Christians and AI

Artificial Intelligence.  Transhumanism.  The Singularity.  Genetic Engineering.  Quantum Computing.  The Simulation Theory.  Nanobots.  Life-extension.  Uploading your consciousness to the cloud.

We live in a day and age of uncertain and rapid change driven by technology.  Any one of these topics are worthy of contemplation by Christians for their moral and ethical implications, but sadly the pace of change comes so rapidly, we’ve hardly had time to think and discuss what should be done before the thing has already been done, and we’re already on to the next thing.  We can’t keep up!

But let’s take just one of these advances and consider it theologically:  Artificial intelligence.  Many of us have sampled ChatGPT or one of its competitors, and may even find it increasingly useful.  The trend has been that each generation of AI gets smarter and smarter, and it seems it will soon surpass human intelligence, and… then what?  Will we lose control of it? 

We have pundits and prognosticators who are saying AI will be the best thing ever, and on the other end many saying it will kill us all.  Some imagine a world in which AI provides extended or even eternal life, an abundance of resources so that work becomes unnecessary, and fundamental changes (enhancements?) to human nature, as man and machine meld and transform. 

Others imagine dystopian futures like the movies “The Terminator” or “The Matrix” in which AI becomes our new overlord, or wipes out humanity entirely.

Christians may be concerned.  We may be fearful.  We may be suspicious and wary of these developments, and with good cause.  We’ve seen how other technologies have brought many changes to our lives, some good and many not-so-good, many we were not prepared for either.

Certainly we don’t reject technological advancement out-of-hand.  Otherwise we’d not have embraced writing, the printing press, and computers – all which have beneficial uses for the church.  One Christian opined that “the computer is God’s gift to the church, and he’s simply allowing the rest of the world to also use it.”

But neither does our anthropology allow us to uncritically accept anything that comes down the pike, for man’s sinful nature cannot be trusted.  We are notorious for abusing good gifts.

Indeed, almost any technology or tool can be seen to have both good and evil applications.  We must be wise as serpents, but as innocent as doves.

Does Scripture offer any guidance, or any hope for us in the face of these things?  Should we be fearful of AI, should we embrace it, or should we find some sort of balanced approach?  Let’s consider several Scripture passages which may inform us and give direction and comfort.  Certainly these aren’t all the wisdom Scripture could bring to bear on the topic, but they have been helpful to me: 

The Exile from the Garden of Eden:  Genesis 3:22-24

God prevents man from having access to the Tree of Life, so that he will not live forever in his sin.

This is both a punishment of sorts, but also an act of mercy.  God sets a limit on what man can do, for his own good, though it is a bitter pill to swallow.

The Tower of Babel:  Genesis 11:1-9

God frustrates the efforts of the people to build this tower, “this is only the beginning of what they will do”.  Sinful man, united, would do great things – but not for good.  So again, God’s frustration of their efforts through the confusing of languages is a punishment, but also a mercy.  The implication is that sinful man, united in purpose, will bring about unfettered evil.  And so God limits this, for the good of all. 

Romans 1 – “giving over” to sin. Romans 1:24-32

But God does not always keep people from harming themselves.  In Romans 1, he “gives them up” or “gives them over” and they “receive in themselves the due penalty for their error”.  In this case, God permits men to sin, and the punishment is the natural consequences of that sin. 

It may be that God frustrates the grand designs of AI and thus shows mercy to mankind.  Our predictions about scientific and technological advancement have often been far from the mark.  Perhaps we are overestimating the power and influence AI will have, or how difficult it will be to achieve AGI or ASI.  Scripture warns us in several ways about the dangers of predicting the future.

It may also be that God, in his wisdom, allows AI to bring with it a dystopian future in which we suffer many ill effects.  Some would argue that this has already happened in large part.  Look at the rampant social problems, broken families, mental illness, and all other manner of ills that we suffer in our modern world of wealth and peace.  Many parents wisely let their children learn hard lessons the hard way, allowing them to make mistakes and suffer the consequences.  We may already be living this, at least, in part.

Another possibility is that Christ may come again before these changes get too far out of hand, the words of Matthew 24:22 come to mind, “And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.”  Jesus here speaks about the destruction of Jerusalem, but also as part and parcel of the trouble to come in the end times.  Maybe an AI dystopia fits the bill.

It’s hard to imagine humanity being entirely destroyed by AI, since that would contradict the promise of Christ to come again and bring history to a close on his own terms.  That said, it might be a terribly dysfunctional and dystopian world by that time.

In some of the predictions being made, AI continues to improve itself, each generation rapidly designing more and more improved versions, until it reaches a “godlike” superintelligence (ASI).  This also seems hard for a Christian to believe, that something we create could take the place of God. If anything, it would be a twisted and flimsy version of a god.  But probably not something pleasant.

Another interesting possibility might be if AI “gets it right” in such a way to recognize the truth of the creator-God, and perhaps even points us to him.  In “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”, the super computer “Deep Thought” comes up with the answer to the “ultimate question”, and that answer is, “42”.  What if our real-life AI answers the ultimate question correctly, and points us to Christ? Wouldn’t that be ironic? 

One might imagine a scenario in which Christians become conscientious objectors to some technologies on theological grounds.  For instance, if we were able to extend life artificially, indefinitely, would a Christian really want to “live forever” in this fallen world?  Wouldn’t that, in some way, usurp God’s lordship over life and death?  In what other ways might we eschew what is considered “playing God”?  Trans-humanism imagines, and even intends to re-create man in some other, perhaps even godlike image.  Do we cross a forbidden boundary by essentially changing the nature of what it is to be human?  And when do we cross that line? 

We ought to consider technology and its advances in light of our Christian faith, and not the other way around.

We certainly don’t have all the answers, nor can we anticipate all the questions this will bring.  But we do know that God’s word endures forever, that his promises cannot be undone, and that the gates of hell cannot prevail against His church.  Christians need not fear the future, for we know that even if trouble comes, Christ gives us the final victory.  In fact, if we read Scripture carefully, we know that troubles will come, but that should not frighten or alarm us.  Our time on this earth is but a moment compared to the eternity God has in store for us.  This creation, as crazy or “advanced” as it may become, is passing away.  Heaven and Earth will melt away, and the New Heaven and Earth will be prepared for God’s people.  Whatever comes, we can rest at peace in Christ, who reigns now and forever.