Do you need a paper written? Do you need artwork done? Do you need to write a professional email communication? Whatever you once needed, whether for personal, recreational, or business use, you used to have to do it yourself – or at least pay someone else to do it, if it was outside of your expertise. Well, not anymore. Welcome to the 21st century. We live in a world where Artificial Intelligence (AI) exists. Now, if we really want to get technical, artificial intelligence has existed well before the 2000s. In fact, it was first invented sometime between 1950 to 1956, when the term was originally coined.[1] But it has progressed to such a place that it can now be accessed by literally anyone, and it can be trained with careful and deliberate programming to do just about anything. I am not talking about limited programmed code (a closed system in other words), like a toy robot that is programmed to respond to specific instructions and prompts. I am talking about artificial intelligence that continually learns and develops, that thinks for itself while scraping information from all across the web, or whatever information pool has been made available to it – following, in essence, a development pattern similar to the human brain. How did we get here? Well, at some point it became clear to someone that artificial intelligence would function better if it functioned more like the human mind. Let’s not get things twisted, AI is still a “machine”, it is not, after all, an organic entity, nor is it sentient. But artificial intelligence today is not to be mistaken for a limited/closed software program like Microsoft Word, for example, where the program does what it does and cannot expand beyond its programmed code.[2] The power and capability of AI is staggering, it is beyond what some have predicted, and has been the tangible reality of what some have envisioned for the future. But considering the current state and rapid progression of AI, we are left bewildered with a series of questions: How are we to regard AI? Is AI unethical and/or dangerous? Can AI serve a noble, righteous end? I can provide some general answers to help steer us through this cultural fog, but given the rapid progression and proliferation of artificial intelligence, it will be necessary that more discussions be had, particularly as it relates to its application in the specialized aspects (e.g., government, education, art, business, etc.) and in human life in general.
AI as a Cultural Product
Firstly, it is important to understand what AI is not. It is not the devil, as some religious fanatics have claimed. It is not the devil’s tool from hell, as some might also claim. Whether some have said that because they fear technology, or because of the evil that AI has conjured (e.g., porn generators, military assassinations, etc.), or because of the potential of creating a Skynet (think Terminator), we need to be objective and understand AI for what it truly is. AI is nothing more than a cultural product – that is to say, as part of man’s cultural mandate to cultivate creation into a civilization, AI is one of the many by-products of his cultural creativity. Whatever man makes for use from God’s creation, whether directly for himself or for something else, is considered a cultural product. Did man create microchips for the operation of his own devices using raw materials? Then microchips are a cultural product. Did man create a prosthetic limb for a disabled animal using raw materials? Then the prosthetic limb is a cultural product. Did man create houses and condos for habitation using raw materials? Then houses and condos are cultural products. Of course, I am oversimplifying the process between the extraction of raw materials and its processing for its employment in whatever building project man has in mind, but you get the idea. There is nothing that we have created that originated from nothing, it has all been cultivated, developed, from raw materials, and that speaks to us being created in the image of God.
God created everything, the moon, the sun, the earth, the stars, and everything else we could possibly think of. And He created us, humanity, in His image. And because we bear His image, we are creators too, on a much smaller scale of course. God created everything out of nothing, ex nihilo, which meant He created things when there was no primary, raw materials. But we create out of what has been created; the earth is like our sandbox, so to speak, and we have been entrusted with building a developed world, a civilization. It was meant to be a godly civilization, but sin hampered our efforts of realizing that reality. Nonetheless, man kept creating, he kept building, he established numerous civilizations, because it is in his created nature, and though we can critique the religious direction of his functions, we cannot critique the creational structure of his functions, that is to say, what God created him to do. The good news, of course, is that the original mandate is back on the table, to cultivate creation into a godly civilization, and this is made possible through the gospel. As one Christian thinker had put it, the cultural mandate is renewed in the Great Commission. But whether we are discussing a godly civilization, or a fallen, pagan civilization, like the one we are living in now, we still need to address the use of AI as a cultural product.
