Artificial Intelligence: A Blessing or a Threat to Humanity?
After the industrial revolution and the Internet revolution (filled with email, Amazon, Google, smartphone technology, Snapchat, X, IG, Cashapp, etc.), many have wondered about what the future developments would be in the 21st century. That invention will inevitably be artificial intelligence. A.I. has been mentioned in movies like The Matrix back in 1999, cartoons, TV shows, etc. Artificial intelligence has been one of the most controversial realities in human history. Now, we have SOPA making A.I. skits of famous people, both living and those who have passed away. Some consider A.I. to be a blessing in growing efficiency, curing diseases, and developing human lives in positive, multifaceted ways. Other people dispute this notion. These critics of A.I. consider it a threat to human jobs, human creativity, and to humanity itself. With people using A.I.'s ChatGPT to write essays, and A.I. organizing billions and trillions of items of data in a short period of time, we live in a new world that science fiction stories are increasingly becoming reality. Only God knows the complete future until the end of time. What we do know is that our actions now will affect future human generations. Artificial intelligence will constantly evolve into new manifestations, and we have to be careful to use futuristic technology in an ethical fashion. People like me (who are 40+ years old) were alive when Dolly the Sheep was cloned back in 1997. Now, technology is light years ahead today in 2026. So, we have the august responsibility to love our neighbors, defend truth, help people, use technology in the right fashion, and give all glory to the Most High God with sincere devotion.
A.I.'s History
When did artificial intelligence begin? It started thousands of years ago with stories, myths, and a belief that artificial beings can have intelligence or consciousness by a person. People have studied logic and other concepts for a long time. In the 17th century, Leibniz, Thomas Hobbes, and René Descartes explored the possibility that all rational thought could be made as systematic as algebra or geometry. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Luigi Galvani, Emil du Bois-Reymond, Hermann von Helmholtz, and others demonstrated that the nerves carried electrical signals. Robert Bentley Todd correctly speculated in 1828 that the brain was an electrical network. Camillo Golgi's staining techniques enabled Santiago Ramón y Cajal to provide evidence for the neuron theory: "The truly amazing conclusion is that a collection of simple cells can lead to thought, action, and consciousness." The invention of the programmable digital computer in the 1940s changed the game. Now, a computer is a machine that can use abstract mathematical reasoning in a rapid fashion to establish various outputs. Many scientists from that time onward wanted to create a possible electronic brain. By the 1950s, experimental cybernetic robots were created by William Grey Walter and Johns Hopkins University. AI research began at Dartmouth College in 1956 through a workshop. The workshop became leaders of AI research for decades. The federal government sent millions of dollars to promote artificial intelligence (or making machines as intelligent as human beings). This plan proved difficult. Many people wanted to stop direct funding into research into artificial intelligence by the 1970s. The Japanese government promoted this research in the 1980s. Artificial intelligence grew slowly in the 1990s and early 21st century. By 2017, the transformer architecture existed to create generative AI applications. Since the 2020s, the AI boom existed into the next level with large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT. Today, AI is used for public usage now. Debates and controversies exist with AI. Many people want legitimate regulations involving artificial intelligence too.
Chat GPT
One of the most unique inventions from the A.I. movement is ChatGPT. It is a generative artificial intelligence chatbot that was created by Open AI. It was released in November 2022. It became very popular in 2024 and especially in 2025. GPT stands for generative pre-trained transformer. The goal of ChatGPT is to create text, speech, and images in response to user prompts. It has been part of the new AI boom. There is an increase of rapid investment in artificial intelligence. OpenAI has its service on a freemium model. People can interact with ChatGPT via text, audio, and image prompts. This device is part of the Cloud computing platforms. ChatGPT has done some good to discover information for people and develop growth intellectually. One issue is that some people may exploit ChatGPT to promote plagiarism in schools and universities, advancing academic dishonesty. Many of the answers from ChatGPT are inaccurate or lacking in serious details. It is based in large language model of LLM technology. It can write information and debug computer ChatGPT can be used for translation and summarization tasks. It can simulate interactive environments such as a Linux terminal, a multi-user chat room, or simple text-based games like tic-tac-toe. In March 2023, OpenAI added support for plugins for ChatGPT that deals with web browsing and code interpretation and external plugins from developers (like Expedia, OpenTable, Zapier, Shopify, Slack, and Wolfam). In December 2024, OpenAI launched a new feature allowing users to call ChatGPT with a telephone for up to 15 minutes per month for free.
