This edited article first appeared in New English Review

We live in a world with many deceptions, but the first one occurred in the Garden of Eden when the devil tempted Adam and Eve to eat the “forbidden fruit” (Apple—the first AI programming). He told the pair that it would give them all knowledge, thus becoming God-like.

But the devil is a liar, and we all know what happened when the couple were deceived and gave in to temptation, resulting in the world falling into a state of sin.

For secularists who do not take this story literally, it can also be understood as a metaphorical literary device on the fall of Man, as there is no doubt that anyone who tries to play the part of God ends up ‘toast’ and buried. “Do as thou wilt” at your peril.

The cemeteries of the world are jampacked with tyrannical world leaders and jerks who tried to play God. And the ones living today are metaphorically digging their own graves by continuously overplaying their dirty hands as they blindly ‘sow the wind’ prior to inheriting it.

Deception is also a powerful trick in stage magic, as well as a cunning strategy in a world saturated in corruption.

Most (not all) history books, especially on wars, are written on the false testimony of the victors, thus riddled with deceptions, propaganda, lies, some truths, and omissions. Remember that the next time you consider buying such books. If the author’s world views are Woke, pro-Establishment, stooge to the Current Narrative (but I repeat myself), or are at odds with a pro-God objective morality, then look for another author that is more credible and truth-seeking.

The reason why I recommend pro-God, is because God is the Logos (Truth), thus, outside of Whom, opposing views are ultimately anti-Logos: Illogical. The universe has a moral order in Logos.

Logos, the great enemy of deceptions, traces its roots back to ancient Greece, probably mentioned first by grumpy philosopher Heraclitus (500BC) in Ephesus, then mentioned again 500 years later in the same region by St John in his Gospel, who theologised it by personifying it into the Word made flesh via Jesus Christ: The Logos: The most profound sentence in the history of Mankind: “In the beginning was the Word.”

Unfortunately, the ancient Greeks never merged their version of Logos with theology. However, they were not short of good ideas in philosophy, despite many flaws, and this includes warnings on deceptions.

For those unfamiliar with ancient Greek philosophy, Plato’s (428 BC) story of a cave and its deceived dwellers, is an allegory presented by the Greek philosopher in his work Republic.

According to accounts of the story, Plato describes people who have spent their entire lives chained by their necks and ankles in front of an inner wall with a view of the empty outer wall of the cave (a bit like modern-day Normies glued to their TVs, who are brainwashed by the dominant current narrative).

Fast-forward (circa) 2,500 years. Some deceptions are regarded by most people as innocuous, like the existence of Santa Claus being real when told to young children (which I think is harmful); Kayfabe, which is staged in professional wrestling; or a magician performing ticks on a stage for entertainment.

But what about AI? What is acceptable or not acceptable in such deceptions in this relatively new phenomenon? Take music as an example: The AI-generated band Velvet Sundown, should be labelled, AI’s Velvet Sundown, etc. Like the way food products are labelled: Dairy Butter Lite, Diet Coke, etc. Also, in fine art: AI-Imagined Reprint of De Vinci’s ‘Last Supper,’ etc.

An earlier version of this, which was a kind of crypto artificial substitute for popular bands, was the group of musicians called The Wrecking Crew. This group was made up of the world’s best session artists, who, unbeknownst to most listeners, played the instruments on the records and albums for many 1960s/70s’ bands, including The Beatles, The Byrds, Beach Boys, et al.

As for detecting AI chatbot deceptions, it is quite difficult. Most chatbot narratives tend to be formulaic and resemble ‘airport’ crime thrillers, ‘chick-lit,’ or Pulp Fiction genres with their sentences, structure, and syntax adapted by many new writers of the genre.

In a nutshell, many (not all) are ‘over-polished,’ prone to cliches, and resemble the work of a Creative Writing graduate’s first essay, complete with slick turns of phrase. The rhythm might be stimulating but they lack plain language and quality literary sentiment.

If something reads too clever or poetic, it is more than likely belched out from the belly of a chatbot.

Always be cautious and independently do your own research when obtaining information from AI, as its answers and information are derived from selective programming by humans, some of whom are bent on propaganda, lies, omissions, sometimes fed with a ‘spoonful of honey’ to make the narrative go down.

On the pro-side of chatbots, they can be useful as a kind of template or ‘scaffolding’ on building an original narrative. AI-generated text is quite impressive and is also far superior than most contemporary famous writers.

Also beware: Some writers’ identities have been stolen to produce fake AI-generated books in their names and are even for sale on some online book retailers’ websites.

Finally, and I say this with a pinch of uncanny sincerity: The power of AI appears to be aided by supernatural forces. Could there be a demon in some machines deceiving us? Or, more specifically, a possessed person(s) programming them? Perhaps we will never know.