Issue 72
Kingdom Knowledge & Practice

Facing Change

【Mood Platter】Series 13

With the advancement of science and technology, the objects of service should ultimately be people. Therefore, we should not worry that artificial intelligence ChatGPT will take away our jobs, but we should think about why the value of people can be replaced?

No way without a smartphone?

Recently, the main door of the work building has been changed to use an app to open the door. This sudden change was surprising. From the previous "keys" to "scan buckles" and now to the apps in mobile phones, it is an evolutionary process from entity to abstraction.

I found that the gate was not locked that day, which was very unusual. It must have been a transitional operation to replace the system? So I went straight into the building with the door wide open, until someone from the neighboring room responded to me: "Do you know that the door is no longer accessible?"

"Huh? What's going on?" How come you weren't notified?

Fortunately, the management staff I could ask for was not far from the next door. I went through many checkpoints and finally downloaded the key app called "Butterfly". From now on, when opening the door, just hold your phone close to the center of the door and gently slide the "butterfly" opening button to enter.

In order to test whether the installation was successful, I went downstairs with other neighbors to find out, and found that my installation was not going well. After being "adjusted" by the management staff, my heart was truly relieved. I told the manager, "This thing is too new for me!" She replied, "Me too!"

When I left the working building, I looked back and saw a car parked at the gate. M, whom I hadn't seen for a long time, was standing there, confused as to how to enter.

I walked up to her and said, "The system has been replaced. You need to use the app to open the door." You can imagine her expression: "I just had a knee replacement surgery a while ago, and I haven't been here for a long time." I said to her, " The way to open the door has just been changed. You need to download the key yourself. Do you have a smartphone?"

She showed me an old-fashioned flip phone, and I responded firmly: "This won't work. You need a smartphone to download it." The other person gave me another incredulous look: "What? In order to open the door, I have to buy a new phone!" She looked at I looked at the husband who drove her in the driver's seat and said, "He has it but I don't." I said to M, "Open the door first and let you in. We'll talk about the rest later."

Thinking back to the days when I used flip phones, most people around me were already using smartphones. By the way, flip phones were originally called “senior phones”, but I didn’t expect that M is still in use today. The functions of flip phones can definitely meet basic needs, but they cannot provide a variety of entertainment and information services. However, everyone’s lifestyle is different. M must have a “minimalism” requirement for mobile phone functions, so there is no need to change it. When the "top management" of the building decided to change the system, they probably assumed that everyone used smartphones.

In this way, is this a kind of "mobile phone discrimination"?

Technological dinosaurs can also be enjoyed

Sometimes I feel that the development of the Internet world is very unfriendly to elders who live alone and certain disadvantaged groups who are not familiar with how to operate it. If they don’t know how to submit online, will they not be able to transfer the order? If there is no communication software, should we be isolated from the outside world? Individuals sometimes need to handle some matters online. Fortunately, there are many young people around me who can seek "technical guidance" and can complete "daily tasks" after the drill to meet their needs without "living alone".

I think of a friend who serves in the Evergreen Fellowship. When the elders were restricted by the epidemic and could not gather in person, because they did not know how to use computers to access the Internet for Zoom, the friend could only watch the Bible study on WeChat or LINE on the mobile phone, staring at the square-inch screen. After one scene, my eyes and spirit were very tired.

There is a saying: "Don't let poverty limit your imagination." Of course, don't let age limit your potential. There are many elders who are very playful with new gadgets and do not let young people excel. There are even many people who have become famous YouTubers!

My neighbor who is only six years older than me is a more "technological dinosaur" than me. She doesn’t have a credit card and always pays in cash (some stores should be more welcoming to such customers in order to evade taxes). In order to avoid being patronized by pickpockets, she will hide her money in a secret bag around her waist. However, she will never leave a small tip. One thing we often do when we meet is go to a restaurant to eat. Perhaps because of the epidemic, in order to reduce contact, it is now popular to scan and order food, but the consensus between the two of us is that we like to read the menu and talk to the waiter before ordering.

Besides, isn’t this a service provided by the waiter? Otherwise, why should I ask for a tip on 20%? In this case, next time you should find a restaurant where robot chefs and food delivery are available, so you don’t need to tip, right? Although credit cards are not allowed, as long as you have money in the bank, whether you scan the QR code to order food or read the menu, what matters is whether it tastes good or not. This is the last word!

Image Source:https://www.freepik.com/freephoto/people-taking-photos-food_23430207.

Change starting from kindness and love

Living in this era, there are too many variables! Values are changing, the natural environment is changing, and lifestyles are changing; some are forced to change, some are willing to change, and many more unconsciously change with the direction of the wind.

It is undeniable that many "relationships" have changed during the epidemic in recent years... Thanks to technology, people can meet on the road even though they cannot meet physically. People and the environment can simulate the situation even though they cannot be present in person. Many people complete their studies, get married and have children, grow up, age, and pass away... in this relationship of "if something seems like nothing, if nothing seems like something".

I saw an interesting report: What do children who grow up during the epidemic do when they are kept at home? Because the child spent his childhood queuing up for nucleic acid testing, he would line up many toy figures at home, making the scene look like a scene for testing. This is another kind of observation and creativity. This image is a bit dumbfounding. Although there are elements of comedy and humor, it is superimposed on helplessness!

There is a kind of helplessness that comes from a topic that has been hotly discussed recently: ChatGPT. A "young pastor" in the church used it to write a sermon out of curiosity, and the finished product was said to be good! A sister who is unemployed said half-jokingly that she was worried that she would be replaced by ChatGPT.

With the advancement of science and technology, the objects of service should ultimately be people. Therefore, we should not worry that artificial intelligence ChatGPT will take away our jobs, but we should think about why the value of people can be replaced?

To paraphrase a famous quote from Martin Luther King: "I have a dream!" I hope that the "relevant people" will have a fear of God, have wisdom from God, and have balanced considerations when preparing for the operation of the system. , humanized compassion, and truly display the wisdom of science and technology. Only when we face changes that start from kindness and love can we accept and enjoy them with peace of mind!

Miao Huitian, an older single, has money to travel but no money to take a walk. You can be lazy, diligent, active and at home; you can appreciate beautiful scenery, beautiful things, and beautiful things, and like good food, beautiful articles, and beautiful music.