In 2025, OpenAI added several features to make ChatGPT more agentic (capable of autonomously performing longer tasks). In January 2025, Operator was released. It was capable of autonomously performing tasks through web browser interactions, including filling forms, placing online orders, scheduling appointments, and other browser-based tasks. It was controlling a software environment inside a virtual machine with limited internet connectivity and with safety restrictions. It struggled with complex user interfaces. In May 2025, OpenAI introduced an agent for coding named Codex. It is capable of writing software, answering codebase questions, running tests, and proposing pull requests. It is based on a fine-tuned version of OpenAI o3. It has two versions, one running in a virtual machine in the cloud, and one where the agent runs in the cloud, but performs actions on a local machine connected via API. In July 2025, OpenAI released ChatGPT agent, an AI agent that can perform multi-step tasks. Like Operator, it controls a virtual computer. It also inherits from Deep Research's ability to gather and summarize significant volumes of information. The user can interrupt tasks or provide additional instructions as needed. In September 2025, OpenAI partnered with Stripe, Inc. to release Agentic Commerce Protocol, enabling purchases through ChatGPT. At launch, the feature was limited to purchases on Etsy from US users with a payment method linked to their OpenAI account. OpenAI takes an undisclosed cut from the merchant's payment. ChatGPT has been used in finance, computer science, education, politics, and other spheres of human endeavors.
New Technologies
Artificial intelligence is controversial, and new technologies involving it have come about all of the time. We now have multimodal AI or the integration of integrating text, image, and voice. There is Agnetic AI or using autonomous, goal-oriented systems. These systems are used in apps every day. We have the GPT-5 and Google's Gemini that deals with complex reasoning, creativity (with video generation with Sopa), personalized services, and automated workflows (in finance, healthcare, and logistics). We are still debating its usage, as there are ethical considerations and more human/robot collaboration. Veo 3 can now create more realistic videos. Gemini 1.5 Pro offers advanced reasoning for coding, science, and complex problem-solving. Many people utilize AI in businesses such as Disney, Roblox, and banking for faster content creation, workflow automation, marketing, and data analytics. In our time, we have Edge AI or processing data directly on devices like robots for faster responses (this is seen in Amazon's warehouse robots learning tasks without constant human programming). There is Quantum AI, which utilizes quantum mechanics for complex computations. AI is controversial. Its defenders say that AI can power drug companies to personalize treatment plans, have automated financial services, create entertainment, and create better robots. There are new AI 3D printing systems or generators. 3D printing has been very popular in the 2010s and the 2020s to create many images using a specialized printer that can create many things from parts of homes to sculptors. Critics of AI say that AI can ruin many jobs in America plus the world, stifle human individual creativity, and could possibly ruin society as we know it. The truth is that artificial intelligence is in its early stages, and A.I. must have regulations. Trump wants A.I. to have nearly no regulations, and I disagree with this view. We should invent new technologies to help humanity, but we should also allow people economic opportunities, as A.I. is not superior to humanity. Humanity is still humanity.
