Artificial intelligence has infiltrated nearly every aspect of human life from television commercials to writing emails. Many have attempted to justify its usage but there are things one must consider before rolling over and accepting this new wave of technology. Where does AI get all of its sources? What does it do to our environment? Is it ok for Christians to use? Let’s look at the facts and scripture for an answer.
Starting with the eighth commandment, “Thou shalt not steal” (Exodus 20:15). Generative artificial intelligence cannot generate anything new, it needs a source. That source can be anything from a public domain or another’s uncredited work. From copyrighted books and other written works. “Tech companies have valorised the ethos “move fast and break things”, in this case, the law and all it binds. To “train” AI, they started by “scraping” the internet for publicly available text, a lot of which is rubbish. They quickly realised that to get high-quality writing, thinking and words they would have to steal our books” (Powels). To artists posting their work on social media. “Using AI is cheaper than hiring artists. The software that combs the internet for data are called AI crawlers. And those programs can undermine an artist's present earnings and their long-term career” (Fudge). The prompter is not creating anything original using the AI. They are asking the AI to pull from its sources and generate a video, image, or text for them. The prompter can then take what was generated and present it as their own work. “Whoso boasteth himself of a false gift is like clouds and wind without rain” (Proverbs 25:14).
Now let's get down to earth and see how AI is harming the environment God gifted us. “In the past few years there has been an explosion in data center development to match the rapid rise of artificial intelligence” (Chen). A few of the consequences of this are increased power and water usage from these centers. Along with “a growth in emissions, mostly fueled by data centers” (Chen). This will negatively affect the humans living around the centers and any wildlife. The increase of AI use is hurting God’s creations. "I brought you into a fertile land to eat its fruit and rich produce. But you came and defiled my land and made my inheritance detestable" (Jeremiah 2:7).
In this age of AI it has never been easier to worship false idols. At Peter’s Chapel in Switzerland an AI chatbot of Jesus was put inside of a confessional. The project called, “‘Deus in Machina’, was launched in August as the latest initiative in a years-long collaboration with a local university research lab on immersive reality” (Kassam). Now there are many AI Jesus chatbots available online, free for anyone to interact with. “For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect” (Matthew 24:24).
AI does not think, it generates and imitates. It has no body or soul. “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead” (James 2:26). AI is a scourge set upon this world by the Devil to undermine humanity. It makes us liars and thieves. Harms the world God has given us. It imitates our religious figures. In conclusion, religion, a concept so innately human being handed over to a machine is blasphemy.
This work was written without the use of Artificial Intelligence.