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By William Van Zyl.

Published in March 2023 (Edited in 2025)

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Table of Contents

“The Eye That Never Blinks; The Eye That Never Sleeps.”

In a quiet café nestled in the heart of a bustling Western city, two friends—both dedicated Christians—sit across from each other, their eyes fixed on a glowing phone screen. A YouTube video plays silently between sips of coffee and thoughtful glances. The footage is simple: a pedestrian steps onto a crosswalk just as the traffic light turns red. A camera clicks. Within seconds, a notification pings on the jaywalker’s phone—a $100 fine, instantly issued by an AI system. It never sleeps.

CAPTION TO ABOVE IMAGE: The AI-generated image depicts a ‘Jaywalker’ being captured by a surveillance camera at a red light, with facial recognition, and an instant fine notification sent to his phone—credit: Gemini (Created May 2025).

“That’s… terrifyingly efficient,” one of them murmurs, eyes wide.

“It’s like judgment without grace,” the other replies, shaking his head.

This isn’t science fiction. It’s the new reality in a world where micro-management has evolved into a national strategy—pioneered and perfected by a powerful Eastern nation. At the heart of this transformation lies a super quantum computer, capable of processing unimaginable volumes of data in real time. It fuels a surveillance ecosystem so advanced that human error is not just detected—it’s punished before the offender even realises it.

This article explores the rise of AI-driven micro-management, the ethical and spiritual questions it raises, and the global ripple effects of a society where every step is watched, every action judged, and every mistake instantly monetised.

END OF THE INTRO.

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This APA-referenced essay has been tweaked in several paragraphs, including a Christian view. Limited AI-generated text has been included. The bulk of my work consists of research and creative writing. I have included a little of AI-generated text to showcase the power of AI.

When it gets to AI, the questions that arises for us humans are: What is right and what is wrong? What is our benchmark for making moral and ethical decisions? What ‘philosophical magnet’ is in your moral compass when engaging with AI?

Artificial Intelligence: The Rise of Intelligent Machines

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a rapidly growing field that involves developing intelligent machines that can perform tasks that typically require human intelligence, such as understanding natural language, recognising images, and making decisions. AI aims to create machines that can think, reason, and learn like humans and to use these machines to solve complex problems in various fields, from healthcare and finance to transportation and entertainment. In this article, we will explore AI’s history and current state and its potential impact on society and the future of work.

CAPTION: A 50-qubit quantum computer. Quantum computers are cooled using extremely low temperatures, often close to absolute zero (−273.15°C or 0 Kelvin), to maintain the delicate quantum states of their qubits. Taken on March 20, 2018. Credit: Ian Hughes (Flickr). Link: https://www.flickr.com/photos/epredator/40239193864

Credit: https://www.sketchbubble.com/en/presentation-ai-technology-landscape.html

Credit: https://www.sketchbubble.com/en/presentation-ai-icons.html

*Domains Of AI – Types Of Artificial Intelligence – Edureka*. Credit: https://www.edureka.co/blog/types-of-artificial-intelligence/

What is AI?

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a field of computer science that aims to create intelligent machines that can perform tasks that typically require human-level intelligence, such as visual perception, speech recognition, decision-making, and language translation. AI systems can be broadly categorised into three categories: supervised learning, unsupervised learning, and reinforcement learning.

History of Artificial Intelligence

The origins of AI can be traced back to the mid-20th century when computer scientists began exploring the concept of machine intelligence. In 1956, a group of researchers convened at Dartmouth College to discuss the potential of creating machines that could simulate human intelligence. This event is considered the birth of AI as a field of study.

Researchers developed various techniques for creating intelligent machines in the following decades, including rule-based systems, expert systems, and neural networks. However, progress was slow due to limitations in computing power and the complexity of human intelligence.

In recent years, advances in computing power and machine learning algorithms have led to significant breakthroughs in AI research. Deep learning, a subset of machine learning that utilises neural networks with multiple layers, has achieved human-level performance in tasks such as image recognition and natural language processing.

Current State of Artificial Intelligence

Today, AI is used in various applications, from virtual assistants like Siri and Alexa to self-driving cars and medical diagnosis systems. AI is also used in business applications such as fraud detection, customer service, and predictive analytics.

One key factor driving the current growth of AI is the availability of large amounts of data. Machine learning algorithms require large datasets to train on, and the explosion of data in recent years has made it possible to train more complex models than ever before.