Debates on Morality
Artificial intelligence (A.I.) has been debated for years now. Some people, who oppose A.I., disagree with it for numerous moral reasons. Some believe that A.I. will corrupt humanity morally, strip jobs from the American people (causing economic turmoil), and eliminate a lot of innate human creativity. A.I. with SOPA now has recreated images and the speaking voices (plus mannerisms) of Tupac, Biggie, Muhammad Ali, Michael Jackson, Bruce Lee, Fidel Castro, and other famous human beings to put them in various social scenarios. These social settings can be like professional wrestling events, going to the store, using inspirational quotations, driving in a car, etc. Some estates or relatives of celebrities (whose images are used in A.I.'s SOPA devices, etc.) have threatened to sue those involved in such technology that takes the likeness of these celebrities without explicit permission. Many of the SOPA images do look bizarre and some of the storylines in SOPA AI systems are disrespectful in my view (like one SOPA video mocking the shooting of Tupac Shakur and Suge Knight). Artificial intelligence has been criticized for replacing many jobs from factory occupations to corporate spaces. There are defenders of artificial intelligence who feel that A.I. is highly profitable economically that can innovate more technological growth. Some people want A.I. to be utilized for more lucrative business ventures. The A.I. advocates view artificial intelligence as a great method to construct buildings faster, to develop products more efficiently, and reduce error in production in general. What is the truth? The truth is that artificial intelligence must have legitimate regulations to it. Trump wants states to have no regulations to A.I., and I disagree with him. A.I. with no regulations whatsoever will cause economic and social problems. Also, that reality can create environmental chaos (as some A.I. data centers have polluted waters in the world now. That is why I believe that A.I. data centers should be banned, as it has caused water pollution, air pollution, and even increasing rates for people having various cancers. So, artificial intelligence will be discussed vigorously in the years and decades to come.
Future Predictions
Many people have predicted the future of A.I. technologies. Many researchers mention the rise of AI Agents to plan, reason, and show complex tasks without much human oversight. They can work in HR or even customer service. More clouds and AI are being placed more frequently in smartphones, airports, and other places. Unfortunately, there will be unfortunately more job displacements in data entry, customer service in some places, and some coding. There will be the development of more humanoid-like robots in the near future by 2030. Futurists predict that thousands of robots can be deployed in homes, factories, warehouses, etc. Space technology definitely will use AI technology as scientists want humans to travel to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. Many researchers believe that the development of AGI or Artificial General Intelligence will match or exceed human cognitive abilities between 2029 and 2040. Some futurists like the controversial Ray Kurzweil believe that humans can merge with AI via brain implants or enhanced intelligence by 2045. Ray believes in the concept of transhumanism or humans merging with machines to be "perfected." Obviously, I reject the agenda and philosophy of transhumanism because of the obvious reason. We don't need human beings to merge with machines completely or place all of our consciousness in digital devices to have life fulfillment. Human life fulfillment can exist by the basic things of a touching a loved one with consent, of helping your neighbor, of appreciating the glory and beauty of Nature, of acknowledging the God of Heaven with glory and reverence, of respecting the essence of integrity, and following equality and justice for all.
A.I.'s Influence
The influence of artificial intelligence is everywhere now. A long time ago, people were inventors and scholars who worked in mathematics, science, and other spheres of human endeavor. Many of the ancients were very intelligent human beings who developed algebra, calculus, and other scientific methods to create architecture, improve medicine, and raise the standard of living among the human race. Now, we live in a new time in the 21st century. Human beings now can go into space, create international communication via the Internet, Skype, Zoom, etc. We can also use 3D printing to manufacture items in a shorter period of time than centuries and millennia ago. Today, we have artificial intelligence. It has been talked about and theorized for thousands of years. Now, with the computing services growing since the end of World War II, A.I. has grown in leaps and bounds. A.I. has been controversial. Its opponents view it as job-crushing, as being the heralding of the Mark of the Beast (among many religious people) and having a crippling effect on individual human creativity. Those, who support artificial intelligence view as it way to improve health, increase economic productivity, and being used to increase the power of analytics in the world. What is necessary is to realize that technology evolving in each generation is inevitable. That is how world history and human nature works. For example, we went from the Gutenberg movable type to emails. We went from the horse and carriage to planes and jets. Likewise, we have to realize that we need legitimate regulations on artificial intelligence. Nihilism is not an option. Regulations that are used in the proper way can protect human lives and improve our societies in general.
