More than data

For a long time, I have been cautious and curious about AI. So when I decided to enroll in an AI grad program, it was with hesitation and the expectation of learning how to use it to make things more efficient, help bring my ideas to life, and better understand changing technology. I was surprised to realize just how much AI depends on the human experience.

I have always understood data through the lens of research, as something we collect to understand people and systems, and to create change.

Then, I entered the world of AI, and something felt new and familiar. People are data. It’s found in our actions, questions, preferences, and stories. Even our hopes and frustrations become data.

Think about how AI is constantly changing. We complained that ChatGPT responses were too long, so AI adapted and summaries became bullet points. It’s the same with certain punctuation styles (I have never been more afraid to use a dash!). AI does not evolve on its own. It responds…to us.

A prompt is simply a set of instructions. And who provides those instructions? We do!

We tell AI what matters. We tell it what “sounds human”, and what should change or remain. Those instructions come from our minds, cultures, creativity, and ways of knowing. Those ways of knowing ultimately come from God.

Our greatest innovations begin with the creativity we were given. We create because we were first created.

I’m always intrigued by crown shyness in forests, where the tops of trees grow close together without touching, making patterns of space that allow light to enter. I am reminded that our experiences are our own while still contributing to something larger than ourselves.

The future of AI is not only about what technology can become, it is about what we choose to teach it.