Towards a Christian Manifesto On Artificial Intelligence
AI is becoming more intelligent by the year, if not by the month.
The top AI models are now much smarter than PhDs in various (but not all) domains. This leads to enormous challenges. In a recent article entitled ‘AI will change what it means to be human. Are we ready?, the authors Tyler Cowan and Avital Balwit write:
‘Our children and grandchildren will face a profound challenge: how to live meaningful lives in a world where they are no longer the smartest and most capable entities in it. To put it another way, they will have to figure out how to prevent AI from demoralizing them. But it is not just our descendants who will face the issue, it is increasingly obvious that we do, too’
While there is evidence that the pace of AI growth is slowing (i.e. we probably won’t have human-level intelligence by 2030 as many predicted), this still leaves us with an increasingly urgent question: how do we respond to this disruptive technology as Christians?
Having thought, read and written about AI over the last few years, here’s my first attempt at a Christian manifesto on AI, aimed at helping Christians think through how to engage Christianly with this powerful technology:
1) We remember that Christ Jesus is Lord, and thus aim to use AI in a way that pleases Him, rather than in Godless and mindless ways. [1]
AI is a powerful tool that will bring enormous challenges, opportunities, and temptations. Living with Jesus as Lord will help us resist the temptation to idolise this powerful technology (e.g. by using it in ways that might seem ‘effective’, but cross ethical boundaries), or despairing at the challenges.
Instead, as per Romans 12:2, Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
2) We remember that we are human beings made in the image of God, with God-given dignity, meaning and purpose. Thus, we use AI in a way that upholds rather than corrodes human dignity.
As God's image bearers, our worth is not tied to our intelligence or abilities. Thus, we need not fear it when AI becomes/is better than we are at various tasks. However, we must use AI in a way that upholds human dignity, and this will mean being thoughtful and deliberate about how we use AI, and even constraining its use where it corrodes human dignity.
3) We remember that AI is merely a tool, that can simulate aspects of personhood. But it is not a silicon ‘person’ because it is not created in God's image, and doesn't have a soul.
When we treat AI like a person, we dehumanise people, for we upend God’s good and wise created order (God —> humanity —> rest of creation —> our tools). We must only treat and relate to other image-bearers as persons; otherwise, we will upend the created order. This leads to all sorts of negative consequences for human flourishing.
4) We remember that AI is not 'value-neutral' but has inbuilt ‘values’ that shape the user, for better or for ill.
In our fallen world, these ‘values can shape us in good ways (e.g. helping us fulfil our purpose as human beings) or shape us in ways that are dehumanising.
5) We use ‘disciplined discernment’ as we approach AI, taking the time to thoughtfully experiment and understand the underlying values of this technology.
We want to make the most of the benefits, but mitigate AI's deforming and dehumanising aspects.
6) We note that a key value of AI is ‘Intelligence’. This means it can do our thinking for us. This opens up enormous opportunities, as well as grave dangers on many levels.
Because AI can do our thinking for us, we must be clear on when we're outsourcing that thinking and the consequences of that outsourcing. We already do this 'outsourcing' with other technology, whether outsourcing walking to a car or mathematical thinking to a calculator or spreadsheet.
But because AI can think in many narrow (and possibly soon to be ‘general’) areas for us, what are the consequences of outsourcing that thinking to AI?
Furthermore, how can we make up for that outsourcing so that we don't lose critical abilities or suffer negative consequences? Just as we outsource much of our physical labour to machines and suffer morbidities if we don't take the time to exercise, we may need to undertake intellectual forms of exercise.
7) We note that AI is capable of Moral reasoning because of its intelligence. However, moral reasoning about human welfare must never be automated and outsourced to machines, although machines can augment and help human moral reasoning.
God the Maker has given human beings alone the authority and responsibility to undertake moral reasoning and to be held accountable for such reasoning (c.f. Rom 2:6-11). When we allow machines to make moral decisions that affect other human beings, we upend God's created order, and dehumanise people.
8) We remember that human beings are designed to work. Thus, AI should be used to help us do our work, not to replace us outright.
The history of technology has shown us that technology can be a powerful tool to augment our abilities, even as it disrupts whole professions (e.g. horse carriage drivers and typewriter operators). However, such disruption has not replaced human beings outright, but has created new jobs for people.
AI should thus be deployed in a way that frees up human beings to do other meaningful work rather than automating away all work.
9) As humans have moral responsibility over creation and over our actions, humans remain accountable for all decisions and actions, even when assisted by AI. Humans must remain in the loop regarding all AI applications.
10) Just because we can use AI to do something, doesn’t mean we should.
Because we live under Christ’s Lordship, we remember that God has put in place boundaries that must not be crossed, for the sake of human well-being. The temptation to use AI in a way that crosses those boundaries will be immense (e.g. to use AI to make moral decisions in wartime, or in automated vehicles), but if we’re to be faithful to God, we must push against this boundary crossing.
11) Christians and other citizens should become the collective immune system of society, helping us deploy technologies such as AI in ethical rather than dehumanising ways.
We can and should urge restraint on the use of AI technology (in the same way we might urge restraint on the deployment of other powerful but potentially dangerous technology, such as nuclear weapons), for the sake of our neighbour.
No doubt more could be said, and better. But I hope the above gets Christians thinking about how they engage and use AI.
Further resources:
Paul Matthews, A Time To Lead - A Faithful Approach To Artificial Intelligence In Christian Education. You can read my review of his book here.
Stephen Driscoll, Made In Our Image – God, Artificial Intelligence and You (Matthia Media, Sydney, 2024). You can read my review of his book here.
My talk at Moore College’s Centre for Christian Living on ‘Embrace AI and Lose Your Soul?’
Jeremy Peckam, Masters or Slaves? AI and the Future of Humanity (London, IVP:2021).
The Artificial Intelligence Show Podcast
[1] I'm thankful to author, teacher and entrepreneur Paul Matthews for clarifying this point in his book A Time To Lead - A Faithful Approach To Artificial Intelligence In Christian Education,