Conclusion (for Winter 2026)
The end of this Winter 2026 series has made it very clear to the audience (who are reading these words) that truth is important to accept and advance. It matters. We live in a time when disinformation is abundant, but the truth is superior to lies. The truth is that many of Trump's policies are evil like: his promoting of banning birthright citizenship, his elimination of legitimate environmental regulations, his usage of the U.S. military to illegally occupy American cities (i.e. in Washington, D.C., Chicago, Los Angeles, etc.), his expression of the racist remark about Somali people (in calling them "garbage"), his regressive tariff policies (in making items more expensive for people to spend on including farmers), his agenda to attack black museums that accurately expose slavery and the viciousness of white racism at it relates to American history, him glorifying authoritarians in the globe, and his attacks on the freedom of speech (in trying to get hosts off the air for expressing dissent with Trump's policies). Also, it is important to reject bitterness and revenge. Many people want to disagree with Trump to advance hatred for the sake of hatred. I oppose that view. We disagree with the views of Trump advance hope, solutions, and goodness in the Universe. We must always be vigilant to advocate for liberty, justice, and freedom for all. As the late icon Ruby Dee has said:
"You can't be all you are meant to be if you think you are better than others, and you can't be all you are meant to be if you think you are less than others, either."
-Ruby Dee
In that sense, we will live a more blessed life. The U.S. Capitol replaced the statue of Robert E. Lee with the teenage civil rights icon Barbara Rose Johns. This reality shows that activism doesn't discriminate based upon age. Young and old have historically been heroes to confront injustice, to stand up for righteousness, and to praise the same Lord who gave us all life in this Universe. This happened on Tuesday. Barbara Rose Johns was a Virginia high school student who protested Jim Crow apartheid. The unveiling ceremony of the statue represented my state of Virginia. It took place in Emancipation Hall with both Republicans and Democrats from Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Republican Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, and Virginia's congressional delegation and Democratic Governor elect Abigail Spanberger. More than 200 members of Johns' family were there at the location. People sang songs like How Great Thou Art, A'int Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Round, and Total Praise. These songs were performed by the Eastern Senior High School choir from Washington. Johns was an icon of the freedom movement in America, showing that liberty and justice for all is a prerequisite for a truly just society.
In our generation, we have to give Melissa Jefferson-Wooden her flowers. She made so much track and field contributions in 2025 alone, that she is a living legend now in our culture. She is a five-time World Champion and the reigning World Champion in the 100m and 200m women's races, having won both titles at the 2025 World Track and Field Championships in Tokyo. In that same 2025 Championship, she achieved the sprint triple in winning gold in the 100m, the 200m and the 4 X 100m relay race. She is the first American to do so and only the 2nd woman to do so after Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce did that feat in 2013. Jefferson-Wooden's 100m time of 10.61 makes her the 2nd fastest American woman of all time in the 100m event and is a Championship record. Jefferson-Wooden won the bronze medal in the 100m at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France, and in that same Olympics, she won gold in the 4 X 100m relay race. She is now 24 years old and being part of Generation Z. Therefore, the torch has been passed from Allyson Felix (and ShellyAnn Fraser-Pryce including Carmelita Jeter) to the new generation of track and field athletes like Melissa Jefferson-Wooden. She won the NCAA Indoor 60m Championship in 2022. She is living a blessed life with her husband Rolan Wooden II in Florida. The wedding ceremony had Isaiah Likely as the best man and Twanisha "Tee Tee" Terry as the bridesmaid, with fellow Olympics Sha'Carri Richardson, Kenny Bednarek, and Christian Coleman in attendance. So, we shall see more achievements by Melissa Jefferson-Wooden in the future, especially as the future Summer Olympics in 2028 in Los Angeles approaches. She is the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Female Athlete of the Year (in 2025). Jefferson-Wooden ended 2025 undefeated in the women's 100m which is an outstanding accomplishment. She is just getting started.
