject, that I recently talked a chatbot down in price while renewing my SiriusXM subscription. That was fun!
The danger of a chatbot world is that the information generated from these bots is both redundant and contradictory at the same time. Hmmmm, that reminds me of something.
Word-up Rich Brown, JCS busted.
That’s gotta be my favorite JCS comment ever. Gold!
I think the scriptures sound pretty accurate and gave me the same feeling I got when reading excerpts from The Late War and the 1st Book of Napoleon.
I can’t remember the reference but isn’t there a scripture in the D&C that effectively says, “If you think these scriptures are made up, you try coming up with a revelation then and see how hard it is?” To which the chatbot just replied, “Hold my beer.”
Dairy Queen.
Honky Tonks.
Bears.
Beets.
Battlestar Galactica.
——-
Bishop bill, great minds think alike. One of the first things I tried on chatbotgpt a couple of weeks ago was asking it to write a sacrament meeting talk. It provided a very short version of a plausible sounding testimony. It does a pretty decent job of sounding like a human, but not necessarily a well informed one. The King James English it gave to you, for example, sounds reasonable on the surface but methinks the word polygamy would likely never appear in a king James English text.
Chatbotgpt has its quirks, too. It puts the phrase “it is important to note” in almost every response that is long enough for it to sound natural.
No doubt chatbots will improve. But to this point they don’t really generate new ideas. They are trained on existing writing, so it takes a real person to come up with something really creative.
If you want to sound like a human, maybe consult or even quite a chatbot (or GA for that matter). If you want creative and interesting ideas, consult a human.
Its argument on the church finances was not very convincing. It sounded like bot is getting too much information from the church website and not enough from those who wish the church would stop hoarding and start doing as Jesus would do. The #1 argument that I have heard for disagreeing with the fund is that Jesus said sell all that you have and give it to the poor, not keep plenty to meet your financial needs now and into the future. The argument brought up meeting the church’s needs more than once, while never mentioning the billion or so interest earned each year off all that cash. And obviously, if tithing hoarding has built up into that much wealth, the church is pulling in more than enough in tithing to meet its needs and that huge bank account is just hoarding.
I must admit, that I like Bill far more than I like bot. His thinking is much more original and he doesn’t sound like a parrot.
From the examples presented, it looks like ChatGPT might be able to write over 90% of the talks in any General Conference better than most of the Church leaders can themselves. Church leaders could simply request that GPT “write an LDS General Conference talk on X” where X is:
1. The Atonement
2. Being charitable
3. Tithing
4. The Family Proclamation
5. The World
6. Prophets
7. Obedience
8. The World
9. Prophets
10. Obedience
11. Prophets
12. Obedience
13. Temples
I guess that might be one problem for ChatGPT–generating all of the talks on the exact same topic (for example, prophets or obedience) that are given at GC in a way that they are different enough such that the audience can’t tell that they were all written by ChatGPT. I’m also not sure how good ChatGPT would be at generating unique enough faith-promoting stories for the talks, but so many of the GC stories seem to end up being exaggerated or outright fabrications that maybe that’s OK (I can’t test ChatGPT on this right now because it is currently at capacity and not accepting inputs–is W&T really that big??).
The talks that ChatGPT would probably struggle to write are the few talks that introduce something new or go off script. 9 out of 10 of those talks tend to be stinkers, anyway, so maybe we should just stick with ChatGPT for all future GC talks. I’d let Uctdorf be an exception–he can still write his own talks. Oaks, Nelson, and Bednar would only be allowed to give talks generated by ChatGPT for the rest of their ministries (GC and otherwise).
JCS’s ,mention of Dairy Queen today reminds me that I recently heard a Talking Heads song called “Nothing But Flowers” that has the line “I miss the honky tonks, Dairy Queens, and 7-Elevens.” It was then I discovered that, yes, JCS is a chatbot.
Behold JCS’s source material:
Fascinating post! Now we need a Turing test — are you talking to a real person or a chatbot? How to tell? Because while many of you have mentioned original ideas and experiences, I don’t think that’s going to be a good dividing line. Lots of people never have an original idea in their life.
I liked the new scriptures written by the Chatbot. They sounded very plausible.
“I read an estimate that in three years 70% on the content on the internet will be AI generated.”
