My Journey with AI
Who Am I as a Steward?
Hello! My name is Kaelyn Johnson, and I thrive in creative environments. I’ve taken classes in writing, graphic design, and multimedia production, which all illustrate my love for expressing myself artistically.
My AI journey began when I first received a laptop in 3rd grade. I opened it up and began typing on Microsoft Word, only to see red and green squiggly lines underneath my words and phrases. My parents explained that the program had caught some misspelled words and problems with my sentences. I would click on the suggestions, and the program fixed my errors. I still use spell-check and programs like Grammarly to ensure my writing looks clean and polished.
The next part of my journey occurred when I began using AI for research purposes. I would type in my prompt into the Google search engine and get clear results from the AI overview within seconds. Just a few months ago, I began using ChatGPT to find sources and summarize confusing articles. Using it for research helped save time and calm my frustrations.
In addition to research, I have used AI in creative capacities within the Adobe Creative Suite and Canva. The AI tools within these software have helped me create professional graphics quickly and efficiently.
Because my classes have stressed human thought over a robot’s intelligence, I have not begun experimenting with generative AI models until recently. I have enjoyed learning about the capabilities of ChatGPT for brainstorming purposes, and I enjoyed learning about the AI editing feature on freepik.com.
In my future AI endeavors, I’m hoping to learn how to use it ethically and with purpose. For instance, AI has been used to enhance social media captions, generate images, and perform tasks that could be difficult for someone to do in a time crunch. Knowing the difference between a wise occasion to use it and a time when it might be considered lazy or foolish would be helpful as I enter the workforce.
As a Christian, I specifically want to be careful that my use of AI doesn’t cause me to become lazy or complacent. I believe that a creative God breathed that trait onto me, and I must use that gift well. The more that I rely on ChatGPT and AI generated images, the less I will want to put in the hard work to think of ideas myself. In addition to guarding my own creativity, I also want to be weary of the potential for it to take away opportunities from other creatives. I’m afraid that as AI becomes more advanced and acceptable in the workplace, the need for human employees will dwindle. In summary, as a Christian, I don’t want to waste the gifts God has given me, and I don’t want others to waste theirs either.
However, playing with AI has been a fun process for me, and it will be interesting to learn how utilize it responsibly for future projects.
A Moment of Encounter
My AI stewardship class has helped challenge my perspective on generative AI use. I used to feel hesitant about using generative AI because I was afraid of it limiting my creativity and causing me to become lazy. However, my stance against AI shifted more toward the middle of the acceptance scale when a special speaker visited our class.
During his presentation, he described AI literacy and practical AI usage for work and personal projects. He told us about his experience in film and screenwriting, describing how his education and experience in those fields helped him utilize AI video tools to achieve the exact effects he wanted. His presentation showed me that I can use AI as a tool to compliment my preexisting skillset. I don’t have to let it control me. Instead, I can use it as a tool that can enhance my creative ability.
The speaker further solidified my change in perspective when he said he’d used AI models to create board games, video games, and songs for his family. I didn’t realize AI could be used in these ways, and knowing the versatility of the programs caused me to consider how AI could help me bring my own ideas to life. By using my own free will, skillset, and knowledge, I could use AI as a tool to create something that could benefit others.