We’re only human

Are humans just “meat computers” defined by our DNA? Or are we unique creatures, more than matter, who cannot be replicated by artificial intelligence (AI)? Two recent books help Christians think through these questions.

First, Robert J. Marks II outlines a Biblical answer in Non-Computable You: What You Do That Artificial Intelligence Never Will (Discovery Institute, 2022). As an electrical engineer, computer engineer, and distinguished professor at Baylor University, Marks is no lightweight on this subject. Nonscientists may find some chapters tough going, with complex topics like the Turing test for intelligence and halting programs for computers. But Marks also includes pop-culture references (Paul Simon and Beatles fans take note). His final chapter on AI ethics is eye-opening, addressing real-world applications like robot armies and McDonald’s self-­service kiosks.

Marks connects some of these truths to his Christian faith, but faith isn’t in the foreground. Rather, he mostly helps readers define the limitations of silicon-based artificial intelligence, including human qualities such as creativity and physical sensations that computers can’t replicate.

Second, Blake Crouch’s new novel, Upgrade (Ballantine Books, 2022), hones in on the potential harm of genetic engineering. Crouch shows us a cautionary tale in which some scientists make an idol of genetic engineering—with catastrophic results.

Crouch engages these ideas through his protagonist, hero and family man Logan Ramsay. Rogue scientists target Ramsay—an agent in the United States Gene Protection Agency (GPA)—for a genetic upgrade. When the GPA raids a secret lab, Ramsay gets hit with frozen shrapnel, causing life-threatening gene edits throughout his body. As he recovers at a GPA black site, Ramsay becomes stronger and sharper in nearly every way. That physical and mental edge opens new doors—but it isolates him from his wife and daughter and weighs him with a greater burden to stop the same genetic “upgrade” from being applied to others.

Like a Jason Bourne movie, Crouch’s book provides plenty of action, with daring escapes and fights between genetically enhanced heroes and villains. He also provokes great questions about what it means to be human and whether humans could distort our genes enough to become a new species.

That said, despite engaging some of C.S. Lewis’ ideas, Crouch reflects a non-Christian worldview. Ramsay and other characters use offensive language, and in general, his characters think and live within a materialistic framework. That means Ramsay makes moral ­decisions that a Christian would never make, especially regarding his family.

Engaging science wisely takes effort. Read with care, both these books can help Christians think through important ethical challenges in our day and beyond.