Rosie’s Ramblings – Autumn 2025

Do you get fed up with the way we’re being given the impression that AI is taking over our lives? It can feel quite scary at times, as if AI is actually becoming conscious and sentient (it’s not!) and is aimed at making human beings redundant. Until a few years ago I worked as a translator, a job I loved as I find language endlessly fascinating. However, if I were starting out now, I don’t think I would be a translator because towards the end of my career I was compelled to make far more use of “AI tools” than I liked. Most of the documents I translated were of a technical nature, but I was quite alarmed and saddened by a news item on the radio recently, announcing that AI was now being used to translate novels.

Talking of novels and AI, I just pulled an ancient paperback from my shelves: a brilliant book that I read in the late 1970s, but which was first published in 1965. Its pages are yellowing and turning slightly brittle, but I’ve decided I’m going to read it again and take the risk that it will fall apart.

It’s “The Tin Men” by Michael Frayn. Considering that it was published 60 years ago, it’s quite prophetic. It shows that AI is really not that new; it’s basically computing using more and more powerful machines and growing quantities of data. The book is hilariously funny. If you feel scared by the prospect of being taken over by AI, do read it. Poking fun at the things that we’re afraid of is one of the best ways of dealing with our fear, and Michael Frayn is a genius at doing just that, while acknowledging that there is a serious side to the technology. We need to remember that, but we also need to remember that humans can always pull the plug out if the machines start getting above themselves!

One of the most annoying ways that AI is used is for customer service. You must all have had this kind of experience. A few weeks ago I received a text purporting to be from my bank which just didn’t ring true and I suspected a scam! I phoned the bank and eventually got a robotic-sounding voice asking me to explain my concern briefly. It was quite a complicated situation and I obviously didn’t describe it as briefly as the AI thing wanted me to, as it repeated its request. Once again I rambled on about my concern and then the robotic voice asked, “Do you suspect fraud? If so, say “fraud!” “Fraud!” I yelled into the phone. Well, praise the Lord, Hallelujah! Within a few seconds a friendly-sounding lady with a northern accent said “Toni speaking, how can I help?” She sounded like a proper human being, but I asked suspicously “You’re not a chatbot are you?” Toni laughed and replied, “No I’m not a chatbot.” Toni had no difficulty understanding my predicament and within a few minutes she’d sorted it all out for me. During our conversation I mentioned that I was a vicar, and Toni asked “Oh, have you seen ‘Conclave’?” I told her I’d seen the film twice AND read the book twice! “Oh, one of my daughters loves reading,” Toni told me and I soon learned that she had a daughter who was a teacher and another daughter who was a nurse. We carried on chatting for several minutes in quite a leisurely way and had a lovely conversation. So there’s my advice, if you need to ring your bank just shout “Fraud!” into the phone and you may get to speak to Toni or another human being.

There you are – two book recommendations: “Conclave” by Robert Harris and “The Tin Men” by Michael Frayn. The blurb on the back of the latter reads: “At the William Morris Institute of Automation Research, happy days are spent programming computers to carry out menial tasks such as writing newspapers, watching sports and saying prayers.”

Well, I’m not intending to hand my vicarly duty to say my prayers over to an AI chatbot! Prayer is a very human activity which goes on constantly at St Andrew’s Church, in various ways. I could go on and on about it… but I’ve already written too much, so I’ll conclude now by saying that you will always find a warm welcome at any of our services and events, and if you would like us to pray for you, we will do so gladly.