by By Tohru Inoue
There’s a bit of anxiety around Artificial Intelligence (AI), particularly among creatives. AI has proved it can write and illustrate books. It can simulate a singer’s voice and create songs. It can create stunning images, all in the matter of seconds.
News outlets are already reporting on stories of people who have lost their jobs to AI. So, what’s the prospect for a storyteller on a Christian communications team?
Our team has been chatting about all the new developments and, for fun, have been looking at some of the striking images it can produce.
These two pictures came to me from one of our storytellers, Josh. One is generated by AI, the other an actual photograph that he took. Can you tell which one’s which?
The technology is amazing but, to state the obvious, one is a real person, and the other is a clever bit of code; a mishmash of skin tones and facial structures; a best approximation of what a computer has gathered about people.
One has a back story, the other is a collection of 1s and 0s.
While one was knit together by God, what AI has generated is, as my friend Josh would say, at best only a “sophisticated echo.” But let’s get into these pictures a little more.
One of them is a real war veteran; a tank gunner in the Six Day War. He used to close his eyes when firing so he wouldn’t see the shells land. He carries those memories in his bones. Memories he now shares freely with Josh over coffee.
He lives in a house next to the Nile River. He is a known and respected elder in his village. Josh had a real visit over real food and real laughter from real experiences the man had. He spent time with a real soul that will outlive any AI generated image.
But for the average consumer, the other image is much easier and more budget friendly to produce. From a visual standpoint, it’s also compelling. Maybe even more so when considering the time taken to generate them were but mere seconds.
So, will storytellers like Josh lose their work to AI?
In a word, ‘no.’
Storytellers like him will always want to chase real stories. In his photography, he’s not chasing a face that might tell a story. He’s much more interested in the stories that make up the face — what the story was behind a prominent scar or body art, or the story of how they started smoking.
As a believer, the stories take on an even greater meaning. They are part of the evidence of a living God; signs that He is still active today.
Like a preacher exegeting Scripture, Josh exegetes stories to find the fingerprints of God. And all the beautifully generated computer images will not satisfy his desire to chase that evidence. And to be awed and moved when he finds it.
What’s more, these stories can change the course of a person’s life. They can ignite a calling in a young listener’s ear. A young man hears stories of mothers in remote jungles dying in childbirth and decides to become a missionary pilot. A young woman is challenged by stories from a missionary from the Red Sea region and decides to serve in a refugee camp in Ethiopia. Stories change lives.
Consider the two images again…
One will make the rounds on the internet. The other will light up his cigarette and make your eyes water. One will be posted online, the other will pass you a plate of dried dates. One can be whatever you want it to be. The other can only tell you the stories they know. And between the two, I know which one Josh would choose. He’ll listen for the story locked in the old man’s bones. But first, he’ll have to wait for the man to finish his cigarette.
AI? Josh is not worried. He’s too busy chasing real stories of a real God.
Tohru Inoue serves as a missionary with SIM Kenya.
Photos by Josh
