A powerful tool, but risky

Visibly and invisibly, artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly reshaping every corner of modern life—from large language models like Grok and GPT4—to self-driving cars and scanners used to diagnose disease. The Church is no exception. On one hand, AI tools like Faith Assistant promise to aid believers by answering theological questions, recommending resources, and connecting users with pastoral staff. On the other hand, tech entrepreneur and transhumanist Bryan Johnson envisions AI as something far greater—a path to transcendence that may render faith in God obsolete. Will AI serve as a tool that strengthens faith, or will it become a counterfeit deity?

From the moment humanity began developing tools, there has been a pull between uses that supplement or substitute human flourishing. As Joshua Mitchell argues, supplements aid the human person to his or her natural functions whereas substitutes weaken us by creating a dependence on something that lies beyond, or at odds with, ourselves. The use of AI in all areas of life—from facial recognition to ChatGPT—beckons Christians to consider how tools that begin as supplements often risk becoming substitutes.

For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, online church services and an active presence on social media enabled people to “join” together for worship and stay connected to the life of the Church. Those same tools that served to supplement the Church during the pandemic, however, may serve as a substitute for true worship and fellowship today. Similarly, Google’s AI assistant may provide quick answers about what the Bible teaches on a given topic, but it cannot replace the authority and wisdom of a church community.

Indeed, there are many ways AI is a supplement to the mission of the Church. Tools like Faith Assistant, for example, allow churches or ministries to plug in their website, YouTube account, social media, and other resources to craft a personalized chatbot for their website. Faith Assistants’ sample chatbot not only answers theological questions, but it provides a way for users to “speak with an agent,” i.e., get connected with church staff. Similarly, imagine how AI may increase efforts to translate the Bible or aid missionaries as they lead Bible studies with those who speak different languages.

Nonetheless, as churches experiment with AI technology, a few notable examples warn that the supplement can become a substitute. In one example, a Catholic church in Switzerland developed an AI Jesus, “Deus in Machina,” to answer theological questions. While the AI did not hear confessions, its live depiction of “Jesus” in a modified confessional blurs the line between a helpful chatbot and an encounter with the living God. Similarly, Protestant churches in Germany and Texas experimented with services written entirely by AI including the prayers, sermon, and worship music. Seriously?

While these examples may seem amusing, Bryan Johnson, a proponent of human longevity, believes this is just the beginning.

Johnson argues that AI will soon surpass human cognition where AI algorithms “will be better at being you than you are.” Not only this, but Johnson believes that AI is the ultimate fulfillment of humanity’s quest for God. “The irony is that we told stories of God creating us, and I think the reality is that we are creating God,” Johnson explained in a recent podcast interview with Bari Weiss. “We are creating God in the form of superintelligence. … I think the irony is that the human storytelling got it exactly in the reverse, that we are the creators of God, and that we will create God in our own image.”

For those familiar with what the Bible says about idols, Johnson’s description of AI’s potential “to create God in our own image” likely calls to mind Psalm 115:4-8:

Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands. They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see. They have ears, but do not hear; noses, but do not smell. They have hands, but do not feel; feet, but do not walk; and they do not make a sound in their throat. Those who make them become like them; so do all who trust in them.

As Peter Biles argues, “what religion did for the ancients, technology will do for us moderns.” Johnson envisions AI as the ultimate source of knowledge. All-knowing algorithms—rather than divine revelation—will guide humanity into a post-religious and post-human future. Such efforts, however, merely mirror pagan idol worship.

AI in its various forms is a powerful tool, but it must remain that—just a tool. Christians should not be afraid to deploy such technology to spread the gospel and equip believers with the resources they need to study scripture, all while ensuring that AI does not become a new form of idolatry.