The AI Challenge: A Biblical Response

 Updated 5/11/23

Dr. Geoffrey Hinton, known as "the Godfather of AI," quit his job at Google so that he could openly criticize the technology that he helped to create.  According to an article in the New York Times:

His immediate concern is that the internet will be flooded with false photos, videos and text, and the average person will “not be able to know what is true anymore.”

Dr. Hinton's long-term concern is that AI poses an existential risk to humanity. I believe that this is a subject serious enough for our immediate attention. I am inviting you to join me in a round table discussion concerning a Biblical Response to AI at our next Lunch and Learn gathering on Thursday, May 11th in Ocala. Please click the blue button below to get more information and to register for this event. or go directly to www.lunch.mba. Please also share this link with anyone who may be interested in this subject. 

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen. 

(I Peter 5:6-10)

The AI challenge is something that every person and every church will have to deal with in the not-so-distant future. Artificial Intelligence is already here and is advancing at an incredibly fast pace. Computers are now creating a variety of content from text to poetry, images, video and art at a rate faster than humans can produce it. AI content is difficult to detect. Therefore, we now find ourselves in a time when we have to be even more critical of everything that we read, see and hear. AI generated contact has already been shown to exhibit bias for and against certain political candidates and issues. 

While AI can be used for good, the potential for abuse and its negative impact can be astounding. In the hands of terrorists, foreign advisories, criminals and political activists, AI can do great harm. Perhaps the greatest damage can be done to the human psyche when people have to train their minds to be hyper critical of everything.  Imagine the potential for increased anxiety, paranoia, and moral uncertainty that can come with the acceptance of AI in our society.  

Jesus said, “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock." (Matthew 7:24)

The Christian response to the AI Challenge is to stand firm on the Word of God and to offer hope to people who are swimming around in a deep dark sea of uncertainty. We need to make sure that we are standing on the firm foundation of Jesus and to point the way to salvation through him. As the psalmist said, "He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure." (Psalm 40:2)