What does the Bible say about artificial intelligence?

How our ancient Scriptures inform a modern phenomenon.

Many centuries before the birth of Christ, the ancient Greeks imagined Talos, a hulking giant automaton made in the image of a bronze man whose sole objective was to protect the island of Crete from encroaching invaders.

According to Stanford scholar Adrienne Mayor in her book Gods and Robots - Myths, Machines, and Ancient Dreams of Technology, this is just one of many stories about “animated statues and self moving devices” found in Greek antiquity.¹ She suggests that contained within the myth of Talos could be some of the earliest conceptions of artificial intelligence:

The exact definition of the term robot is debatable, but the basic conditions are met by Talos: a self-moving android with a power source that provides energy, '“programmed” to “sense” its surroundings and possessing a kind of “intelligence” or way of processing data to “decide” to interact with the environment to perform actions or tasks.²

Perhaps, Mayor suggests, the Pandora of Greek mythology was also an AI agent. She believes it is possible Hesiod’s original description of Pandora reveals “an artificial, evil woman built by Hephaestus and sent to Earth on the orders of Zeus to punish humans for discovering fire” and her primary objective was “to infiltrate the human world and release her jar of miseries.”³

In the murky mythological world of the Greeks, as Mayor admits, it is difficult to know how these ancient people viewed these self-moving entities. Was Talos the world’s first conception of a robot? Was he sentient? Did he have a soul? Was he viewed as a technological machination or a marvel of magic?

We don’t know.

What we do know is this:

When Jesus began his ministry, stories of “android[s] with encoded instructions to carry out complex activities” would have been familiar in the society in which he and his disciples lived.⁴

In other words, Jesus would have known the tales of Talos and Pandora.

Here’s why this matters:

Since Jesus Christ became wisdom from God for us (1 Cor. 1:30), he could have utilized Gentile mythology as a jumping-off point to prime his followers for the existential realities of AI that lurked in a distant millennium.

He might have said something like, “hey, you know Talos and Pandora from Greek mythology? One day, something like this will be a reality. . .here’s what you should do.”

But he didn’t.

If you’ve ever googled the question, “what does the Bible say about AI?” - the truth is, you won’t find anything specifically related to AI itself.

However . . .

The entire Scriptures contain infinite wisdom for dealing with the challenges and opportunities of a world infused with artificial intelligence. We just need to look deeper than surface level.

So, how does the Bible relate to AI? Here are some considerations:

We are made in God’s image.

Genesis 1:26-27 highlights that humanity bears the image of the living God. Two important realizations accompany this fact:

Firstly, all people have inherent dignity, value, and purpose. Any usage of AI that fundamentally diminishes these aspects must therefore be contrary to God’s will.

Secondly, we must resist concepts like transhumanism. I wrote extensively about transhumanism recently, but here’s the idea: rather than being bound by bodily limitations, a person can transcend “into a future unconstrained by death” by uploading themselves into an AI superintelligence. Here’s what I wrote in the article:

At its furthest conclusion, transhumanism effectively rejects the work of the Potter and aims to manufacture a cheap 2D image of the Clay. It’s like taking a photo of the Mona Lisa, airbrushing it in Photoshop and declaring it an upgrade on the original. Transhumanism and the hypothetical singularity undermine the wonder of God’s creation by reducing humans to nothing more than machines or data points. We risk undermining the very beauty of the Creator’s work and plugging into the Matrix with no red pill to escape. It’s little more than a simulation without substance.

This Might be the Next Step for Humanity. No Body is Welcome.

Good stewardship is a biblical mandate.

Related to the imago-dei, we see that God calls humans to have dominion over all creation under His divine leadership (Gen. 1:28). Ultimately, we recognize that everything we have belongs to the Lord (Psa. 24:1), and we have the opportunity (indeed, a calling) to embrace a stewardship mindset, acknowledging our individually fleeting roles as managers and caretakers of His blessings. Part of this role involves careful stewardship of technology, which, of course, includes artificial intelligence.

The Church can ensure that AI is developed and used in ways that honour God and promotes human flourishing. Because we are image-bearers of the Lord and stewards of His creative work, we can make certain that AI never diminishes or disregards human worth but rather enhances and supports it.

To steward both creation and technology well, believers must engage in the discussion around AI. Why are prominent figures like Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking sounding the alarm? Why is Nick Bostrom, a philosopher with a background in theoretical physics and computational neuroscience, describing us as “like children playing with a bomb”?⁵ Why, in his book Superintelligence, does he write that he believes that this is “quite possibly the most important and most daunting challenge humanity has ever faced?”⁶

As God-ordained stewards of the earth, we must engage with and be prepared to respond to these issues.

We are called to serve the poor and pursue justice.

Stewardship is an outworking of our role as image-bearers, and the outworking of stewardship is serving the poor and the pursuit of justice.

Isaiah 58:10 reminds us that if we serve the hungry and satisfy the one in affliction, our light will shine in the darkness. Proverbs 19:17 teaches that kindness to the poor is like a loan to the Lord, and he will give a reward to the lender.

