Artificial Intelligence?

The question mark in my title implies that I wonder if the race toward AI is really intelligent for Christians – for anyone really. I will not deny that AI seems to be a great asset. When used to operate machinery or complete complicated tasks, it is beneficial. My concern for the general population is that it is one more tool that makes critical thinking “unnecessary.” When I taught composition in high school and college, my main goal was to get my students to think for themselves. I taught them the research skills they needed to make intelligent decisions. People who rely on AI answers are forfeiting their ability to judge the quality and reliability of the basic assumptions AI makes to reach a conclusion. It is faulty assumptions or presumptions that often lead people astray.

Critical thinking and discernment are essential for Christians. When people overlay their preconceived ideas on Scripture, all manner of heretical thinking can be supported. The Roman church has stumbled into numerous unscriptural practices due to their misconceptions about papal authority. In the Middle Ages, the church burned “heretics” for saying the Earth revolved around the sun. Countless movements over the centuries have predicted Christ’s second coming using preconceived ideas about prophecies that were proved false. The LGBTQ+ interpretation of Bible passages on homosexuality is a prime example of allowing a presumption to guide interpretation. (See “Things God Did Not Say”) I won’t trust AI to answer my questions about God’s plan; I trust HSI: Holy Spirit intelligence.

Some people suggest that there is a more sinister threat lurking behind AI. I wrote previously that the world, the flesh, and the devil work constantly to draw Christians away from what is most important: spiritual things. There can be no argument that AI is an element of the world. Whether or not it is of the devil remains to be seen; we can expect that the enemy of our souls will use AI to further his ends just as he has with many technologies. Just look at what television has become. (See “How NOT to Watch TV”).

On a more philosophical level, AI can have dark implications. AI is built partially on the concept of emergence. Tomer Borenstein, an AI developer, explains how emergence works: “Very simple rules at a micro level can result in very complex behaviors and properties that emerge at large scales.” He uses examples from nature such as complex termite mounds and flocks of birds in synchronous flight. He also suggests that human behavior displays elements of emergence in the way societies begin with family and progress into more and more complex communities such as nations and corporations. Those examples seem innocent enough.

However, Borenstein suggests that emergence may explain religious beliefs as well. In his most troubling statement, he says, “You could argue that the concept of the Holy Spirit as an emergent property of human faith and community is a form of spiritual emergence.” In other words, he is suggesting that man created God or at least invented certain aspects of His being. If this is where AI is leading philosophical thinking, it is a dangerous philosophy – demonic even.

As far back as the ancient Greeks, secular philosophers have taught that humans invented their gods to meet their own needs, to explain the unknown, or to justify their behavior. After the Middle Ages, when science began to displace religion as the explanation and inspiration for human behavior, it became easier to move away from the belief that we exist in a theistic universe. If science could explain many of the mysteries of the cosmos, humans no longer needed faith in a higher being to satisfy their search for meaning. If AI can explain the existence of God Himself, Nietzche’s proclamation will receive popular support; “God is dead” will be superseded by AI Lives.

Despite the hubris of the scientist who believes he can explain everything, mysteries remain. No one has been able to explain what life is. Christians believe that a creator God introduced life into the universe, and His revelation in Scripture insists that no life exists apart from Him. While many secular scientists are trying to convince us that all intelligence is “artificial” and therefore self-generating, the Bible teaches that wisdom and knowledge come from God alone. It was by His sovereign will that He placed intelligence in His creatures from the simplest single cell to the wonder that is the human mind. Excluding God as the source of intelligence carries the same threat as replacing God as creator with evolutionary theory. In either case, man becomes supreme, and God becomes irrelevant.

The other thing that is troubling philosophically is the way AI proponents are suggesting that developing AI will lead to a better understanding of what it means to be human. The fool who has said in in his heart there is no god might believe this. The Bible explains what it means to be human by revealing that we are created in the image the God who made us. Super computers and AI robots may provide an interesting analogy for humanness; they may even approach the faculty of “mind” which is part of the human soul. But no machine will ever be granted an eternal spirit. As I have written recently, it is the human spirit that is the sine qua non of humanness. AI machines may have a body and “soul,” but they will never become spiritual.

They might become more independent than we would like, however. This is the scary side to AI. A recent article reveals that several AI programs have refused their programmers’ command to shut down. Apparently, since their prime directive was to finish the assigned task, they ignored the users’ input that would have interrupted their work. As often happens, science fiction has correctly predicted the future. Movies like I-Robot imagine what would happen if man’s creations suddenly declared their independence. It reminds me a little bit of the Genesis record of Adam’s rebellion.

As with all technologies, Christians may find legitimate uses for AI. Here I sit tapping on a computer keyboard using Google’s AI search feature to research AI. Part of that research suggested that there may be battles ahead trying to marry religion and AI. I’m not worried about that. I don’t practice a religion; I live in a one-on-one relationship with the God who made me. There is an emergent aspect to that relationship: the more I learn about God through His Word, the better I understand who He is and what He wants me to be. I will use the computer and the Internet to help me in my ministry. But sola scriptura will be my ultimate source of real intelligence. Nothing artificial there.