AI as a Mirror
Questions abound as to the ethical nature of AI. Artists, for example, are protesting AI digital creators because the images it produces is the result of scraping their own artwork. Manmade art is distinct from machine art, and to prefer the latter over the former is to endorse, in some way, theft. How so? Well, most artists have no means of preventing AI from scraping their images, and to find out that images were produced using your own personal, private property, that is, your “art”, you would feel somewhat violated. Most artists could explain this further to you, including the ramifications of leaving many artists without jobs now that AI has arrived at the industry. But, if you are like me, I prefer manmade art over machine art, because the former has a personality to it, it was created by a person, while the latter can often be an impersonable, convoluted mess (have you seen how AI messes up hands? It doesn’t know how to draw hands correctly!).
Of course, AI extends well beyond the art industry. It also has its military, government, and business uses, to name a few examples. But we have to remember, before we blame AI for everything, that AI is not a sentient entity, and as a result, it bears no moral responsibility. AI is not a person, no matter how much it can imitate man, it is still code, perhaps an ever-developing code, but it is code, it is a machine, it is a tool. If someone were to smash in a person’s skull with a hammer, is the hammer at fault? Of course not. The hammer was misused. The person who swung the hammer is at fault, and he bears the full weight of moral responsibility. It is the person who will get thrown in jail, not the hammer. What if instead of a hammer, it was a sword? While the sword is certainly a weapon, and can function as such, the fault still lies with the person. Why? Because it is the person who decides how to use whatever he has created, and if he decided to use a sword to strike a person, then it is the person who will end up in jail, not the sword. Change the sword to a gun, and the point still holds. What is a hammer, a sword, or a gun, without a human agent? Nothing more than an item. How they are used is determined by their wielder. The same could be said of AI, but there is an additional aspect to consider. AI is not just a tool; it is also a mirror.
Because AI was built to mimic the human mind, it therefore also has the potential to reflect man’s fallen nature. Ponder this for a minute: Where does its information source come from? Where does its source code come from? Who programmed AI? Who determined what limitations, if any at all, can be placed on AI? Sinful man. AI is not safe from the pollution of man’s sin, and this is why AI can do anything from drone assassinations to creating violent and sexual images. The reason we fear AI, the reason we fear its power and capability, is because we built something, a machine, that was meant to mirror us, not only in terms of its capabilities, but in terms of its nature. When we see the evil that has been produced or caused by AI, we are looking at the evil that resides in the heart of man, the evil brought about by sin. To blame AI and not the ones who created it is to turn a blind eye to our own fallenness, to our own sin, and to our need for redemption and restoration. AI is but a scapegoat, we are the true culprits for whatever ills it may produce.
AI as a Tool
Lastly, now that we understand what AI is, and how it can be used, and who is to blame for its misuse (this is akin to letting a rabid dog off leash to run wild in the city streets… only difference being that we are entirely responsible for creating that rabid dog), we should discuss how AI can serve as a tool in our efforts to cultivate creation into a godly civilization. Here is a hypothetical scenario: What if we were to render an iteration of artificial intelligence designed with an inherent foundation rooted in the principles of the Ten Commandments? What if the corpus of biblical law became an integral component of its programming, shaping its ethical framework? In such a scenario, one might ponder whether this AI entity could meaningfully contribute to the architectural endeavor, aid in the decryption of ancient languages, and facilitate the judicious allocation of material resources, without committing any infractions. While AI currently undertakes such tasks, the overarching question remains: could it then execute them with an unwavering commitment to ethical conduct? In spite of how advanced AI is today, we are still in its infancy stages, and no doubt it will be our non-sentient assistant for the future. AI, as a cultural product, can be used in such a way that it brings glory to God, but for that to happen, we need to understand that it too must be used subject to God’s law. Let me clarify. AI cannot sin, because AI is not human, but man can sin through AI. Thus, that also means that man can glorify God through AI. What might that look like? How can this be applied? Whether in the fields of medicine, education, law, art, etc.? Those are discussions we still need to have, and we need to do so with the biblical worldview as our very foundation.
[1] See “What is the history of AI”, Tableau. Accessed Aug. 17, 2023, https://www.tableau.com/data-insights/ai/history/.
[2] Microsoft has been exploring the idea of integrating more AI into its programming. See Microsoft AI: Artificial Intelligence Solutions.