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- [00:01]
Joe Artis Horn
Artificial intelligence, it isn't just reshaping nations, it's redefining human identity. Deepfakes challenge truth. Algorithms influence belief.
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Skywatch TV Host
Autonomous systems are being developed to remove
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Joe Artis Horn
human judgment from life and death decisions.
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Skywatch TV Host
All this while the west increasingly lets
- [00:20]
Joe Artis Horn
machines govern what sacred affairs humans once decided. Is this progress or are we quietly building a digital Tower of Babel? Today's guest is here to talk about
- [00:31]
Skywatch TV Host
all of this and more right now. Hello everybody, and welcome back to Skywatch tv.
- [00:42]
Joe Artis Horn
I'm Joe Artis Horn. Today's program is nothing short of absolutely timely. Before we dive into what we're going to be discussing today, let me introduce who's with us. He's an expert on national security and foreign affairs whose service has included working on multinational programs for the Department of the army at the Pentagon and recently completed Studies in Generative AI at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Please welcome Lieutenant Colonel Robert McGinnis. I literally cannot keep up with this man. We are in the green room before and after the show. And by the way, this happens every time Bob is with us. He's on his phone. Fox News is wanting to interview him. He's got people in media asking him questions about the Middle east, what's happening with AI technology and we're war. And I want to bring this up on the screen for just a moment because he has a brand new book
- [01:40]
Skywatch TV Host
and I'm going to read you the
- [01:41]
Joe Artis Horn
title and the subtitle. The New AI Cold Liberty versus Tyranny in the Age of Machine Empires. It's an absolute must read. And we're going to be talking just a little bit about this today. But before we dive in, I also want to bring up on the screen recently and of course I've got a printed copy of it right here in my hand. I want to read you the title of this article and this was an article that Bob wrote, Fox News. It's called Pentagon's AI Battle Will Help Decide who controls our most powerful military tech. And I said last week, and I say this every time here at Skywatch Television, who do we turn to when the Middle east is on fire, when geopolitics are consuming all of the national narrative? And of course, AI. Who do we talk to? Lieutenant Colonel Robert McGinnis. Bob, I said in the opening, artificial intelligence isn't just reshaping nations, it's redefining human identity at this point. We're talking about deep fakes that challenge truth. We're talking about algorithms that influence belief, young people on their phones. We talked briefly last week about how they're using AI technology now to explore moral issues of identity. Even quick searches like is the Bible right about this particular event or is the Bible correct about this? Or what should my interpretation of these times we're living in beginning. And of course ChatGPT has a curated answer for them. Most often that takes you away from a biblical foundation. We're Talking about now, AIs that are being integrated to be able to navigate life and death decisions that humans have always governed over. Now, artificial intelligence is either helping us do that or set to replace the human from those decisions having to do with the sovereignty of life, calculating maybe casualties of war, and letting AI do a better job than humans when it comes to battle and what war on the battlefield looks like. Is this progress or are we blindly walking into what you describe as a digital Tower of Babel?
- [03:53]
Lieutenant Colonel Robert McGinnis
We're made in the image of God, Genesis 1. Unfortunately, what this wants to do is to transform us into a data point and then tell us what to think and what not to think. If we abandon discernment, then we end up doing whatever the masters of the algorithms that were written are about. I was reading something that some Catholics put out with regard to the use of AI for occults, for Satan worship, manipulation of images in ways that are just terribly evil. This is really proliferating and growing at phenomenal rates. If you ask ChatGPT, Gemini or you know, any of these GPTs biblical questions, they'll give you an answer if they're honest. And sometimes they are by mistake. I'm really not an expert on these areas. You have to force them, you know, because all they are is a tool. They are based on the algorithm and the large language model in which they dip in and they find out information that seems to statistically fit next to each other and then they give you the best answer. This is being very formative. It's forming our values. If you sit there all day, as some people do, and scroll through your TikTok or whatever, you are being formed, you're being transformed. Your values are being influenced in ways that are very, very subtle but very, very true. And so the danger, I would argue for anyone, if you're my age or a young person, if you're doing that on a consistent basis, then you're being, I could use the term brainwashed, but you're being formed in a way that is very contrary to what God has in mind for us to be. This is dangerous and it's happening across all of society at the youngest level. For those that are infatuated with the AI, because a lot of young people are just fascinated by this or it's happening at the international level because we're turning over command control of a lot of what we in the past used to rely upon the best human minds to do. Now we're relying upon AI to do it for us. There's no area that I can think of, and I've looked at most of them, I think that is not directly impacted by this. And the people that are controlling behind the scenes are the ones I'm most concerned about. And the gurus of AI today, they are not biblical people.