Another factor driving the growth of AI is the availability of cloud computing resources. Cloud providers like Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure offer powerful computing resources that can be used to train and deploy machine learning models at scale, making it easier and more cost-effective to develop AI applications.

IMAGE: Robot created by AI (Discord/Midjourney). Prompt: “a robot in a futuristic setting.”

Impact of Artificial Intelligence

The rise of AI has the potential to profoundly impact society and the future of work. On the one hand, AI can automate many tasks currently performed by humans, leading to increased efficiency and productivity. For example, self-driving cars could eliminate the need for human drivers, reduce traffic accidents, and free up time for other activities.

On the other hand, job automation could lead to significant job displacement, particularly in industries that rely heavily on manual labour. This could disrupt social and economic areas, particularly those with few alternative employment opportunities.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has undoubtedly brought numerous positive changes to our lives, including improvements in efficiency, accuracy, and convenience. However, there are also potential negative impacts of AI that should be considered, such as:

Job displacement: One of the most significant concerns with AI is that it can potentially replace human workers in various industries. As AI technology continues to develop and improve, it may automate jobs previously performed by humans, leading to unemployment and economic disruption.
Bias and discrimination: AI systems are only as unbiased as the data on which they are trained. If the data contains biases or discriminatory patterns, the AI system may perpetuate these biases in its decision-making. This could lead to unfair treatment of certain groups and perpetuate societal inequalities.
Privacy and security concerns: AI systems often require large amounts of data to function, and this data may include personal and sensitive information. If this data falls into the wrong hands, it could be used for nefarious purposes, such as identity theft or other cybercrimes.
Dependence on AI: As AI becomes more prevalent, people may become overly reliant, losing critical thinking skills and independence. This could be particularly problematic in situations where AI systems fail or malfunction.
Ethical concerns: As AI becomes more advanced, there are growing concerns about the moral implications of its use. For example, AI could be used to develop autonomous weapons, leading to disastrous consequences if they malfunction or fall into the wrong hands.

While AI can bring about numerous positive changes, it is essential to consider and address its potential adverse impacts to ensure that it is used ethically and responsibly.

From a Christian perspective, how should we engage with AI?

A great question! The instructions of the Ancient of Days are:

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Philippians 4:8 (NIV)

So, to keep it very simple, the answer is yes, we should engage. However, when we are involved in AI’s creation, use, and application, we must uphold God’s Word as the Golden Standard. Ask yourself, “What would Jesus do (WWJD)?”

We are free if we adhere to His high moral standards and ethics. We should engage with AI in an appropriate and honourable way that will benefit us and our neighbours. Shun all wicked intent. Just like Job in the Bible: Job is described as “…blameless and upright, one who feared God and shunned evil.” (Job 1). This means he was known for his integrity, reverence for God, and active avoidance of wrongdoing. That is the standard for the Christian. Everyone engaging in AI should practice this law.

“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. “This is the first and great commandment. “And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Matthew 22:37–39). KJV

Bibliography:

Bostrom, N. (2014). Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies. Oxford University Press.
Brynjolfsson, E., & McAfee, A. (2014). The Second Machine Age: Work, Progress, and Prosperity in a Time of Brilliant Technologies. W.W. Norton & Company.
Floridi, L., & Sanders, J. W. (Eds.). (2004). On the Morality of Artificial Agents. Springer.
Ford, M. (2015). Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of a Jobless Future. Basic Books.
Goodfellow, I., Bengio, Y., & Courville, A. (2016). Deep Learning. MIT Press.
LeCun, Y., Bengio, Y., & Hinton, G. (2015). Deep learning. Nature, 521(7553), 436-444.
Russell, S. J., & Norvig, P. (2010). Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach. Pearson.
Searle, J. R. (1980). Minds, Brains, and Programs. Behavioural and Brain Sciences, 3(3), 417-457.
Tegmark, M. (2017). Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence. Knopf.
The Holy Bible: King James Version.
Zeng, X., Lu, W., & Mao, J. (2021). A Review of Machine Learning in Artificial Intelligence. International Journal of Automation and Computing, 18(3), 310-327.

Citation:

Van Zyl, W. N. (2023). [Edited in 2025]. Essay: Artificial Intelligence (AI). Published by Five House Publishing. Blog post: https://fivehousepublishing.com/2023/03/22/essay-artificial-intelligence-ai/