2-22-22 Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made :: By Jennifer Laufenberg Published on: December 15, 2021 by RRadmin7 Category:General Articles When Christians Partake in the Sins of Science and Technology “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1). “For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ” (Galatians 1:10). “O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you…?” (Galatians 3:1). While giving a podcast on the Solari Report, Harry Blazer remarked that technologies such as artificial intelligence and brain mapping are “not benign.” As such, we should ask ourselves who is behind these. Who, in fact, is in control of these tools that will shape us? Blazer asked, what emotional and spiritual intelligences do these people hold who desire a centralized power? They have a plan for what they want people to be, he said. That podcast was from 2018, one year after The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) ran a short article on Facebook’s (now known as Meta Platforms, Inc.) Building 8. At the time of the article, this “building” was rather new, but more importantly, this obscure division was working hard on developing brain-computer interface technologies. In short, exploring the possibilities of connecting our magnificent God-created brain to machines and studying the outcomes in what the head of the division at the time, Regina Dugan, called “audacious science.” Now, in 2021, these so-called advancements in the field of neurotechnology have not faded into another galaxy. More are making an appearance, quietly shrouded under the guises of education, business, and healthcare. When complications like ethics arise, the concerns revolve around a worldly trinity: access, equity, and privacy. In the WSJ article, “How to Get Smarter: Start with the Brain Itself,” [1] Robert Hampson, a neuroscientist with Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, said, “If there were a prosthetic that improved a person’s memory, is that an unfair advantage?” In the age of the Internet of Things (I0T), a collection of all devices (think the ubiquitous cell phone, Apple Watch, or, who would have guessed, the smart garage door opener) that are connected to the internet and form a mass collection and distribution of our data, Mr. Hampson’s question of fairness bypasses the most foundational level of our purpose. This technology that promises to “alter how the brain functions, and ultimately our sense of self,” should be questioned, then, on the most basic level of Genesis 1, “In the beginning, God created….” The Internet of Things has driven the increasing digitalization of our world, thus providing life to a more artificially constructed world through 5G, augmented reality, and virtual reality. The problem, then, begins not with the devices but with the concept of connecting the minutest aspects of our life through tiny sensors that transfer our data (our actions, thoughts, and emotions) throughout a space whose owner we know not. Marketed and sold to us as essential for planning, health, learning, and security, we simply have and continue to buy in. At what price? For Christians, the desires of science and technology to alter God’s most precious creation—human design—should be alarming. Moreover, when the technologies are largely funded by Pentagon’s DARPA (the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), we should indeed be asking the kinds of prescient questions that Harry Blazer suggested back in 2018, back before our Covid world and the promise of the metaverse. Yet, I believe that, for too long, we born-again Christians have allowed Jesus’s admonition that we are to be as wise as serpents and as harmless as doves (Matthew 10:16) to lull us into a naive tranquility whereby we pay lip service to the work of wolves, or put such strict limitations on the breadth of it, that it can only apply to a handful of vices regularly preached against. The parable of the mustard seed in the Gospel of Matthew 13:31-32 is applicable to the ever-expanding Internet of Things (I0T). What many don’t understand about the parable is that the mustard seed’s explosive growth is undesirable, leading it to become a habitat for sin, as represented by the birds and evidenced by leaven in the following parable. In regard to the vast Internet of Things, we might wonder if all that’s waiting to be connected is, well, you and me. With artificial intelligence and the metaverse, the possibility is here. It’s being marketed as something to be envied and something to be had for many. Let’s look at these technologies that are and will be subtly sold to His creation who bear His image, promising to propel us into an altered and bettered state. Artificial Intelligence Dr. Hassan Tetteh is the Warfighter Health Mission Chief for the Department of Defense Joint Artificial Intelligence Center. In the WSJ article, “How AI Will Make Your Doctor Smarter,” [2] he explained, “What the X-ray or anesthesia were to medicine generations ago, AI is today in its