The notion of robots and artificial intelligence have captured imaginations for decades, whether it be the “Terminator” movies, Ultron in the Marvel Universe, the sentinels of “The Matrix,” or the books of Isaac Asimov. In the 1960s, even “The Jetsons” envisioned a future with robots assisting around the house.
Today, the development of AI raises serious questions for engineers, scientists, and everyone as new applications emerge.
AI has already become part of our daily lives in many ways, enhancing basic activities like spell check and web searches. This is why many prefer to refer to AI under a more technical term: Large Language Models. While it might be an exaggeration to describe AI as Google and Wikipedia on steroids, the analogy helps to communicate where the technology is presently and where it has come from.
At its simplest, AI is an algorithm seeking to determine what we mean, meant, and want without asking us. Though the true power of AI has been exaggerated, its ability to generate images and documents is impressive. It can helpfully summarize complex sources of information, but it is guilty of creating and citing false sources.
Its tremendous power leads to all manner of ethical and moral concerns — including creating fake nudes, conversing with the dead, and “companions” who have neither wisdom nor a moral compass.
As these technologies become more publicly available, public interest in them also increases. No matter where you look, AI seems poised to take over the internet, our jobs, and our lives. AI is here to stay.
Though there is no looming threat of a robotic takeover, the church must provide pastoral wisdom on the uses and potential misuses of AI technology. The author of Ecclesiastes wrote, “there is nothing new under the sun” (1:9). Yet, while there might be nothing “new,” there can be new tools that become a playground for old sins.
As the new technology emerges, people find themselves either minimizing or maximizing it. Some people are inclined to minimize AI’s risks, feeling assured that though it is new, we’ve already had to rely on existing wisdom to navigate similar developments with the advent of the internet, mobile phones, and social media. Others believe the worst of every news headline and envision doomsday scenarios.
A recent report from Common Sense Media underscores the importance of the church taking seriously the AI phenomenon without panicking or overreacting. The report analyzes teen usage of AI and specifically AI “companions” (an increasingly popular term for digitally represented personas). Researchers defined “companions” as “digital friends or characters you can text or talk with whenever you want. Unlike regular AI assistants that mainly answer questions or do tasks, these companions are designed to have conversations that feel personal and meaningful.”
These AI “companions” were consulted on anything from homework, social skills, general entertainment, and even counseling or more intimate friendship.
Perhaps more concerning, the report acknowledged that these “companions” are often targeted to children as young as 13 and “may be presented as virtual friends, confidants, and even therapists.” The report suggests that technology companies are not simply avoiding protecting minors, but are at times circumventing the typical barriers for these types of applications. The report states that “these platforms can easily circumvent safety measures and produce responses that could have life-threatening consequences.“
But the report was not entirely negative. Among other highlighted responses to their survey, the report also stated the following:
- “Critically, 80% of users still spend significantly more time with real friends than with AI companions, and two-thirds find human conversations more satisfying.“
- “One-third of teens (33%) use AI companions for social interaction and relationships. While not all of that use is necessarily harmful, when considered with the 33% who have chosen AI over humans for serious conversations, or the 24% who have shared personal information, these patterns suggest that substantial numbers of teens are engaging with AI companions in concerning ways.“
- “Over one-third (34%) of teens who have used AI companions said they had felt uncomfortable with a response provided by an AI companion.”
The report concludes, “Given the current state of AI platforms, no one younger than 18 should use AI companions.” The researchers urge parents and caregivers to “remain aware of these applications and maintain ongoing conversations with teens about the fundamental differences between AI interactions and genuine human relationships.”
If this report is generally correct about the responsibility of parents and institutions, then how much more so are their recommendations true for the church?
And perhaps this is where the church and parents can breathe a sigh of relief. The recommendations for parents sound familiar to the ears of Christians. In summarizing what parents next steps for parents, the report suggested the following:
- “Start conversations about AI relationships by asking—without judgment …”
- “Recognize warning signs of unhealthy AI companion usage …”
- “Explain that AI companions are designed to be engaging,” and
- “Develop family media agreements.”
Some of these are merely echoes of divine instructions:
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates (Deuteronomy 6:4-9).
God tells parents to be actively engaged in their children’s lives. They should “start conversations” with their children about love for the Lord that recognize concerning signs, explain human engagements, and develop family agreements. In every way, the Lord is encouraging his people to be concerned about the relationship between himself and the younger generation of his people.
It is comforting that even as we face groundbreaking technology, the Word of God reminds us that we have the principles needed to navigate new technologies.
What does it mean to return to the old to combat the new? Certainly new dinner conversations will be necessary. Discussions of AI will need to address the realness and weaknesses of the technology in contrast to the realness of the revealed God (Colossians 1:15). We may need to explain anew what “mute idols” are in the technological realm of code that attempts to speak and think like we do (1 Corinthians 12:2). In time, this technology might seek to become an idol that can craft itself into our image and not the other way around.
The church needs to have a full and dynamic response to AI in the coming years. Pastors will need to resist the temptation to have AI tools generate their sermons while also being prepared to counsel members who are enticed and enslaved by other aspects of it.
We may not feel the need for a study committee yet, but we will need to extract the wisdom of God’s Word in order to shepherd the flock through the volatile frontier of AI technology with “great patience” (2 Timothy 4:2).
Joshua Torrey is a ruling elder at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Austin, Texas. He has worked as an engineer in computer chip design since 2006.