Dear Matzav Inbox,
Every few years, the same script gets dusted off, the same alarms are sounded, and the same hysteria is repackaged. This time, the hashkafah villain of the hour is AI.
Suddenly, we are told it is uniquely dangerous, spiritually radioactive, a threat to the very fabric of Yiddishkeit. People are “yelling.” Flyers are warning. Speeches are thundering. And once again, common sense is nowhere to be found.
Give me a break.
AI is not some supernatural force of tumah. It is a tool. A powerful one, yes—but a tool nonetheless. And if we’re being honest, it is no more inherently treif than a smartphone, the internet, email, or a laptop. All of those can be used for garbage—or for tremendous good. The difference has never been the technology. The difference is the user.
Let’s not pretend we haven’t been here before.
When phones became smart, we were told they would destroy kedusha. When internet access became widespread, it was described as an open sewer. When texting appeared, people warned it would end normal human communication. And yet—somehow—Klal Yisroel survived. Not only survived, but adapted. Guardrails were built. Filters were installed. גבולות were drawn. Life went on.
Were the dangers real? Of course. Are they real with AI? Absolutely. No one is denying that. But danger does not equal prohibition, and fear does not equal wisdom.
If “it can be misused” is the standard, then we need to ban phones, cars, credit cards, microphones, printing presses, and pens. Kefirah can be written by a machine, but it can also be written by a human being. The כלי is not the problem. The lack of yiras Shamayim is.
There is a difference between responsible guidance and panic. Between caution and absolutism. Between leadership and yelling.
We do not need screaming proclamations that everything new is treif by default. We need measured voices, thoughtful boundaries, and adults who trust other adults to act responsibly within halacha.
A little perspective would go a long way. A chill pill wouldn’t hurt either.
Sincerely,
A tired observer of tech panic cycles
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Stupid letter. Nobody is panicking… It’s called education. Historically, the communities that address the issues work out ways to deal with it. The fact that the Orthodox Jewish communities recognized and addressed the issue of the internet and social media SAVED US. The world is lost and we have a decent way how to deal wit this. The Citi Field conference was a smashing success. Of course, no logical person thought there would be no internet, but awareness is all the difference. Same with AI.
Anaother chochom that thinks he knows better than the gedolim.
Or was this written by AI? 🙂
You sorta answer your own complaints within the letter.
A hoopla is made about new issues, guardrails are implemented, and the community at large moves on.
The dangers that are there didn’t disappear, and they weren’t addressed by ignoring the issue either.
AI induced psychosis is a real issue that should not be hand waved away.
Yeh. Phones are assur. Concerts are assur. Singing along with the chazzan during licha dodi is assur. Food shopping in a Heimishe supermarket without a hat and jacket, while women are in the store also shopping, is assur. AI search results are assur. Etc etc etc.
All this has NOTHING to do with genuine yiddishkeit. This is all a game of trying to appear to be out-yeshivishing the next guy. This way, when one is called regarding information for a shidduch, they can respond glowingly that, yes, the family checks all of the boxes. They are as heilig and yeshivish as can be. Yes, I can hold my head and nose high, walking into Shul on Friday night with my new future son-in-law standing right next to me. No one can possibly even entertain the thought that I could’ve done better.
You could have done a better comment. The basic pitfalls are for everyone to avoid as much as possible.
lol, pray tell, why dont you enlighten us on what yiddeshkeit really is?
But in case you are actually searching, not simply just mocking, let me take your topics one by one
Smartphones are Assur: Well, being that smartphones have the capacity to bring a person to any place in the world, instead of him having to travel there, there is every possibility for one to be tempted. As an example, Gmail now sends ads directly to your inbox. Is pictures of holiday cruises and beachfront hotels problematic? You answer that.
Concerts: The advent of Mixed – Gender entertainment is not new, already in the Gemarah we find that in the Beis Hamikdosh a Takanah Gedolah was instituded to seperate the genders when coming… TO THE BEIS HAMIKDASH! Kal v’chomer by a simple entertainment event, where any number of strangers (and singers) of questionable reputation are present.
And since when is chanukah a time for entertainment anyways? show me your judiasm!
Singing along with the chazan by Lecha Dodi? if you were asked to be silent there it may have more to do with your vocal skills than any religious conviction, save perhaps, Ahavta L’rei’acha.
Without a Hat and Jacket? Well, no one will tell you its Assur. But your dress is your statement. Always. Clothing are external expressions of internal convictions. Thats why there is “Formal” “casual” “Business” etc.
Someone without a Hat and Jacket expresses something, and for someone who is meant to express something else, thats a contradiction.
I would suggest to actually seek to understand more than to attack, its easier on everybody, Htazlacha!
Wierdo. Sounds like you have a really large chip on your shoulder.
Where AI can be especially insidious is in its ability to credibly impersonate people in order to push some hidden agenda, using doctored facts or even lies as tools. We can let our guard down at our own risk.
Oh well, the “Sky really is falling”
Guess what? We are not surviving, only creating a mirage that we are. There are thousands of frum yidden addicted to online shmutz, thanks to internet and smartphones. Many people look frum but inside are rotted to the core. Some are heroes, struggling silently against what they’ve gotten sucked into (see Guardyoureyes), but wish they hadn’t gone down the rabbit-hole. Many breaking or broken homes due to it. Many kids off the derech because of it. Many don’t follow the guardrails, or follow and break through, with the YH in their pockets or the privacy of their homes.
ASK ANY ROV WHO DEALS WITH THE PUBLIC SERIOUSLY. They know how widespread the problems are.
We have a mageifa. And AI is the beginning of a new wave of illness. And those who walk around saying nothing is wrong are like crossing a highway with their eyes closed r”l.
Agree with letter writer. Thank you!
a bunch of kofrim stop the hate and kefira and follow the gedolim who never led us astray
maybe its because people went crazy that made the gedolim create the safeguards and btw we were late on smartphones because many rabbonim didnt realize how bad they were till too late we shouldnt make the same mistake. and many tech experts are saying that unlike the internet which when restricted can be a useful tool AI which and this stage keeps evolving is not really restrictable in a way that you can also use it
Smartphones have destroyed kedushah for a lot of people. And destroyed attention spans and a whole load of other things.
And a great many of us, even with the best filters, find ourselves struggling against the pull of the Internet.
AI will make many things much worse.
(Having said that, AI/therapy bots seem to help people more than many human therapists do and without the same harm caused and the enormous amounts of time and money invested. I know some therapists are worth their weight in gold, but there are a lot of problems in the world of therapy too. On the other hand, people have also self-harmed because of AI. Another commenter mentioned AI-induced psychosis, which is a real thing.)
Jean Twenge, a researcher on the effect of technology on youth, described an increase in suicide. Also, at her daughter’s high school, English teachers no longer assign books to read; rather articles and short stories. (This is actually kind of a good thing because most of classic American literature studied in high school is immoral trash. On the other hand, the short story genre is even trashier.)
College professors describes students who can’t write a paper and who, if they come across a word they don’t know in class, are too lazy to look it up even though their phone is right there.
Yes, AI is a tool but unlike, say a chainsaw, it has hidden dangers that are not readily apparent. It is not a neutral source of reliable information, as many think it is and, therefore, can make serious mistakes. And that’s adults, who could have the experience to know better, whereas children do not. Etc.
Wow your a real am Haaretz may the one above have mercy on your pitiful soul