Every day some aspect of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is making headlines.
Some of these headlines are clearly designed to stoke people’s fear about AI
- Richard Branson and Oppenheimer’s grandson urge action to stop AI and climate ‘catastrophe’
- Former Trump administration official warns AI could undermine democracy
- AI Is Starting to Threaten White-Collar Jobs. Few Industries Are Immune.
- People are getting emotionally attached to AI girlfriends
(Note, I intentionally left out the links because I don’t want you to fill your mind with fear and speculation.)
But beyond the fear-mongering, church leaders, small business owners, and regular folks want to know if there are legitimate ways AI can be used to save time and improve their lives, without causing problems.
What kinds of problems can AI cause?
1) “Hallucinations” (aka errors)
ChatGPT and other AI tools are not always accurate. Sometimes their responses contain errors, even responses to simple questions like this
2) Hilariously bad writing
Sometimes ChatGPT and other AI tools produce content that is so bad it’s funny, like these BuzzFeed articles first reported by Futurism.
“If I were to pick one underrated travel spot that deserves all the hype in the world, it would be Cape May. Now, I know what you’re thinking – “Cape May? What is that, some kind of mayonnaise brand?” But trust me, this little town tucked away in New Jersey is a gem worth visiting.”
3) Weird images
AI image generation doesn’t always do well, especially when you ask it to create images with people in them. I asked the Bing image creator to generate an image of a “young professional woman sitting at a laptop computer using Facebook. Make sure the computer screen is visible”
Hmm… that’s an odd place to show the “screen.” And what’s up with her left hand having only 3 fingers?!?
4) Companies that replace their support staff with AI chatbots
Big website companies like Wix and GoDaddy say they provide “24/7 support” but good luck getting in touch with a human being on the phone or even live chat.
AI and human beings work best together
We at OurChurch.com believe AI has great potential to help, but it needs to be used in the right circumstances and in the right way. Two AI principles we believe in:
- AI tools should enhance human interaction, not replace it.
- AI generated content should always be reviewed and edited by a knowledgeable human being.
Introducing OurChurch.com’s AI Chatbot
Its with these principles in mind that we introduced our new AI Chatbot. You can find our chatbot in 2 places:
Knowledgebase / help pages
On the main page of our knowledgebase, instead of searching for the help page that answers your question, you can just ask. When the chatbot responds, it includes the URL of the help page(s) it referenced so you can click to them for more info. This improves and enhances your experience with our help pages.
Live Chat
Our friendly, knowledgeable, Christian support team provide support via live chat with M-F 9am-9pm ET. If you click the “Live Chat” button on the right site of our website outside of those hours, you’ll get our AI-powered chatbot. So, as you can see, instead of replacing human support we are adding to it.
Continuous Human Review Improves Chatbot… Continuously
Every week our support team reviews all of the questions received and responses provided by our chatbot. If it was unable to a question we think it should have, or if its response wasn’t as good as we would have liked, we update our help pages to improve the chatbots future responses.
This is another example of how OurChurch.Com is using the latest technology to enhance the experience and quality of our website builder, web design, and search engine optimization services.
Want to work with our team? Fill out the consultation request form on the right (desktop) or bottom (mobile) of this page to schedule a call.
Comment and Discuss
- Go to our knowledgebase, ask our chatbot some questions, and tell us what you think!
Continue reading… 9 Ways to Grow Your Love for Your Website
Co-founder & CEO, OurChurch.Com
Paul has been the CEO of OurChurch.Com since its founding in 1996, combining his passion for faith and technology to lead the organization.
An accomplished writer, Paul has authored over 2,000 articles on faith and technology, featured on platforms like ChurchLeaders.com, The JoyFM, and his personal blog, LiveIntentionally.org.
Beyond his professional achievements, Paul serves as an elder at Journey Community Church and is deeply engaged in his community through his involvement with the Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranch and the Safety Harbor Chamber of Commerce. He is a contributing author of the book Outspoken! Conversations on Church Communication.