In the Eyes of the Priest column of the Catholic Peace Weekly, the columnist brings to the attention of the readers the theme of Sogang University's Christmas nativity scene, artificial intelligence (AI).
Like Michelangelo’s 'Creation of Adam,' the fingers of baby Jesus in the arms of the Virgin Mary touch the fingers of a robot. It is said to express that AI is ultimately a created being. Instead of stars, the night sky glows with the binary numbers 0 and 1, the language of computers. In a rapidly changing world, the church also feels it cannot ignore this enormous trend.
AI is quickly permeating every corner of the world and transforming our lives. In the U.S. and China, where AI has advanced, there are reports of mass unemployment. Searching is now a thing of the past. We now ask AI as if having a conversation to learn what we want to know. AI-driven cars travel through Seoul’s city center, and AI writes novels and poetry. In this age of AI, another thing disappearing is magazines.
In 1970, former National Assembly Speaker founded the monthly magazine Samto, describing it as a “cultural magazine for the happiness of ordinary people.” Later led by his son, Samto was so popular at its peak that it sold up to 500,000 copies per month. One reason for Samto’s popularity was that readers could access works by leading writers of the time.
This Samto, however, has faced changes in the media environment.
Samto, will enter an indefinite hiatus with its final issue due to management difficulties caused by changes in the media environment.
Samto continued publishing even while selling its iconic red brick building in Seoul, but it could no longer bear the several hundred million won in annual losses. Nowadays, the people who used to receive Samto have smartphones in their hands, and in an era where AI algorithms recommend news and videos, Samto’s future may have already been determined. Yet, it feels disheartening that something that fought so hard to overcome a crisis is now leaving us.
It is Christmas. This Christmas, I am paying attention to things that are gradually disappearing. Although the world is changing so quickly that some call it a monumental shift in civilization, it is heartbreaking to see cherished memories vanish. Things that once made our hearts race now seem to be treated as junk, which is upsetting. Still, some things never change. Even if robots appear in the Christmas manger, the miracle that God became human and came into the humblest manger will continue.
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