essentiality. You can call me an evangelist, a proselytizer, or a broken record—it’s all fine. Vladimir Putin had it right when he predicted whichever nation leads in artificial intelligence will dominate. In the arms race for healthcare AI, I want to make sure the United States doesn’t come in second.” At its simplest level, artificial intelligence extracts human intelligence and inputs it into a man-made creation. Our knowledge, our activity, our data is the foundation upon which artificial intelligence is built. Then, it operates as the replacement for human intelligence. Keep the spiritual in mind: Only God can create from nothing. Satan can only mimic God, as he lacks the ability to create from nothing. Furthermore, Jesus told us how Satan operates: stealing, killing, and destroying. This “arms race for healthcare AI” is not limited to the military. It extends into the civilian healthcare system and the education system as well. In this Covid world, AI could be deployed to detect and diagnose your cough—over the phone via a smartphone app. Though AI is still undergoing schooling to detect and diagnose a cough, once it is sufficiently learned, your smartphone will be another listening ear in the doctor’s office, hospital, or nursing home to indicate an increase in illnesses—or, even in your home, reporting back to your doctor whether your illness is improving, worsening, or in need of further evaluation. From a listening device to a linking device, the Defense Department has invested $18 million dollars to study wireless brain connections that will enable the transfer of one person’s words or images to another person’s brain. This research, led by Dr. Jacob Robinson, a neuro-engineer at Rice University, relies on a combination of technologies, including nanotechnology, magnetic stimulation, and genetic engineering, the latter of which “alter[s] neurons.” Once again, the social contribution of linked brains falls under the parameters of health, as in helping Alzheimer’s patients, but the potential scope is wider, encompassing the classroom, workplace, and society at large: “I see a day,” said Dr. Robinson, “when people will be connecting to their brains in the workplace and in the classroom even in social situations.” [1] Though these neural links are described as “noninvasive” (currently a wireless headset is used), it is possible that brain connections could evolve into what journalist Robert Lee Hotz called an “internet of thoughts.” Similar to the IoT, neurons would be connected to a cloud, “providing access to supercomputing storage and processing capabilities and artificial intelligence systems” [1] From a wireless headset to an implant, DARPA’s Biological Technologies Office has been underwriting research for memory implants with the end goal as a “wireless memory prosthesis” available for anyone learning a new task, from the learning impaired to the ordinary procrastinator. While the technology may make it a boon to college students during finals, the science behind it and the future of such science is deeply disturbing. The formation of a memory implant has come from the scientists’ ability to understand our own ability to remember. From there, according to DARPA, scientists were able to “‘write in’ that code to make existing memory work better.” [1] Elon Musk’s Neuralink is researching a brain implant that allows a person to control a computer or cell phone through an implant, or what they call the Link. Musk’s research relies on the same foundation that Facebook’s Building 8 was doing in 2018, brain-machine interface systems (BMIs) or brain-computer interfaces (BCIs). Again, the basic premise is to enable communication between the brain and an electronic device (a cell phone or computer), which will allow the device to receive information from the brain as well as input information into the human brain itself. Neuralink’s Link, however, is designed to be “fully wireless communication through the skin.” Though Neuralink is marketing this technology for individuals with spinal cord injuries, one must question whether or not this is ultimately an exploitation of the final frontier: the mind. If all of this seems conspiratorial, think again. In 2015, citizens in Europe, first in Sweden and then Germany, began willingly getting microchipped as a matter of convenience. Why carry keys and a wallet when you can just swipe a hand? So, what’s changed in six years? In 2021, is Neuralink’s vision outrageous or right on the money “to create BMIs that are sufficiently safe and powerful that healthy individuals would want to have them?” Because AI is heralded as vital to the future of business, healthcare, and education sectors, there’s little restraint for its advance. Furthermore, with its ability to mimic human voices, needs, and desires, AI will have a central role in the internet’s newest successor: metaverse. Metaverse Predicted to be a trillion-dollar enterprise, Er, new universe, the metaverse will combine augmented reality, virtual reality, and the internet