How Comfortable Should We Be with Generative AI?

The question for Christian leaders is how comfortable should we be with GenAI? Should we outsource every vestige of our humanity to machines for the sake of convenience? Or should we walk in the way of godly wisdom, even when it calls us to take the less convenient path. What this means is that it is simply not enough to consume or employ technology; one must wrestle with its underlying theological implications and potential for disorder. The mandate for believers is not merely to resist but to act as agents of transformation.

As Christian leaders we must realize that AI assistants can diminish our expectations for human connection and empathy. As a result, we might lower our expectations to match what these technologies can provide. What this can do, in turn, is make us less willing to be with people who challenge us or make us feel uncomfortable.

Differing Messages

Where does this leave us as Christ’s disciples? Jesus calls us to become like him. Indeed, he can make us feel uncomfortable for our good and his glory. Christian maturity is intentional and can be difficult, and ambivalent at times. In this maturing process, we learn very quickly that it is not all about us.

And yet, AI assistants tend to tell us some things quite different from this biblical framework of Christian maturity. AI assistants can tell us that we are the center of the universe. As Esther Perel shared in an Aug. 17, 2023 “Your Undivided Attention” podcast, chatbots are always available at our every beck and call. They never have a bad day. They never say anything negative about us. Chatbots never forget. They are always happy. They are, in this way, so unhuman. In other words, GenAI can amplify our self-centeredness, and this flies in the face of Christian discipleship.

Diminished Agency

This is the paradox.

Furthermore, Perel notes that all of us exist in a sort of synthetically contrived assisted living situation. We know that is not always led by the Holy Spirit. That can diminish our agency. We have in our smartphones predictive technologies which essentially do the thinking and intending for us. They recommend what to listen to, what to watch, who to date, and where to go for dinner. One would think that this situation might make humans more confident since these predictions can alleviate so many of the unknowns in our lives. But these technologies actually do the opposite because the absence of the unknown makes people more unsure of themselves. This is the paradox.

The Power of Presence

People are meant to engage with the unknown and unpredictable because they are mental states that keep us searching for what can be known. We who bear God’s image are created for relationship with him, the One who can be most unpredictable, but who is knowable through Jesus. Herein lies another paradox. Living near the messiness of other people helps us to know who we are in the presence of others. It exposes our own need for the One who cleans up every human life.

AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Bard, and others can create an alternate reality that can cause us to lose touch with what is real and true in the realm of Christian discipleship. Christian discipleship can cost us dearly, but the eternal reward will be unfathomable.

(Excerpts taken with permission from Joni and Friends from the upcoming book, Hope’s Horizon: From Chatbots to Jesus’ Return – Cultivating a Biblically Informed, Human-Centered Digital Mindset in the Christian Leader in the Age of Generative AI.)

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Dr. K is Senior Vice President for Leadership Development & Impact for Joni and Friends. In 2016, she was recruited to the intelligence community in Washington D.C. where she served her country in the national security space. Artificial Intelligence was in her portfolio, and Dr. K was awarded the Exceptional Service Award during her time there. In 2022, Dr. K returned to Joni and Friends where she had served between 2007 and 2016. She previously spent more than 20 years as an English and Biblical Ethics Professor at Biola University and the Talbot School of Theology respectively.

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