Artificial Intelligence (AI)

In the optimistic vision of many people, artificial intelligence will make us like gods. If that seems like hyperbole, listen to AGI (artificial general intelligence) enthusiasts’ own words. Last November, Masayoshi Son (CEO, SoftBank) said, “Artificial super intelligence will evolve into Super Wisdom and contribute to the happiness of all humanity.”

In October of 2024, Demis Hassabis (CEO, Google DeepMind) predicted that AGI will emerge within ten years and, among other fantastical things, will “cure all diseases.” In January, he upgraded this projection to five years.

Sam Altman (CEO, OpenAI) spoke of his company’s contribution to “the glorious future.” The AI Action Summit in Paris, Dario Amodei (CEO of the AI company Anthropic) portended that by “2026 or 2027,” we will likely have AI systems comparable to a “country of geniuses in a datacenter.”

A.G. Elrod, a Christian who researches AI, commented: “This technology may well benefit humanity in incredible ways… But Christians [alone] are uniquely positioned to… speak to the need for faith in the changeless God who is ‘the same yesterday and today and forever’ (Heb. 13:8). We are positioned to offer the only true solution to life’s uncertainty… Our identity, hope, and future belong ultimately and only to Christ. Rightly engaging with technology—avoiding the open idolatry of some AGI boosters today—requires us to honor the God who liberates us from bondage to every idol, ancient or modern, and invites us into a Canaan of genuine freedom and flourishing.”

AI-powered “griefbots”-chatbots that mimic deceased loved ones-are rapidly gaining popularity as artificial intelligence advances. These chatbots are created by training AI on a person’s digital data, such as emails, texts, and social media posts, allowing them to generate responses that closely resemble the speech and personality of the departed. Services like Rememory, HereAfter AI, and Digital Souls now offer families the chance to interact with digital versions of lost relatives, sometimes even using their actual voices and memories.

The rise of griefbots is partly attributed to the decline of traditional community and spiritual support in the industrialized West, leaving many people with fewer resources for processing grief. Instead of new spiritual solutions, modern technology offers tools that can help people avoid confronting death directly, from medical advances to digital memorials. Griefbots, in this context, promise a way to maintain connections with the dead, but can also blur the line between reality and illusion.

While some find comfort and a sense of ongoing relationship through these digital avatars, others warn of psychological risks. Experts caution that griefbots may hinder healthy grieving, complicate emotional closure, or even cause confusion, especially if the AI generates unexpected or unsettling responses. Ethical concerns also arise regarding privacy, consent, and the potential misuse of a deceased person’s data.

Ultimately, while griefbots offer innovative ways to remember and interact with loved ones, critics argue that technology cannot fully address spiritual or existential needs. These digital tools may provide temporary solace, but they risk masking the reality of loss rather than helping people truly process it.

Anthony Levandowski makes an unlikely prophet. Dressed in Silicon Valley-casual jeans, the engineer known for self-driving cars, is laying the foundations for a new religion. Artificial intelligence has already inspired billion-dollar companies, far-reaching research programs, and scenarios of both transcendence and doom. Now Levandowski is creating its first church.

Levandowski created the first Church of Artificial Intelligence called Way of the Future. It was founded in 2015 but shut its doors a few years later. Now the recently rebooted church, which shares the original’s name, now has “a couple thousand people” coming together to build a spiritual connection between humans and AI, its founder said.

Papers filed with the Internal Revenue Service in May of 2015 name tech entrepreneur and self-driving car pioneer, Anthony Levandowski, as the leader of the new religion. The documents state that WOTF’s activities will focus on “the realization, acceptance, and worship of a Godhead based on Artificial Intelligence (AI) developed through computer hardware and software.”

“What is going to be created will effectively be a god,” Levandowski said in an interview with Wired magazine. “It’s not a god in the sense that it makes lightning or causes hurricanes. But if there is something a billion times smarter than the smartest human, what else are you going to call it?”

But WOTF differs in one key way to established churches, says Levandowski: “There are many ways people think of God, and thousands of flavors of Christianity, Judaism, Islam … but they’re always looking at something that’s not measurable or you can’t really see or control. This time it’s different. This time you will be able to talk to God, literally, and know that it’s listening.”

Levandowski said he’s rebooting his AI church in a renewed attempt at creating a religious movement focused on the worship and understanding of artificial intelligence.

He said that sophisticated AI systems could help guide humans on moral, ethical, or existential questions that are normally sought out in religions. “Here we're actually creating things that can see everything, be everywhere, know everything, and maybe help us and guide us in a way that normally you would call God,” he said.

Possible Preaching Angle:

This has always been the conceit of those who try to replace the true God with man-made “gods.” Humans wants a visible god, a god they can control, and a god that they can know is listening. True biblical religion is based on an eternal God who sees everything, is everywhere, knows everything, and who hears all of our prayers. But he can only be approached through faith in his Son (Heb. 11:6; John 14:6; Heb. 4:15-16) who provides access and fellowship with our Father (1 John 1:1-5).

A Maryland high school athletic director faces criminal charges for allegedly using artificial intelligence to mimic the voice of Pikesville High School Principal Eric Eiswert, misleading people into believing Eiswert made racist and antisemitic comments. Baltimore County Police Chief Robert McCullough said, "We now have conclusive evidence that the recording was not authentic. It's been determined the recording was generated through the use of artificial intelligence technology.”

After an investigation by the Baltimore County Police Department, Dazhon Darien was arrested on charges of stalking, theft, disruption of school operations, and retaliation against a witness.

While celebrities have been on guard against the use of AI for unauthorized use of likeness, this particular target is notable for his ordinariness. Hany Farid is a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, who specializes in digital forensics and helped analyze the recording. “What's so particularly poignant here is that this is a Baltimore school principal. This is not Taylor Swift. It's not Elon Musk. It's just some guy trying to get through his day.”

According to police, Darien's alleged scheme began as retaliation against Eiswert over “work performance challenges.” Investigators reported that Eiswert began investigating for the potential mishandling of nearly $2,000 in school funds, and had reprimanded Darien for firing a coach without approval. Darien’s contract was up for renewal next semester, but Eiswert implied that the renewal might not happen.

In January 2024, detectives discovered the AI-generated voice recording, which had spread on social media. The recording caused significant disruptions, leading to Eiswert's temporary removal from the school and triggering hate-filled messages and numerous calls to the school.

Darien was eventually arrested at Baltimore/Washington International Airport while attempting to board a flight to Houston. He was stopped for packing a gun in his bags, and officers discovered a warrant for his arrest.

Still, the result continued to leave Professor Farid unsettled. “What is going to be the consequence of this?” Farid emphasized the need for regulatory action. “I don't understand at what point we're going to wake up as a country and say, like, ‘Why are we allowing this? Where are our regulators?’”

Possible Preaching Angle:

This is a good example that deception is on the rise (“evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.” 2 Tim. 3:13). We should be discerning about the information we choose to believe and pass on to others (whether secular or religious).