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Studio Guest 1
That's right.
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Joe Artis Horn
I say curated answers because I've, you know, just out of curiosity or research purposes, I've used some of the AIs to answer questions about health that I know to be true based on historical health books from a naturopathic, you know, viewpoint based on, you know, hundreds of years of developed herbal medicines and things. And it'll. It'll give you the curated answers that are basically what I call Babylon approved. Yep. I once looked up my father just to see what it would say. Who was Dr. Thomas Horn, and he was described as a conspiracy theorist that peddled his ideas to a fringe Christian audience. Like, if I'm gone 30 years from now and the Lord is still somehow tarrying and has decided to extend time here on Earth, you can see a generation so far removed from anything that resembles reality. It's all these curated answers. But they've been conditioned to ask this AI Messiah the questions to everything. Now, this is very important. In your book, you discuss China's role in the rise of AI. And you used a word that's hard for me to pronounce. Actually, it's intelligentization. Intelligentization first. Am I saying it right? What does it mean? And let's get into China's social credit scoring system because as I appraise things, to me, the world wanting to adopt a model like that with any assistance from AI. For those unfamiliar, I'm going to ask you to explain China's social credit scoring system and how that might be used in the rise of a beast system.
- [07:47]
Lieutenant Colonel Robert McGinnis
AI has access in China to all data because it fuses all data together and is governed by the administration. They have literally millions and millions of cameras that watch. They try to track your iris, they track your gate, they track your social media presence, they track your job, they track every encounter that they possibly can digitize. And then they rapidly bring it together and that creates a social score. And that social score says you can buy or sell if you are a good citizen that embraces the ideology of the regime. If you don't, then you may not be doing much of anything, much less living very long. Maybe they'll harvest your organs or something like that. So, you know, that's the danger of putting these tools in the hands of, you know, totalitarian governments and so forth. Now they have exported that to various countries around the world. And, you know, there's a list and I have them in the book. And those same countries are using it to identify the culprits in their society that are not embracing their particular agenda. You know, that's part of the Belt and Road initiative that we talked about earlier. But they also have a digital program that is doing much the same. It is incredibly insidious, but it's very true. And that's my concern in part that it's going to be transmorphed into our culture because we have people that really don't believe in liberty and they want to infringe upon what we can say and can't say. And then they'll use the levers of the economy against us. And, you know, that's a very, very serious and real possibility.
- [09:35]
Joe Artis Horn
And when you use the word intelligentization, am I saying it right?
- [09:39]
Lieutenant Colonel Robert McGinnis
Yes.
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Joe Artis Horn
What do you mean by that?
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Lieutenant Colonel Robert McGinnis
That's the fusion that the Chinese have used with every piece of information within. Certainly in the context of the military. There's nothing that's outside of what we need to do and understand about our enemy and that situation. You know, the Chinese see that they can implant malware into our infrastructure, they can manipulate our media. There's no hold barred. They'll do whatever necessary in order to win. And that's what they've been doing for arguably since Mao Zedong took over in 1949. The PLC or the People's Republic of China. It's something that we don't quite do. Sometimes we do things that we shouldn't do. But the Chinese have been doing a long time. Everything's on the table.
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Joe Artis Horn
Do you think it's possible that AI might be used to somehow try to more popularize that approach, maybe under the guise of terrorism? You know, hey, you have your digital authentication number. If you won't receive one by the Feds, let's say you'll be labeled a terrorist and you won't be able to buy or sell. And we've got these AI programs to track who the good players are and who the ones that won't behave because we're trying to Keep you safe. Maybe that's the sales pitch. Do you see what we look at when we see China as maybe never going to happen here in the United States as maybe not so far off?
