Actual Or Artificial Intelligence

In 1970 our 8th grade our class went on a field trip to Indian Hills Community College to see a computer. It was as big as a large room. In 1975 Jan and I attended a Farm Bureau Young Member Conference where we were introduced to Farm Bureau Records, one of the first computer record keeping services. In the late 1970s we bought an old rock quarry scale with our neighbor to weigh wagon loads of grain.

Fifty years later technology is part of our lives. Our smartphones have way more power and speed than that first large computer. And what used to take us all winter to collect information on our crop production, we now have instantly in our combine cabs. And then is weighed and recorded by field name and destination when the crop is unloaded on the go into graincarts which use a management system called Libra Cart. Finally the info that used to go to the tax man and banker in a shoebox is now on our phones instantly by a Bluetooth app.

Alexa turns on our radios without getting up. Hey Siri helps make phone calls without dialing. Miss Garmin gives us directions to an unknown location without a map. And OnStar tells us when we have low tire pressure without a tire gauge.

It takes technology these days to give us instant information. It takes intelligence to know what we do with this information. Intelligence is the ability to apply knowledge, solve problems, process information, and make decisions.

Recently technology is being programmed to think, learn, and perform tasks including problem-solving, decision making, recognizing patterns, and performing tasks. This is called Artificial Intelligence (AI)

This is my brother Bill working on a new electrical service for us at the Morgan farm just east of our place. Matt and Ben are helping him. In Bible times Jesus had a brother James that wrote a book. In chapter 1 verse 5 he says: "If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously without finding fault, and it will be given to you". Wisdom is the biblical definition of intelligence.

Jan came up with an amazing recipe for apples that doesn't use sugar. She has canned two batches and is considering one more. It's a pie filling for dessert pizza. But I eat it straight out of the jar.

23 years ago last Wednesday our country was attacked on 9/11. Most adults back then remembered exactly what they were doing when they heard the news. I was getting bins ready for harvest. Our daughter Becky called me from college. Jan was bringing Kurt and Karl to school. Our churches were full. Our whole country prayed. On United Flight 93 that crashed in the Pennsylvania countryside, Todd asked the telephone operator, Lisa to recite the 23rd Psalm with him over the phone before they stormed the cockpit and brought the plane down. "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever". And that's where Todd is at today. Thanks for remembering Andy.

I missed a lot of school as a kid. I don't have a secondary education. I've not been trained formally for anything. I've even been told my thought process lacks spiritual depth in our visits. It's not my goal to think denominationally or doctrinally. I just share my heart. And have decided that's enough.

And I'm in good company. Another Bible story. Acts 4:13. "As they observed the confidence of John and Peter. And understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed". The church leaders of the day felt these men were not qualified to understand the traditions and the law. They were just fishermen. Yet they could not deny the amazing things Peter and John were saying and doing.

Intelligence in my mind is wisdom. Wisdom does not come from age, experience, or education. Wisdom is God-given. The ability to make good decisions based on information starts with gratitude, grit, humility, service and relationships. Speaking of relationships, one of my favorite times of fall is when the gals bring supper to the field. Thanks Cassia, Kristin, and Emily. 

What about you this morning? Need any help making decisions? Ask God. He promises to help!