This time is the 5th year after the tragedy of the horrendous January 6th insurrection. We have to remind the people of this occurrence, because we can never forget how vicious evil is. Also, we must use constant vigilance in promoting justice in our society. This event was a far-right terrorist attack against American democracy plainly speaking. These terrorists invaded the United States Capitol building for the purpose of desiring to end our freedoms as we know it. These Trump supporters, who were involved in the January 6th insurrection, were made up of anti-Semites, racists, far right extremists, and other wicked people who were angry that Joe Biden won the 2020 election. Prior to this, Trump promoted the lie that he won the 2020 election. His case went to the U.S. Supreme Court to advance this deception, and the Supreme Court made sure to mention that Biden won the election. There were many false prophets who predicted a Trump victory in 2020, and they were wrong. The insurrectionists were not true Christians or followers of morality. They were deranged, calculated, bigoted, and reprehensible characters who wanted to destroy America completely. It was a mob of thugs who wanted a coup d'etat against America. Trump at a January 6th rally at noon in 2021 said that his supporters must fight against the election results. He said that: "If you don't fight like h___, you're not going to have a country anymore." By this time, Congress was already starting the electoral vote count. Thousands of Trump supporters were at the U.S. Capitol. Many of them were armed. They walked to the Capitol, and the hundreds of them breached police perimeters. They illegally came to the U.S. Capitol.
Many of the terrorists were members of the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers militia groups. There were neo-Nazis, neo-Confederates, and other terrorists. These people waved the Confederate flag and neo-Nazi flags on Capitol grounds for the first time in American history. January 6th was the time when it has been the only attempted coup d'etat against the federal government in American history. These terrorists wanted to overthrow the government to allow Trump to have another term in office. The FBI estimated that about 2,000 to 2,500 people entered the Capitol during the attack. The insurrectionists did vandalism and looting. Some used the bathroom on purpose in the Capitol floor. They assaulted Capitol Police officers and journalists. One U.S. Capitol officer said that some of the terrorists called him the n word. Some illegally came into the officers of then House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Congress members. Members of Congress had to evacuate the Capitol. The insurrectionists occupied the empty Senate chamber. Pipe bombs were found in the RNC and DNC headquarters. Trump delayed his response. Then, he told the terrorists to go home in peace. By the evening, National Guard troops came to stop the mob. Many of the mob wanted to hang Mike Pence, because Mike Pence wanted to approve Biden being the winner of the 2020 election. Many Congressional leaders and Mike Pence were almost killed by the insurrectionists. By the early morning of January 7th, 2021, the electoral vote continues, and Mike Pence declared the final electoral vote count in favor of President elect Biden. Trump was impeached a 2nd time, and massive National Guard troops existed to allow President Biden to have his inauguration on January 20, 2021. About 1,060 people were sentenced, and then Trump pardoned January 6th insurrectionists, including those convicted of violent offenses. Trump doing that shows his treason as Oath Keepers, Proud Boys, and Three Percenters are evil organizations devoid of virtue. Biden gave pardons to all members of the House Select Committee that investigated the January 6th attack, including staff and the officers who testified (as Biden believed that Trump might retaliate against these people). We must be in favor of good, and January 6th will always show us the necessity to stand up against reactionary extremism and be in favor of justice and equality for all.
A lot of things have changed, and it important to recognize the good news in the world. The reason for this is that we all have gifts in the world. We all have purpose, and when a person does something legitimate to help humanity, that act should be praised wholeheartedly. In our time, Colorado funded free meals for children in public schools by closing the tax loopholes given to the super wealthy, many cities have stopped AI data centers (that can harm the environment), New Mexico is the first state in America to fund universal child care that will save tons of money for families, New York state passed a law to ban landlords from colluding together to increase the prices of rent, Oregon signed a law to ban equity firms from controlling medical clinics and practices, and consumer protection laws (they are found in Virginia, Nevada, Connecticut, Colorado, Massachusetts, etc. ending hidden junk feeds) have grown all over the United States of America. Starbucks workers and other workers have protested for adequate labor rights. In private, religious groups, private organizations, and other charities have used their time to give suffering people food, shelter, and other resources to survive without ego or fanfare. To this day, there are tons of unsung heroes who made a positive difference in the lives of humanity, because they have a sincere love of almsgiving and treating their neighbors with dignity and with respect. We will continue to do our duty to improve our land and help people globally.
