AI and Apple- For Good or For Evil? A Prediction from 1927.

This guy is so ahead of the times! He certainly called it regarding AI- and he did so a long, long time ago. In the previous century, actually, almost 100 years ago. It was the year 1927 to be exact. Take a look at what the late great Oswald Chambers wrote in his devotional classic, My Utmost For His Highest in today's entry:

 

"He moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord. Genesis 12:8

Worship is giving God the best that He has given you. Be careful what you do with the best you have. Whenever you get a blessing from God, give it back to Him as a love-gift. Take time to meditate before God and offer the blessing back to Him in a deliberate act of worship.

If you hoard it for yourself, it will turn into spiritual dry rot, as the manna did when it was hoarded (see Exodus 16:20). God will never allow you to keep a spiritual blessing completely for yourself. It must be given back to Him so that He can make it a blessing to others.

Bethel is the symbol of fellowship with God; Ai is the symbol of the world. Abram "pitched his tent" between the two. The lasting value of our public service for God is measured by the depth of the intimacy of our private times of fellowship and oneness with Him.

Rushing in and out of worship is wrong every time there is always plenty of time to worship God. Days set apart for quiet can be a trap, detracting from the need to have daily quiet time with God. That is why we must "pitch our tents" where we will always have quiet times with Him, however noisy our times with the world may be.

There are not three levels of spiritual life worship, waiting, and work. Yet some of us seem to jump like spiritual frogs from worship to waiting, and from waiting to work.

God's idea is that the three should go together as one. They were always together in the life of our Lord and in perfect harmony. It is a discipline that must be developed; it will not happen overnight."

So, even though it's a play on words, Chambers makes a good point. God's way is the truth. AI is an opportunity to create falsehood as well as being used for good. There's a reason the Apple symbol includes a bite mark. It goes back to the story in the Garden of Eden of Man and Woman disobeying God so they can have His Knowledge in exchange for relationship with Him. AI is just another opportunity, isn't it?

(Text copyright Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest. Graphic copyright The Independent.)

The Sign Says It All

A picture is worth more than a thousand words, but I'll give you about a hundred...

A couple of weeks ago, I uploaded High Sierra software for my Mac, a system upgrade that promised better and faster everything. What I ended up with was a paperweight. 

Corrupting my discs and keeping my system in a perpetual state of not being able to power up. (My discs were apparently already corrupted and unable to back up what I had- without me knowing it.) The techs at the Apple store, who are really great, could do nothing but wipe my hard drive clean but couldn't access my files. Of course, I had to start over, recreating my digital world, including a huge project that was not backed up as it was only three days of work. 

I don't think there should be much delay in newer articles, but I currently am short on time. So please be patient with me. I'll be back soon with all the things you love to read on the blog. In the meantime, God bless you.

Notable and Quotable: Tim Cook

“Personally, I’ve never found being on the sideline a successful place to be. The way that you influence these issues is to be in the arena. So whether it’s in this country, or the European Union, or in China or South America, we engage. And we engage when we agree and we engage when we disagree. I think it’s very important to do that because you don’t change things by just yelling. You change things by showing everyone why your way is the best. In many ways, it’s a debate of ideas.”

Apple CEO Tim Cook

Joining the Cult

It's official! I've now joined one of the most beloved "cults" in America. The Insights and Sounds blog is now added to by the power of the MacBookPro. Due to a series of recent events in my personal life, I've lost my PC access, thereby bringing on a needed change. Thanks for to very generous Dad, I am now the proud owner of the Book and officially part of the cult!

Steve Jobs Passes Away

Steve Jobs has died. He offered an Apple, and he changed the world. May he rest in peace.

Disney's Mr. Incredible?

Robert Iger is certainly leaving his mark as CEO on the Walt Disney Company. Much like Michael Eisner before him, Mr. Iger is a man with a vision. But will he eventually be remembered as a villain or as a new century Mr. Incredible?

Here's just a few thoughts to consider before we start making our minds up. First, things do not always end as they start. Remember, Eisner was heralded as the savior of the company when he began, and he proved his interest, creativity, and wisdom in all things Disney during his first decade. Decade Two, well, you know the story. Not a happy ending.

Secondly, a great leader is backed up by a great team. Eisner had Frank Wells, who apparently kept the man in check. Iger looks like he has started well by bringing in John Lasseter into larger roles than just Pixar, but lately Bob seems to redirecting the company ship by heading down the wrong path by letting go of folks like Dick Cook.

Acquisitions are a big temptation and a potentially lucrative business decision for anyone leading a company with the resources of Disney. Pixar? Check. Marvel? Check. So far, seems like good moves on his part.

What other odds and ends? Oh yes, the parks. The bread and butter of the business along with the film division. Gotta give the man credit for his cajones in the forthright acknowledgement of the creative and financial failure of California Adventure. Then backing it up with a $1,000,000,000.00 plan worth of improvements. (Just count those zeroes!)

But balance that out by his involvement in the woefully dismal Hong Kong Disneyland, the increasing lack of maintenance and care of Walt Disney World, and how Shanghai Disneyland is being outsourced, and you just have to wonder what the guy is thinking. Long term or short term profits? A slippery slope balancing investor desires.

Mr. Iger's love of technology is well known, and his aggressive moves on making television web available is changing the industry. My hunch is this is only the beginning. The make up of the Board of Directors indicates my hunch will prove true.

As of right now, it is hard to tell how Robert Iger will be seen in the future. Let me give him this piece of advice- enjoy the successes and accept the failures as part of a learning process. Do what is best for people, be it giving them high quality entertainment options at fair prices or treating employees at all levels with respect and decent wages. In this, be full of integrity and honesty without greed. In doing so, you'll sleep well at night- and your legacy with the company will be one of honor.
(Art copyright Pixar/The Walt Disney Company.)