Belief and Truth - remembering what's real in the wake of AI

I listened to a podcast recently which, along with the whole world at moment, was discussing whether AI would take all our jobs. There were differing opinions, some more cynical than others. But one of the hosts suggested that soon the internet was going to be flooded with images and words that appeared even more real and moving to us than the physical world we experience. And that did unnerve me.

But it was also a catalyst for thinking about the things we feel as humans that machines never could. Putting a hand out to touch the bark of a tree that's stood for hundreds of years. The wind howling through your hair on top of a mountain. Hugging a dear friend. Hearing my toddler laugh in real time. And something about that gave me hope. If AI causes all of us to doubt what's real on the internet, will it push humans back to the reality of existing in this world? If we don't know whether we're messaging our Mum or a chatbot, will it encourage us to make time to be with each other in person? If it does, well, that's a good thing. I think we could all do with more time in the forest than on our phones in 2025.

I wrote this a couple of hours after finishing the podcast.

Belief and Truth

To believe in something

Faith rides on wings like eagles

Soaring to the sun drenched mountain lands

And what shall we find there?

A tree?

A nothingness, dust and ashes?

Darkness?

Is all we are mirrors and mirages?

Have we lost all sense of solidity?

Is there no truth anymore?

Or is it all in the eye of the beholdee?

Is there no solid ground on which to rest my feet?

Are we lost at sea

to technology?

Is this even me?

Or an AI gleaning dry reality?

What can you see?

Far away, over the mountains and the sea?

Can you see horizons deep?

The colours of ocean and autumn, breathe it in

Step outside on the sand of the shore

And tell me

Truth is just what we believe

Belief

I believe

We were made for more than me

Designed to be

Flying free

Trees

Breathe in our chaos

Can't you see?

Random atoms collide and speak,

Love and sing

Wizardry?

Mastery

Create and be

Sow seeds

Humanity

Let the scales fall from our eyes and see

Love calls from beyond the sea

So come again, be with me

By the tree

You were made

For thee