It is important to show more of the good news going on in the world too. Dr. Alexandra Bastiany became Canada's first black woman interventional cardiologist. He broke down barriers in heart care and has inspired future medical leaders. She has worked in Ontario to show that diversity and excellence go hand in hand. The music icon Candi Staton has received her first Grammy nomination in the album category for "Back to My Roots." She is 85 years old now. The civil rights activist of Tennessee Mrs. Rosetta Miller-Perry opened her own newspaper in Nashville, Tennessee called The Tennessee Tribune in 1992. She wanted to show African Americans about the positive things going on in the black American community. She is a U.S. Navy Veteran, being married, and is a mother of three children. She graduated from the University of Memphis in 1956. She created the Anthony J. Cebrun Journalism Center with support from Dell Computer. She received the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019. She is in her 90s fighting for justice for our community. Michelle Alexander was a civil rights attorney (being Stanford educated) who exposed the incarceration state and continues to advocate for freedom. Clemson gymnast Brie Clark is the first NCAA athlete to successfully land a skill named after Simone Biles. This move is called The Biles. Janice Pettyjohn is the first woman hired for a full-time football position at Howard University, serving as assistant director of football operations and director of on campus recruiting at just 22 years old. She earned a degree in sports medicine and a minor in sociology.
One valuable thing to remember is to always reject cynicism. There are those on the wrong path of history who desire to harm our democracy, rig our economy, pollute our planet, and promote hatred for the sake of hatred. Yet, we have to continue to keep moving forward to defend truth. We should never give up as our ancestors never gave up on us when they were enslaved, brutally harmed, and families separated during the time of the Maafa and slavery. Those events didn't exist a long time ago. My paternal 2nd great grandparents and my maternal 4th great grandparents were slaves in America. That was less than 200 years ago. Today, there has been over five decades of the explosion of wealth inequality and many people not trusting American institutions because of corruption and infiltration of those institutions by corporate interests. The oligarchy is outnumbered by us, and we can fight back (in using constructive, peaceful means) to improve our society too. Always, we will defend a living wage, guaranteed health care, the right to join a union, the right to vote, the right to have the choice to start a family on our own terms, the right to live without gun violence, and the right to improve our environment. Those of us who are over 40 years old have seen a lot in our days. We have witnessed Reagan's Presidency, the LA Rebellion of 1992, the original Dream Team, the Waco event, the 1996 Olympics, the burning of the black churches during the mid to late 1990s (those of us who lived in the 1990s know exactly of these events and many people rebuilding churches to combat bigotry), 9/11, the Iraq War, the two terms of President Barack Obama, COVID-19, the January 6th insurrection, and the 2026 U.S. government removal of Maduro from Venezuela. Of our time on this Earth, we have to promote strength, advice, encouragement, and wisdom to the younger generation (or the babies). Many of these babies never even seen the 20th century, but we have seen the 20th century in full display. So, we have to allow the younger people to express their talents to the world and fight the good fight with their own style or flavor with zeal and a passion for the truth. Also, we should always respect the older and younger generations of human beings. We are born on this Earth to learn, to grow, to live life, to love, and to help our neighbors. There is that light at the end of the tunnel in life. Our expectations should not exist in the realm in the appeasement of folks who hate us. Our validation only comes from within from the Creator God who gave us the privilege of living life on this Earth. Selah and Amen.
_(retouched).jpg/960px-2021_storming_of_the_United_States_Capitol_DSC09254-2_(50820534063)_(retouched).jpg)