Jesus identifies himself with the poor and teaches that serving them is tantamount to serving him (Matt. 25:35-40). He calls us to invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind to our banquets (Luke 14:13-14). James exhorts believers to feed the hungry (Jam. 2:14-17). Micah 6:8 and Isaiah 1:17 instruct us to pursue justice.

There is a genuine possibility that artificial intelligence may lead to what some are calling an “economic singularity (click here for a definition of ‘singularity’).”

In Surviving AI, Calum Chace explains what might happen:⁷

An economic singularity might lead to an elite owning the means of production, and suppressing the rest of us in a dystopian technological authoritarian regime. Or it could lead to an economy of radical abundance, where nobody has to work for a living, and we are all free to have fun, stretch our minds, and develop our faculties to the full.

It is worth noting that Chace is not articulating a fringe view but one that is shared by many others in various fields.⁸

If there is any reason to believe that these worst-case scenarios will be realized and poverty will result from the implementation of artificial intelligence, it is of paramount importance that the Church:

a) speak up on behalf of the oppressed (with respect, integrity, and honour) and,

b) fulfil its duty to serve the poor and seek justice for those who cannot speak up for themselves.

We must maintain a strong theology of work.

Work is an integral part of God’s original design for mankind. In the pre-Fall world of Genesis 2:15, God placed Adam in the Garden of Eden to “work it and take care of it.” Clearly, there is something of intrinsic value about work.

The Bible calls believers to work “with all their hearts, as working for the Lord and not for men” (Col. 3:23-24). We bring glory to the Lord through our labour. The very importance of a Sabbath rest implies the importance of work during the remainder of the week.

Much more could be said about the purpose and significance of work, but for now, it is adequate to recognize its importance as a means of fulfilling God’s calling, serving others, providing for one another, and contributing to society.

AI writers frequently cite the world of Pixar’s Wall-E in relation to this point. In the movie, humans find themselves aboard a “utopian” Starfleet where “robots do all the work and humans become decadent and lazy.”⁹ Is this what the future holds?

John Maynard Keynes envisaged our near future in his 1930 essay Economic Possibilities for Our Grandchildren. He predicted that the “economic problem” (as he called it) would be solved, and three-hour shifts or a fifteen-hour week “may put off the problem” of the “old Adam” urge in us to work so that we might “be contented.”¹⁰

Keynes is astute and eerily prophetic. The fifteen-hour week may well be an imminent possibility if AI ushers the world into an economic singularity. However, I believe Keynes vastly underestimates the “old Adam” urge in humanity.

The Bible shows that work is a valuable, meaningful, and fulfilling part of life. Thus to miss work is to miss a fundamental part of God’s design for us, which is no good thing.

But these are not just the musings of the Scriptures.

Studies are beginning to bear this out:¹¹

The importance of having a job extends far beyond the salary attached to it. A large stream of research has shown that the non-monetary aspects of employment are also key drivers of people’s wellbeing. Social status, social relations, daily structure, and goals all exert a strong influence on people’s happiness.

A strong, biblical theology of work will ultimately immunize us from the inherent emotional and spiritual dangers of a work-free economic singularity.

Of course, we can (and should) utilize AI to be more effective in our work for the Lord, but must not allow it to replace a key aspect of our humanity.

We are called to avoid idolatry.

In Exodus 20:3-5a, God makes it clear that we are to worship God alone; anything that holds a position higher than the Lord is idolatry (Psa. 115:4-8; Ezek. 14:3; Matt. 6:24; Acts 17:29).

Given the way in which our society is gripped by the digital world (social media, dating apps, pornography, etc.), it is easy to see how an increasingly artificially intelligent world could cause us to worship something other than God. I touched on this in the article below:

How Should the Church Navigate Increasingly AI-Driven Social Media?

We could find ourselves committing idolatry by placing excessive trust in man-made creations rather than the Creator or elevating AI to a position of ultimate authority.

Former Google engineer Anthony Levandowski committed perhaps the most egregious act of AI idolatry (or ai-dolatry) in 2015 when he quite literally founded the first church of artificial intelligence (it closed in 2021).¹²

We can avoid the dangers of idolatry by keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith (Heb. 12:2).

True wisdom is found in God alone.

Wisdom is more than knowing something. It’s about what you do with that knowledge. Brett McCracken explains it well in his excellent book The Wisdom Pyramid:¹³

Wisdom is not merely knowing the right answers. It’s about living rightly. It’s about determining which right answer is best.

Biblical wisdom is different from earthly wisdom (1 Cor. 1:25). As we saw earlier, Jesus became wisdom for us (1 Cor. 1:30).

The Book of Proverbs teaches that the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom (Prov. 9:10). Put simply, our perspective of God determines the direction of our life. In The Imitation of Christ, Thomas à Kempis highlights this truth: “. . . all is vanity, save to love God, and Him only to serve. That is the highest wisdom, to cast the world behind us, and to reach forward to the heavenly kingdom.”¹⁴

Proverbs reveals that the result of this sort of closeness with God is Christlike character (Prov. 11:2; 12:15; 13:1; 14:6, 33). We might express it this way:

Biblical wisdom is an awe-driven closeness with God that results in Christlike character.