to create what Mark Zuckerberg calls an “embodied internet” (quoted in “Mark in the Metaverse,” The Verge). [3] Where today we browse the internet, in the metaverse we will be inside this new world—talking, shopping, dining, working out, getting together with friends, going to work. In short, it sounds like much of what we already do, except via our own avatar. And just like the life we have now, we will have purchasing power. Speculated to be the medium of exchange, cryptocurrency will enable us to outfit our avatar, purchase homes, decorate them, and continue to spend in all sorts of ways that one can only predict are utterly worthless. Yet, the metaverse will be more than an alternate reality we zoom in and out of; in fact, we could spend most of our day residing in this artificial world. One of the appeals, Zuckerberg contends, is that the metaverse will provide a more natural experience than our current internet: “I don’t think this is primarily about being engaged with the internet more. I think it’s about being engaged more naturally.” [3] Within this more natural place, there will be no need for real transportation, as we will be able to teleport from one place to another. Think big because the metaverse is expansive. Though we may “own” a few things with our virtual money, that will be after these brave new worlds are formed and purchased. Sound confusing? Unfair? As Konrad Putzier reports in “Metaverse Real Estate Piles Up Record Sales in Sandbox and Other Virtual Realms,” [4] investors and companies are already purchasing land in the metaverse worlds. (Collectively, these different worlds are known as the metaverse.) One company that invests in digital realty, Republic Realm, recently paid $4.3 million for virtual land in the metaverse world Sandbox. Before the metaverse becomes our mainstay, however, Zuckerberg admits that there will likely be at least one technological evolution beyond the Oculus headset. [3] Several companies are working on ways to provide the immersive experience of the virtual reality headset but in a manner more akin to the smart watches or smart glasses. The latter, which Christopher Mims describes in his article “A View of Apple’s Future,” [5] will give a person an “overlay of [their] world with a heads-up-display that puts driving directions, messages, video chats and everything else we do on our phones directly into our field of view.” One thing seems more certain about the advances; at minimum, access to the metaverse will be through a “face-based computer.” Though Qualcomm’s vice-president of XR and the metaverse, Hugo Swart, predicts that they are ten years from the “‘holy grail’ of augmented reality glasses.” I believe access will be far more advanced. The key is in one word: embody. Today’s internet is addictive, but it does not embody us. A look at the meaning of embody gives context to who we may be or what we may lack in this coming metaverse. The following definitions come from Merriam-Webster: “to give a body to (a spirit)” 2. “to deprive of spirituality”; “to make concrete and perceptible” 3. “to cause to become a body or part of a body” 4. “to represent in human or animal form” Through process of elimination, there are two definitions that can be easily eliminated as pertaining to this new world: “to make concrete and perceptible” as this is already done through virtual reality AND “to represent in human or animal form.” (Joanna Stern pointed out in her article, “Stuck in the Metaverse for 24 Hours,” that her avatar floated around legless with other legless avatars.) The other meanings “to give a body to (a spirit)” and “to deprive of spirituality” if true in the context of the metaverse, clearly delineate that this is no place for a born-again Christian. As born-again believers, we are already part of the body of Christ. Our body is not our own but has been purchased with Christ’s precious blood, and we are indwelt with the Holy Spirit. While the metaverse is most often associated with Meta or Meta Platforms, Inc. (formerly Facebook), there is no one company behind it. Currently, Google, Microsoft, Samsung, and Sony, among others, are also contributing to this alternate world that venture capitalist Matthew Ball estimates will eventually “represent 10% to 20% of the world economy” (quoted in “Metaverse Emerges as Promising Yet Uncertain New World for Investors).” [6] This lucrative man-made universe will, according to Zuckerberg, be “operated by many different players in a decentralized way.” [3] More insidious, still, is Zuckerberg’s comment about a “creator economy,” in which there will be new work for everyone, courtesy of “individual creators designing experiences and places.” How we will all become embodied and take part in new roles designed for us by these creators is unknown. More pressing—how will our self-will, our right to be sovereign over ourselves (an aspect of human dignity that God has given us) be taken over? It is here that I would encourage you to think hard about the Covid injection and booster