- [11:03]
Lieutenant Colonel Robert McGinnis
I think we do that already to a certain degree. We're already cut out. People look at our profiles. We have invisible algorithms that are dictating whether we can get a loan or not.
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Joe Artis Horn
That's true.
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Lieutenant Colonel Robert McGinnis
Or there's limited medical procedures like this. They use algorithms to a certain degree. Welfare payments, you name it, they're out there. It's only where we have humans that are concerned about protecting liberties that these things don't go rogue. Because at some point you will be well past generative AI. We'll be into agentic and then perhaps AGI, where these things are, are thinking on their own. We have what's called energy models right now that really are reasoning models, that when you combine the reasoning model with the generative models, what you end up with is something that reasons and makes decisions. And if it's a genic, it makes decisions on its own with very, very little guidance. So I recognize these terms are hard to understand. However, that's the problem. If you don't understand the terms, then how are you going to live in a world in which these people are imposing authoritarian ways on you and you just surrender? We can't surrender to this. We have to understand it and we have to control it.
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Studio Guest 2
Yes, absolutely, spot on.
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Studio Guest 1
Just recently there was a Claude book that was opened up for these agents. And these are artificial intelligences that, that perform duties for you. I'm too busy to do it. I'm going to just hire this AI to go out there and take care of buying these things for me, keeping my calendar, stuff like that.
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Joe Artis Horn
That's right.
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Studio Guest 1
They allegedly these agents and there were millions of them. Allegedly. And I'm saying this because I can't verify that. It's what I saw. They were hiring humans because the agent doesn't have legs. It cannot go out and physically pick up my dry cleaning, but it can notify the dry cleaner. So do you see a future where things are turned on their heads? We are really now these slaves to the AIs.
- [13:23]
Lieutenant Colonel Robert McGinnis
Well, I do see a future where we use more robots because the robots are being controlled by AI, just like the drones for killing Iranians and Ukrainians. The robots are incredibly capable. I mean the advancements every month are. They're as flexible as we are and they can do much of anything. And so you put an agenic system in that robot and so they'll be able to reason, they'll be able to make decisions. So I won't have to hire a human being. You know, like Elon Musk says, you know, we won't need to work any longer after the next five to 10 years because, you know, robots are going to do us for us actually says that. I don't know if he believes it, but when you tether the real capable AI to a robot that has the dexterity that we human beings do, then they'll run the errands. And so at some point, yes, we humans become unnecessary because we consume resources, we consume electricity and water, which they need for their data center. And of course, you know, they can build themselves. We have AI now that is improving itself all the time. Recursive AI that is becoming incredibly good and it's accelerating the rate in which it's bettering itself.
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Joe Artis Horn
What are the dangers, because we mentioned this a minute ago, the idea of warfare being handled more and more by AI support or in total eventually. What are the dangers though of AI driven these autonomous weapons where battle is just designated to an AI and it handles it for you based on its unfathomable depth of war historically, or maybe even territories, we have water resources or hills. Or it would know in one second faster than a human being. Right. Like what a collateral damage report might look like. Instead of weeks, maybe at the Pentagon, it's just bing. Here's your answer, here's your damage mitigation. We recommend this attack and we can handle it for you. Am I describing just sci fi movie stuff or is that being done now or is it ever?