In a world that edges closer to artificial general intelligence, it will be tempting to look to AI for knowledge. However, let’s not confuse earthly knowledge with God-given wisdom.

We will be tempted to find all the answers in ChatGPT and its inevitable successors, but we must always remember that God alone is the source of true wisdom.

We are warned against pride.

Proverbs 16:18: “Pride comes before destruction, and an arrogant spirit before a fall.”

Proverbs 16:5: “Everyone with a proud heart is detestable to the LORD; be assured, he will not go unpunished.”

Proverbs 29:23: “A person’s pride will humble him, but a humble spirit will gain honor.”

Micah 6:8 instructs us to walk humbly with our God. Jesus epitomized humility (Phil. 2:5-8), and God gives grace to the humble (Jam. 4:6).

These are just a few passages that speak against the dangers of pride and the importance of humility (See also Prov. 26:12; Jer. 9:23; Mark 7:20-23; Rom. 12:16; 1 Cor. 13:4; Gal. 6:3; Phil. 2:3; 1 Pet. 5:5 - to name just a few more).

A misplaced sense of pride in our own abilities could lead to the misuse of artificial intelligence or undue elevation of it. Humility reveals to us the limitations of our creations and helps ensure that its applications align with biblical principles.

The most extreme forms of transhumanistic thinking are the pure results of human hubris. As I wrote a few weeks ago:

With transhumanism, mankind is trying to reach the heavens and make a name for themselves, dangerously excluding the omnipotent, incomprehensibly holy God of the Universe.

It’s a 21st-century Tower of Babel.

The Bible teaches us that a healthy understanding of our place before God results in healthy humility.

We are humble because we recognize our limitations and desperate need for grace. We are humble because we know that God is the source of biblical wisdom, not man-made technology. We are humble because we know that God’s ways are higher than our ways, and his thoughts are higher than our thoughts (Isa. 55:9), even if we were to create a superintelligent artificial entity.

Conclusion - This is just the start.

There is inevitably so much more we could say about the Bible’s interaction with AI, but this is a good start. What would you add? Let me know in the comments section below. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

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If you’ve found this article helpful, please consider sharing it with friends and pastors to help prepare believers for the future of AI in the Church!

Are there any issues you’d like the Church and AI to address? Leave a comment below to share your thoughts!

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REFERENCES:

1. Adrienne Mayor, Gods and Robots (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2018), 37.

2. Ibid., 41.

3. Stanford University, “Ancient Myths Reveal Early Fantasies about Artificial Life,” Stanford News, February 28, 2019, accessed May 22, 2023, https://news.stanford.edu/2019/02/28/ancient-myths-reveal-early-fantasies-artificial-life/.

4. Adrienne Mayor, Gods and Robots, 42.

5. Adams, “Artificial Intelligence: ‘We’Re like Children Playing with a Bomb’ | Artificial Intelligence (AI) | The Guardian,” last modified June 12, 2016, accessed May 22, 2023, https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jun/12/nick-bostrom-artificial-intelligence-machine.

6. Nick Bostrom, Superintelligence (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014), Kindle loc. 61 of 9985.

7. Calum Chace, Surviving AI, Third Edition. (Three Cs, 2020), Kindle loc. 253 of 4658.

8. Kai-Fu Lee and Chen Qiufan, AI 2041 (New York: Currency, 2021); Michael E. Porter and James E. Heppelmann, “Why Every Organization Needs an Augmented Reality Strategy,” in HBR’s 10 Must Reads On AI, Analytics, and the New Machine Age (Boston, MA: Harvard Business Review Press, 2019); Nick Bostrom, Superintelligence (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014); Derek C. Schuurman, “Artificial Intelligence: Discerning a Christian Response,” Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith 71, no. 2 (2019); Annie Lowrey, “Before AI Takes Over, Make Plans to Give Everyone Money,” The Atlantic, last modified May 17, 2023, accessed May 19, 2023, https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/05/ai-job-losses-policy-support-universal-basic-income/674071/.

It would be impractical to cite every work I’ve read that documents the very real economic concerns and opportunities around AI; above is simply a small subset taken from a breadth of voices.

9. Calum Chace, Surviving AI, Kindle loc. 2249 of 4658.

10. John Maynard Keynes, “Economic Possibilities for Our Grandchildren,” in Essays in Persuasion (New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 1960), 369.

11. Jan-Emmanuel De Neve and George Ward, “Does Work Make You Happy? Evidence from the World Happiness Report,” Harvard Business Review, March 20, 2017, accessed May 8, 2023, https://hbr.org/2017/03/does-work-make-you-happy-evidence-from-the-world-happiness-report.

12. Kirsten Korosec, “Anthony Levandowski Closes His Church of AI,” TechCrunch, February 18, 2021, accessed May 11, 2023, https://techcrunch.com/2021/02/18/anthony-levandowski-closes-his-church-of-ai/.

13. Brett McCracken, The Wisdom Pyramid (Wheaton: Crossway, 2021), 66.

14. Thomas à Kempis, The Imitation of Christ, trans. William Benham, 1886.