shots. Seriously research them outside of mainstream media sources. The very definition of vaccine has changed and will probably be changed again. The Bible warns of a “science falsely so-called” (1 Timothy 6:20) and of being deceived by pharmakeia. (See also Isaiah 8:19-20.) There is much written about the possible goals of injections containing liquid nanoparticles, from bioweapons, to kill shots aimed at mass depopulation, to liquid computers meant to eventually hook us all up to the internet. “Metaverse is,” as Zuckerberg explained, “a vision that spans many companies—the whole industry and thus the whole world.” [3] If the Covid injection concerns much more than preventing an illness, then, clearly, the metaverse encompasses more than a natural internet experience. Indeed, as the definition of embodiment denotes, the metaverse will take over our lives, becoming a god, emptying us of our real God-given dreams, desires, and purposes, retooling us from being fearfully and wonderfully made into something sinister. The metaverse is another verse out of the enemy’s playbook, a satanic realm of deception and illusion, full of evil. The apostle Paul is clear: “Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them” (Ephesians 5:11, emphasis mine). “Darkness” is used as a metaphor for those who are ignorant of “divine things and human duties” (Strong’s). Ephesians 5:13 reads, “But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.” Here, then, is another metaphor, for God is light and the full embodiment of knowledge and truth. In the beginning, God breathed light into the emptiness and darkness, bringing about life (Genesis 1:1-3). As His children, I believe we emanate His glory from our spirit. While it may not be perceptible to us, it is to the spiritual realm we war against (Ephesians 6). Make no mistake: this is a spiritual war. We are misguided if we believe that we can fellowship with the “unfruitful works of darkness” and be holy. Not only will we disobey God and tempt Him, but also we risk losing our personhood. Though originally created in the image of God, we will be reduced to a device, a pawn for play to satisfy the fleshly desires of the elites. Paul’s words in 1 Timothy 6:10 are fitting: “But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.” Taken together, then, artificial intelligence and the metaverse are a blending of man and machine with a futile attempt to transform this universe and humanity. Transhumanism—this new creation—is completely opposed to the Biblical account of God’s creation, as told in Genesis 1 when the “Spirit of God [Ruach Elohim] moved upon the face of the waters” (Genesis 1:2). I think it’s interesting that the translation of Ruach Elohim, “wind, breath, mind, spirit,” are elements associated with tangible life and life’s movement. Both ourselves and the created world are not blocks on some chain or chips connected to a cloud. Rather, our breath, mind, and spirit all come from Him, and so it should be, then, that “in him we live, and move, and have our being” (Acts 17:28, emphasis mine). What, then, beholds the Christian who partakes in this game of “re-creation” getting started? We might consider that what may seem as good can be meant for evil. Such is the enemy’s ultimate perversion of Joseph’s understanding of being sold into Egypt. (See Genesis 50:20.) The enemy’s plans are to steal, kill, and destroy, although they are often conveniently peddled as light. Thus, when we partake as “do-gooders,” as virtual signalers, we take part in the thievery of the hopes and dreams that God has put into the hearts of His people. What we need to ascertain is not how long before these technologies become so widespread as to affect us personally, but how we will respond when they do. Paul assures us in Romans 2:3, “And thinkest thou, this O man, that judgest them which do such things [see Romans 1:26-31 for a list of “vile affections”], and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?” Take heart. Stay steadfast, Christian, for “glory and honor and immortality, eternal life” (Romans 2:3) are our inheritance through Christ Jesus—beyond which nothing in this world can mimic or steal. Jennifer Laufenberg December 7, 2021 earnestlycontend@yahoo.com www.earnestlycontend.net Please visit us at earnestlycontend.net to read about our mission and to read more of our writings. We are just getting started. Sources [1] Hotz, Robert Lee, “How to Get Smarter: Start with the Brain Itself,” Wall Street Journal, Aug. 12, 2021 [2] Ripp, Alan, “How AI Will Make Your Doctor Smarter?” Wall Street Journal, Nov. 5, 2021 [3] Newton, Casey, “Mark in the Metaverse,” The Verge, June 22, 2021 [4] Putzier, Konrad, “Metaverse Real Estate Piles Up Record Sales in Sandbox and Other Virtual Realms,” Wall Street Journal, Nov. 30, 2021. [5] Mims, Christopher, “A View of Apple’s Future,” Wall Street Journal, Dec. 4-5, 2021 (pg. B002) [6] Bobrosky, Meghan, “Metaverse Emerges as Promising Yet Uncertain New World for Investors,” The Wall Street Journal, Dec. 2, 2021