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Lieutenant Colonel Robert McGinnis
No, I address those sorts of issues in the book. In the book, right, certainly. What we saw in Iran, what we saw within the Madero takedown, we took planning and crunched it into seconds. The slow up was a human being saying, okay, that's what we ought to do. As long as you don't delegate it to an AI to just follow through. We are getting to the point where all the pre work to the first missile being fired is done mostly through AI. You know, that goes back to the anthropic dispute they had with Pete Hegseth. But of course Elon is willing to let his XAI do whatever and Sam Alton, you know, they're in negotiation with the Pentagon too to go into the classified system. You know, at the Pentagon we have TS systems, we have secret systems, we have unclassified systems that are most people operate in. And when you go in there, you're using the AI to help you plan. I was a strategist, I was a planner, so I kind of understand this stuff. And it really accelerates that now. It also accelerates targeting, as I've indicated. It improves targeting because, you know, over the last couple of years, you know, the Ukrainians and the Russians are killing each other at far better rates, more accurate rates than they've ever done before because of AI. And so we're coming to the point and perhaps, you know, I can't help but thinking what it says In Revelation about 200 million soldiers or whatever going into battle. I can see that they could be these robots or drones or whatever, and of course, they make one another, and then of course, they orchestrate one another. You know, how do you think you can control 200 small drones attacking a target and have them go after the right portions of the target almost simultaneously? Well, it takes something far more sophisticated than our little brains can handle. And so you use AI and it becomes far more effective. And so there, you know, Katy Baradora, there's no limitation as to what this could potentially do, and especially if you relegate to it, a great deal of autonomy. We have a Defense Department directive that says we're supposed to have human in the loop. I think we're dangerously close to that now. The Chinese care less. And that's going to be a problem when not if they attack Taiwan, because they will use thousands of drones. They'll use other issues that will be very effective. And the Taiwanese, they're aware of this, but it's going to be very difficult to defeat.
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Studio Guest 2
Joe mentioned like a science fiction scenario, and we've seen multiple movies over the last 40 years or so. I mean, from the Terminator films, even going back to Star Trek with the Borg, the Cybermen of Doctor who. There's a classic short story by Harlan Ellison called I have no Mouth and I Must Scream, where a supercomputer merges with the supercomputers of the Russians and the Chinese, calls itself I Am, which, if you're a Christian, ought to make the hair stand up on the back of your neck and basically wipes out humanity because it's decided that we are the problem on Earth. Are any of these planners looking at what science fiction authors have foreseen for decades and saying, hmm, maybe we need to tap the brakes?
- [18:46]
Lieutenant Colonel Robert McGinnis
Well, there are some, Derek, that are saying that, but at the same time, there are the other futurists that are saying, look, you know, AI is really sylvidic. You know, it's going to save us from ourselves. And we'll be able to port our consciousness into cyberspace and live forever. So it is religious. It's terribly religious. And it's transforming a lot of people that think about these issues but don't quite understand where this is going.
- [19:19]
Studio Guest 2
Yeah, because they see the miracle of the electronic devices that they've grown up with now and they can believe in that a lot more easily than they can in the words of a book 2,000 years ago.
- [19:29]
Lieutenant Colonel Robert McGinnis
Absolutely, yeah.
- [19:30]
Skywatch TV Host
Well, ladies and gentlemen, we want to remind you that Skywatch TV is a viewer supported ministry. And right now when you partner with us, your support not only helps us stay on the air, it also enables us to continue the mission through our networks and digital platforms. Reach areas of the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ that are unable to support us financially. Right now, while supplies last. For your donation of only $45 or more, we're only going to send you the new AI Cold War Liberty versus Tyranny in the Age of Machine Empires. But we're also going to send you Lieutenant Colonel Robert McGinnis best selling books AI for Mankind's a Christian Perspective on the High Tech Revolution and the incredibly patriotic Give Me Liberty, Not Marxism. These amazing works sold separately hold a retail value of over $65. Yours now for your donation of only doll or more, which includes free shipping to all US addresses. So again, your support helps Skywatch TV continue reaching the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. You can scan the QR code on your screen using the camera app on your phone for instant access to this special opportunity, you can also Visit us at skywatchtvstore.com or call 1-844-750-4985 and ask for the AI Cold War Special offer Right now.
- [21:04]
Joe Artis Horn
Make sure you take advantage of that special opportunity. This is not a book that you're going to want to miss. Bob. With just a few minutes left on the clock in the book, one of the things you cover, and I think this is so important, especially to the days we're already living in and about to enter. You talk about the temptation of technocracy in America in particular. How should Americans in your view, balance AI innovation? Maybe some of the positive aspects of what it could do for our healthcare systems, et cetera, but also protect civil liberties. Because in order for us to benefit from AI, my layman's understanding of it is what you've said already. We become almost an artifact of digital information. Every micro move we make, in order for it to work, they have to know where we're at. What we're doing, what our allergies are, what our blood type is, what our surgical history, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. So where do Americans, in your view, balance AI innovation, but also protect our civil liberties?
