Smashing the Idol: Our AI Policy
There is a famous Midrash that tells of a young Avraham Avinu in the idol shop of his father, Terach. Left to mind the store, Avraham took a stick, smashed the smaller idols to pieces, and placed the stick in the hand of the largest remaining idol.
When his father returned and demanded to know what happened, Avraham explained that the idols had fought over a meal-offering, and the largest one had shattered the others in its fury. Terach scoffed, “Do you take me for a fool? They have no power or awareness!” To which Avraham delivered his masterstroke: “Then let your ears hear what your mouth is saying. If they have no power, why do you worship them?”
We see a powerful parallel in our own cautious and deliberate use of artificial intelligence. In an age when AI is becoming a towering idol—worshipped for its perceived omniscience and power—our approach is not to simply turn our backs, but to use the tool to expose the falsehoods. We believe in using AI to smash the idol of AI.
It is in this spirit of critical engagement that we wish to be transparent about our own limited and experimental use of this technology. At Jewish Home News, we have written extensively about our deep concerns regarding AI, and our critical stance remains unchanged.
We have recently utilized an AI tool for a specific, focused purpose: to help produce an experimental podcast series based entirely on our existing body of work. The goal is to distill the core philosophical and policy battles we have been covering for years into a more accessible audio format.
It is critical to understand how this process works:
- Source Material is Human-Generated: The AI is not creating new content or engaging in imaginative speculation. Its work is strictly based on articles already written and published by our journalists, which are themselves founded on statements by officials and quotes in mainstream media.
- A Focus on Distillation, Not Generation: We are using AI to structure and voice a summary of complex arguments we have already made. The core analysis, insight, and reporting remain entirely our own.
- Rigorous Human Oversight: Every output is thoroughly reviewed by our editorial staff for accuracy, focus, and fidelity to our original work. We are not—and will never be—foisting “AI Frankenews” on an unsuspecting public. This is a human-led process that leverages a tool for a specific task.
We undertook this experiment because the threats we have been warning about for years require new avenues to penetrate the general consciousness. By placing the stick in the idol’s hand, we aim to use its own nature to reveal its limitations and dangers to a wider audience.
Our commitment is to you, our reader. We will continue to report on the dangers and ethical dilemmas of AI with unwavering scrutiny. Any use of technology on our part will be limited, transparent, and always in service of the journalistic principles you expect from us.
