If you've spent any time in the investment realm recently, you've undoubtedly been bombarded by the term AI - Artificial Intelligence. For the past month or two, and seemingly out of the blue, the vast majority of investment thesis' that have popped-up on my browser have related to AI in some form or another. So much so that I recently decided to try and understand not only what AI is but also how it works.
Guess what? Lost cause.
I'm reminded of my early Mainframe days as a programmer trainee. I pretty well understood the term Hardware - stuff that I could actually touch and feel. And I had a vague comprehension of Software - the bits and bobs that I wrote and then "compiled" into the machine language of 0's and 1's with the hope that someday it would all perform some repetitive task without too many hiccups. But when it came time for my Software to actually run on the Hardware something magically sprang to life called Firmware - a merging of the Hardware and Software for lack of a better description. For the life of me, to this day, I have never been able to conceptualize how that works.
Regardless, I wanted to better understand what all this AI fuss is about, so over the past weekend I signed on to GOOGLE Bard. Something called a Chatbot. I decided that I'd "chat" about the Fruits of the Spirit with my newfound friend. A subject intriguing to my heart yet abstract in nature to the degree that it might challenge Bard as well.
The first surprise developed when it became evident that even I could bring Bard to life. What follows are excerpts from our conversation: (My queries in Bold, Bard's responses in blue.)
Tell me about the fruits of the Spirit.
The fruit of the Spirit is a biblical term that sums up nine attributes of a person or community living in accord with the Holy Spirit, according to chapter 5 of the Epistle to the Galatians:
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Galatians 5:22-23
Here is a brief explanation of each of the nine fruits of the Spirit:
- Love: Love is the foundation of the Christian life. It is the greatest of all the gifts, and it is the one that binds all the others together.
- Joy: Joy is a deep, abiding happiness that comes from knowing God and His love. It is not dependent on our circumstances, but it flows from our relationship with God.
- Peace: Peace is a state of tranquility and calm that comes from trusting in God. It is not the absence of trouble, but it is the assurance that God is in control, even when things are difficult.
- Forbearance: Forbearance is the ability to patiently endure the weaknesses and offenses of others. It is the opposite of anger and bitterness, and it is essential for living in peace with others.
- Kindness: Kindness is the desire to do good to others. It is expressed in acts of compassion, generosity, and mercy.
- Goodness: Goodness is the quality of being morally right and virtuous. It is the opposite of evil, and it is expressed in a life of integrity and righteousness.
- Faithfulness: Faithfulness is the quality of being loyal and trustworthy. It is the opposite of betrayal, and it is essential for building strong relationships.
- Gentleness: Gentleness is the quality of being kind and compassionate. It is the opposite of harshness and cruelty, and it is expressed in a life of humility and self-control.
- Self-control: Self-control is the ability to control our thoughts, emotions, and actions. It is the opposite of impulsiveness and recklessness, and it is essential for living a disciplined and godly life.