That’s a really depressing thought.
The last paragraph of Kirkstall’s comment had me laughing out loud, following next by Rockwell’s Office reference which made me laugh out loud again. Thanks for the good times!
If the bots currently cannot create original thought, then we are safe from them taking over the world. For now.
Ah, the sweet sweet mania of the early days of a new innovation. We have articles, blog posts, YouTube videos, etc. Some ushering in a new era of human’s existence. Some claiming the downfall of humanity. Other’s dismissing it with a contemptuous flip of the hand. (And many of these opinions pro and con written by ChatGPT). Time alone will tell where this takes us. The same thing happened when television was invented, the same thing happened when computers became ubiquitous, the same thing happened when the Internet appeared, the same thing happened when the smart phone happened on the scene. Doomsayers, naysayers, yaysayers. And things DID change and most likely the rise of these effective AI language processors will change things as well. But it’s early days and we see through a glass darkly. I’m in wait and see mode, personally.
Great post! I fully agree with your argument that churches, just like any other organization, should be subject to paying taxes if they accumulate significant wealth. It is a matter of fairness and equity – if churches are receiving tax-exempt status, they should be using their resources for the public good, not hoarding wealth. Additionally, it can also ensure that the government has sufficient funds to support important public services. Overall, it is a great point that churches should be held to the same tax standards as any other organization.
LOL, just kidding, that was the ChatGPT!
Religious freedom, a mask for bigotry,
A cloak to hide the hate that lurks within.
For those who seek to harm and discriminate,
This guise of faith becomes a deadly sin.
In times of old, this guise was a noble cause,
A way for men to worship as they please.
But now, it’s used to justify the laws
That marginalize and bring to their knees.
The true believers, they are oft ignored,
Their voices drowned out by the loud and vile.
The bigots use religion as a sword,
To slice apart the rights of those on trial.
But know this, dear friends, that bigotry will fall,
And love and tolerance will reign over all.
This one’s actually not bad! This time I told it to do a Shakespearean sonnet about religious freedom.
Next time I’m bored at work I’m going to make Venn diagrams of all things condemned by JCS.
Impressive.
It’d be interesting to ask about something controversial like vaccines or Ukraine: can metadata make equally strong arguments against itself?
If the Chatbot gets a virus, does it manifest text like Tourette’s, misinformation, stream-of-conscious…?
Spenloce, Thanks for the insight on JCS. We now have somewhat dated him. My pror thoughts of a 70 year old
curmudgeon in the basement are now gone. If he liked talking heads back in the day, it makes/made him somewhat hip. Now I would have to guess he is 45 to 55 years old.
Can the Chatbot vary its outcome based on an author of different ages of a 10 year old vs the 70 yo?..or is it always the flat encyclopedia view?
Spenlove, Thanks for the insight on JCS. We now have somewhat dated him. My pror thoughts of a 70 year old
curmudgeon in the basement are now gone. If he liked talking heads back in the day, it makes/made him somewhat hip. Now I would have to guess he is 45 to 55 years old.
Can the Chatbot vary its outcome based on an author of different ages of a 10 year old vs the 70 yo?..or is it always the flat encyclopedia view?
Angela C, this is fun.
From ChatGPT:
“Thou shalt not gather thyself together with thine ex-lover at the local 7-Eleven, for it is a place of temptation and iniquity. Remember the days of thy youth, and how thou didst swear to forsake all others, and cleave only unto thy lawful spouse. Keep thy heart pure, and thy mind free from the snares of the past, for the path of righteousness is narrow and difficult, but it leadeth unto eternal life.”
The more granular I get with these requests, the more impressive this is. From ChatGPT:
“Thou shalt not partake in gluttonous displays of consumption, such as hot-dog-eating contests, in the sanctity of thy mother’s basement. Nor shall thou listen to the temptations of worldly music, such as the songs of Dua Lipa, as thou engage in such activities. For the Lord thy God detesteth a proud and haughty heart, and the sins of the flesh shall bring about thy downfall. Remember the commandments, and keep thyself pure, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Some laugh out loud moments – thanks everyone!
JCS has made too many references to Dua Lipa for me to think he is an old man.
“the sanctity of thy mother’s basement”
LOL