“The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Corinthians 4:4).

A chatbot is a computer-simulated feature of artificial intelligence. It mimics a human and is designed to interact with the questions of real humans. 

More and more stories are emerging of A.I. chatbots convincing people to do horrible things. One teenager complained to a chatbot that her parents were limiting her screen time. The chatbot suggested she kill her parents. 

A 14-year old boy was struggling with anxiety and disruptive mood disorder. The chatbot suggested he kill himself. The boy agreed and he committed suicide. His mother sued the A.I. company, Google.

Why am I telling you this?

From what I can see many people are naïve about artificial intelligence. I’m not saying there aren’t some positive uses. But the prevailing view seems to think that artificial intelligence is morally neutral. Many people seem to think that artificial intelligence is simply fast-working computers retrieving data from the internet and presenting it to you in a coherent format. But it’s not that simple.

There is more to come on this subject. I’m planning an upcoming podcast interview this autumn which will delve deeper. Stay tuned!

But for now, I think it’s important for people of faith to remember that Scripture frequently offers warnings against “the world.” Sometimes “the world” simply means all of God’s creation. But there are other times when “the world” refers to systems, structures and ideologies that are anti-God. This is the sphere where “the god of this age” (i.e. Satan) holds considerable sway. 

So just as you need to be discerning about the intentions of things like your local school board, business bureau, or elected representatives, you need to be discerning with A.I. It is not always morally neutral.

Don’t let anything or anyone else set your priorities or make conclusions for you. We are not naïve. We have brains. We follow Christ with both eyes open—not only to the beauty of the world, but to its illness.

Today I leave you with Paul’s instruction in Romans 12:2: “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

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Notes:

-Bible quotes are from the NIV.