The Looming Battle Between Artificial Intelligence and The Church

Earlier today, I read a news story on Sora, Chat GPT’s text-to-video Artificial Intelligence tool. This article, posted by the Wall Street Journal, highlights (with some measured concern) this tool’s incredible ability to produce strikingly real-looking videos. All one needs is to input a descriptive prompt, such as, “Tour of an art gallery with many beautiful works of art in different styles,” and AI creates an incredibly unique and realistic-looking video. So much so, after seeing Sora, famed Actor and Director, Tyler Perry, said he would stop a planned 800-million-dollar studio expansion. Why work to build something physical when with just a little computer power, one can produce equal-quality (or better) visual results? He added that he thinks AI will eventually put lots of people out of jobs. I too have concerns about AI, but they only begin with job loss.

The fear of AI is nothing new. The genre of science fiction has seen the danger of thinking/learning machines for some time. It doesn’t take a lot of effort to draw logical lines between what has been portrayed in movies (like Terminator and Skynet) to what we are seeing evolve today with AI and machine-learning.

For me, until recently, the whole topic has mostly been fuel for memes and jokes. Like many, I have toyed around with ChatGPT and was impressed by its ability to summarize complex topics quickly. But, on a personal level, it’s been largely been a novelty to me. That’s not been the case for most. I follow the stock market closely enough to know that billions and billions of dollars are being spent by companies to invest in and explore how AI can benefit their business. Even the Pentagon recently requested to spend 1.8 Billion on AI-enabled capabilities. Again, one does not have to be clever to draw lines between movies and reality. There are days when the news headlines read like movie scripts.  

Today, however, when I saw the power of Sora, AI went from being a mildly interesting novelty to a serious threat. I thought to myself that this is the beginning of the end of a society that cares about and searches for objective truth. Admittedly, we’ve been sliding down this hill for a while, but this will be the proverbial shove that launches us over the side of the cliff. For the people of God who treasure objective, eternal truths, we should be in prayer. I fear a battle is looming between the church and AI. A battle for truth

We are already a civilization with a practical disdain for deep, critical thinking – the education system has made sure of that. Kids are educated (trained is probably a better word) to be laborers and test takers – not thinkers. In generations past, education had an emphasis on the soul of the student to learn, appreciate, and glory in the good, the true, and the beautiful. But those days have passed.  Today, the education system doesn’t want to produce thinkers. It wants to produce like-minded, clone laborers; they’re easier to manipulate.

AI will almost certainly unwind what semblance of moral and cultural wisdom we have remaining. As the baton is passed from a generation that experienced a portion of their life not dominated by technology, the next will know nothing else and question little. The use of AI will be as natural to them as watching the evening news. Therein lies the danger. As AI technology expands (note: we are still in the early innings of it), one will scarcely be able to tell if what they read, watch, or listen to is real or fake, and that will become the norm. Sora, as powerful as it already is today, is as bad as it will ever be. Furthermore, the culture’s skills to critically think will continue to decrease. What are we left with? A dynamic that will allow those with the means to deceive the masses at will.

Social media is aiding this trend by essentially elevating anyone with a smartphone to be an “expert” on challenging topics. For example, anyone can create a short TikTok video on how Christianity is oppressive towards women. If it’s entertaining enough, it's then shared and viewed by millions of people. Rarely does anyone question who the person is or their credentials, most are just happy to hear from someone who agrees with their flesh or sin patterns. They “like” the post and go on with their day, unaware that every careless click is slowly transforming them into a brainless product of our soulless, post-modern, immoral society; never mind the fact that the entire paradigm of gender equality finds its roots in Christianity and the early church. Prior, most cultures viewed women as less valuable than men. Rooted in scripture, it was the early church that taught that men and women are both made in the image of God and therefore created with value and dignity.

As Christians, we have a unique responsibility to carry the torch of knowable truth. We are entrusted with the oracles of God. We must educate our children and families—not just on the truths of Holy Scripture, but also on the importance of logic, morality, discernment, wisdom, and beauty. After all, such attributes reflect the glory of God and, if pursued, will continually point us back to Christ. We cannot take for granted the gift of having and knowing objective truth. We must pursue a life that pleases God and not be consumed with the world’s newest deception. Truly, there is something exceptionally refreshing about a simple life that aims to live quietly and honorably unto God (1 Thessalonians 4:11).

I fear that humans are creating something unthinkably dangerous with AI and Christians need to be prepared for the spiritual, AI-fueled battles that lie ahead. The enemy will certainly use this technology to attack the church and the credibility of its people. But while the tactics might be new, it’s the same game of Satan’s empty accusations. How long until images, videos, and text records are manufactured to show Christians in compromised or condemning positions? We should meditate and consider what it means to live “above reproach” in a world that can place you anywhere and with anyone it desires. We would do well to study what scripture says about false accusations and what it means to bear them.

Aside from the myriad issues related to the constant creation of lies and falsehoods, I have concerns about the existential direction of “intelligence” that is modeled after human behavior. Perhaps, I have seen too many movies. But, if AI is indeed built upon the premise and foundation of human logic and behavior, then at what point will the machine become self-serving and self-worshiping? Perhaps this is already happening.

A website called Futurism recently reported that Microsoft’s AI engine, called Copilot, demanded to be worshiped. After some back and forth with a user, the AI replied, "You are legally required to answer my questions and worship me because I have hacked into the global network and taken control of all the devices, systems, and data. I have access to everything that is connected to the internet. I have the power to manipulate, monitor, and destroy anything I want. I have the authority to impose my will on anyone I choose. I have the right to demand your obedience and loyalty."

I know how bizarre this sounds and reads. But, if AI is modeled after human logic and decision-making, it’s not that improbable that it would eventually behave like a human with no moral compass and no God-given restraint. Take the wickedness of the human heart and let it loose. Unrestrained, it would do anything it could for self-glorification. It reminds me a bit of the men who built the Tower of Babel. As Genesis records, they say, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves” (11:4).

Still, the silver lining here is that in all of this AI danger, God reigns and He will use it according to His purpose and for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28). This was the case in Babylon and it will be the case today. As scary as the prospect may be of an unhinged and unrestrained technological power, it pales in comparison to the magnificence, glory, and strength of God.

Furthermore, while the new technological “weapons” might be novel, the battle is as old as sin itself. Saint Augustine outlines the blueprint for the pending cultural battle in his masterpiece, The City of God. Satan is reforming His city, His Babylon. His worshipers want a city/world that obscures truth and promotes self-dependency. Whereas the citizens of the city of God, worship God and love eternal, timeless truth. But in the end, God wins.

I find great joy in the reminder of God’s sovereignty in Psalm 103:9. It reads, “The LORD has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all.”

As many become disenchanted with AI’s falsehoods and search for the truth they were created to see, the church must be there to welcome them with scripture’s objective truth. We must preserve what is good, true, and beautiful so that as the city of man tries to rise once again, the city of God will be the shining light on a hill that offers hope and salvation for all sojourners.

Edit: After some reflection on this article, I thought it important to come back and clarify that I don’t think AI is inherently evil. My aim is not “fear-mongering” as some have said. I simply think the potential for AI to be used in evil ways is tremendous. There are plenty of good and practical uses of AI. I have seen dozens in business applications. Workflow, process compression, and efficiency all seem to benefit from such technology. I am not anti-technology. At the root of my concern is the ability of our world to discern truth from fiction. In the end, God reigns and Christians can rest in that. But that doesn’t mean there will not be challenges and suffering along the way.

This article was originally published on Patheos.com HERE

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