- [22:05]
Lieutenant Colonel Robert McGinnis
We need to think about technocracy versus self government. What parts are we going to allow the government AI to do that maybe a human ought to do? Corporate power versus digital sovereignty. How much agenic AI is going to be out there versus, you know, the CEOs and those that run the corporations of this country? Human rights in the algorithmic age. This is really about liberty versus tyranny. National defense, of course. How much do we delegate to these AI in fighting the future wars? Maybe we don't need 2 million soldiers under arms. Maybe we can just turn it over to drones and other devices. Strategic instability, of course, nationally, because of the artificial general intelligence. The thrust to move into an era in which we turn everything over to AI. There's an infatuation within certain sectors of this country, especially in the AI realm, that want to turn everything to AI. Technocracy will rule the day. And that's very serious.
- [23:08]
Joe Artis Horn
I think we here at Skywatch would feel remiss if I didn't ask you this last question, Bob, and that is, you end this book like you do all of your books. And it isn't just lip service. It's the very meaty, substantive message of hope rather than despair. Why should Christians be hopeful right now, this year, with all of the stuff that's going on overseas? What looks to a lot of people like the rise of a beast system that is probably in our lifetime, according to a lot of people. They're like, I'll be amazed if inside of a decade, we're still living as autonomous Americans with our civil liberties. Why not despair? Why hope?
- [23:47]
Lieutenant Colonel Robert McGinnis
The conflict is ultimately a spiritual one. We have to recognize that the value that the Lord has given us must prevail. Humanity must survive in spite of itself. And unfortunately, the technologists want to go in a very different direction. Don't make it an idol, make it a tool. And that's tough in this world. Stewardship over exploitation. And recognize that as humans, we need to make sure that every aspect of what is happening in our world has that human flavor, not that tech flavor. And yet everything our young people are getting in the classroom today is so tech savvy. If you want to advance in life, you have to have an understanding of this. Yeah, you need to understand the language, you need to understand how to use it as a tool. But don't be formed by it. Don't be transformed into something that is so foreign to what the Lord has planned for you to be.
- [24:57]
Studio Guest 1
Amen.
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Studio Guest 3
The book of James reminds us that if you ask for wisdom, the Lord upbraideth not. That means it is not within his nature or his character to withhold from you the wisdom that you have asked for. The wisdom and the discernment. And like you say, you know, a robot has all knowledge, but it has no wisdom. Here's the thing. Wisdom comes by experience and by the Holy Spirit. So I would love to remind you at home when you are listening to all of this and all of this sounds really scary, there's one area that all AI can do is simulate, and that is wisdom. What's the difference between knowledge and wisdom? They say very easily that knowledge is knowing that tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad. You cannot function without both. Wisdom comes from the Holy Spirit alone and the Lord will not withhold that from you if you ask for it.
- [25:51]
Studio Guest 1
Amen.
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Lieutenant Colonel Robert McGinnis
Amen.
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Joe Artis Horn
Ladies and gentlemen, did you learn something today from Lt. Col. Robert McGinnis? Make sure you get a copy of his brand new book. It's not one that you're going to want to miss. It is a field guide. I said last week, do a small breakout session at a home. Get together with your Bible believers or
- [26:15]
Skywatch TV Host
maybe recruit your neighbors to come over
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Joe Artis Horn
and learn a little something about Jesus and him crucified for your sins so that you can have eternal life. Everybody here in studio. Unfortunately, we're out of time. Bob, thank you so much for joining us again here at Skywatch TV this week. I'm Joe Artis Horne. Keep your eyes on the prize which is Jesus Christ. We'll be back. Oh, my goodness. Caught one.
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Lieutenant Colonel Robert McGinnis
Look at that little tiny fish. I caught one.
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Studio Guest 1
Another one.
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Studio Guest 2
You're famous now, sugar.
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Studio Guest 1
You're doing good.
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Lieutenant Colonel Robert McGinnis
Sa. Sam.