Artifical Intelligence vs Authentic Interaction

Yesterday, I think I heard one of the saddest things ever.

A friend told me about someone she knows who has a terminal condition that makes it difficult for her to get around.

She lives in a second-floor flat. And, while the flat has a garden, unless someone is there to help her, she can’t access it.

So, to ease the loneliness, she has conversations with her Echo Dot smart speaker.

I felt a gut-wrenching sadness.

I know she’s not alone.

There’s a growing number of ‘chatbots’ being developed to help tackle the crisis of loneliness.

But serious concerns have been raised about their safety, their effectiveness, and whether they risk perpetuating the issue rather than solving it.

Don’t get me wrong – AI is incredibly helpful for so many things.

It can help you write a funding bid, recode sections of your website, and even explain those mysterious error messages that pop up when your computer crashes!

Just last week, a couple of us from Cinnamon were at the Wonderful Summit conference where James Poulter spoke with incredible insight and sensitivity about opportunities and threats it poses.

AI can do so much, but it’s no replacement for community — for the God-given beauty of human interaction.

Because there are some things AI just can’t do:

• It can’t ease the pain of bad news with a reassuring hug.
• It can’t hold your screaming baby so you can drink a hot cup of tea.
• It can’t lay a comforting hand on your shoulder when you go to meet your social worker.
• It can’t look you in the eye and hold you accountable.

While we’re all battling to get to grips with this brave new world of AI, I think it’s more important than ever to hold on to the other kind of AI — Authentic Interaction.

In some places, our churches are the last bastion of community.

The National Churches Trust report House of Good backs this up with some powerful numbers that confirm what we know anecdotally.

But community — real, authentic interaction — doesn’t happen by chance.

It takes years of investment, a commitment to listen, and the determination to actively seek out those who may be stuck on the second floor of the flats we walk past every day.

Starting this October, our Cinnamon Connect Academy will be gearing up to welcome the next generation of faith-based community development workers — ready to get out there and interact authentically with their communities.

And in this age of authenticity, we’re getting even more personal — by adding a residential component to our programme for the first time!

We learn about community development in community with one another.

Because now, more than ever, the personal matters. Churches have a huge responsibility. We need to be doing this work well — and I mean really well.