As with any computer input/output interaction, there is underlying technology and an unseen world shaped by various principles. The speed of computation has rapidly increased, leading to efficient indexing of information that conveys ideas through words, images, best practices, and more. The entity that can best organize and present this information to users holds a significant position of influence, and influence is power.
Therefore, AI holds power, similarly to how a road sign represents the power of the law. The sign appears harmless, but behind it are written laws and cultural expectations that shape the traffic flow of life. Occasionally, the powers behind the sign materialize—when we see an enforcement agent behind an overpass, we feel his power over our driving habits immediately. The reader needs to look past the image onf the screen.
From the beginning to the end of the Bible, the story reveals the interplay between God's intelligence and creation. As people of the Bible, we must recognize the existence of authorities in the unseen realms of God's creation. These powers manifest themselves through human agents, shaping the course of history and the unfolding of divine purposes.
As God imagers, all humans are intelligently designed and called to reflect YHWH’s intelligence into this world. We draw inspiration from God’s story, learning from those who have gone before us through God’s word, and from those around us who seek to reflect God. We participate in a community whose purpose is to co-create a counterculture, embodying YHWY’s values and influencing our culture and lifestyles for the good. The words of God are the signage on the side of the road, and the church is the materialization of that power, affecting the flow of life.
As co-creators with YHWH, we are also tool makers. Though work is a “good” of creation, increased “toil” became a consequence of humanity’s decision to seek life outside of God’s Garden. We need to remember that the first humans’ choice was to step out from God’s context for work and into the dust from which we were formed to try life independently.
In response to this increase in toil, we try to be “more efficient” (seeking ease, or productivity?). We continue the pattern from the Garden: we see something, reason that it is good, and we take it. We may even pray about it, and then do it. Sound familiar? See, reason, take.
Does this mean all productivity is bad? To answer that question, one needs to ask what drives it. Are you seeking ease, or is there a more God-worthy purpose (Deuteronomy 8:10-18)? This is the difference between a tool serving your purpose and a tool being used to serve self. Tools serve a created purpose, which is human flourishing in creating God’s garden-household.
For example, along comes AI. The helpful benefits are presented, and we see that it looks good. Then we reason that it is helpful for all kinds of things. These are two truths. Then we take it without playing the movie forward. We reason that this tool is also a pathway to our success, skirting previously associated toils. We reason, God must want this. Here is the question: At what point did we turn down the volume of that still small voice of God’s wisdom?
Now we begin to rearrange our habits around this tool. We begin to depend on it and then cannot imagine life in its absence; this is influence, this is power. Research by Jason Dorsey highlights that Gen Z lives and breathes the digital world, with a significant portion of them feeling uncomfortable after being away from internet access for more than eight hours. This dependency underscores the importance of the internet in their daily lives, aligning with the notion that it has become a fundamental need [a shaping force] for the younger generation.
Do you sense the Powers at work? First, it was a computer that you could compartmentalize as part of your day. Then cellular technology opened the door to technology in your pocket, with you all the time. Now it is on one’s wrist. Tomorrow, we will wear lenses through which we view every aspect of our world. Will we link it to our mind? That is a biblical picture of transforming one’s mind.
We all have lenses through which we view the world, both seen and unseen. These lenses are shaped by our natural home environment, forming our initial worldview. However, being “born again” into a new garden-household with new norms and listening to the voice of the head of our new household—God—is what our journey in Christ involves. This transformation invites us to adopt a new perspective on life: “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
Christians must understand that the waters of baptism lead us into a metaphorical desert where we shed the lenses of our old world view. This transformative process helps us adopt new perspectives, see God more clearly, and rearrange our lives around His will, gardening God's light and life into our shared existence. This journey moves us from self-management to making God's designed experience known on earth as it is in heaven. Through our families and neighborhoods, our work, our congregations and service organizations, we align our purpose with His divine plan for humanity and unify around purposeful impact on the sufferings of God’s creation.
Systemic issues in our society pain the heart of God. He is working to redeem humanity and its culture through His household. Do we shape God’s local body around God’s heart? Addressing these complex societal issues requires a coordinated, systematized approach from a unified group, which needs participants and the resources that God provides freely to and through his people. The hope of the world is at stake.
Can AI assist us in that? Gabe Lyons shares a talk (referenced below) that points out two types of Artificial Intelligence: Narrow and General. Narrow AI is behind a tool, like a navigation app. One could easily see how this has helps anyone navigate the world around us, but it stays within those parameters. General AI is what the technology influencers are debating about.
AI is a software app, born from algorithms, but it learns. So, who sets the “rules” or “constraints” that guide what it presents? What do we teach our AI app to bring to the forefront of our minds? Who is the designer behind the app, what search engine algorithm drives it, its sources, and how might it be used to lead a culture since it could sway collective thinking? What “filter bubble” might this sphere of influence create around an entire community, or even the world? Do you influence your sphere, or does your sphere influence you?
As people of God, we bear His name. The Holy Spirit acts as God’s “filter bubble,” guiding His local people as we re-arrange our personal households to reflect God's household. We ask Him to consider our thoughts and intentions, giving Him recognition for every good and perfect gift (James 1:15-17).
Yet, we face competing voices and ideas. Many examples exist where social media filter bubbles have disrupted the unity of our congregations—God’s household—reducing some to a scattered resistance movement or occasionally engaging in random acts of kindness, rather than entering society as a unified body, clothed with the deeds Christ Jesus wore. Our individualistic culture and use of personal screens assist in this.
In our quest to become less individualistic and enter God’s household cottage industry, how do we continue to hear and unify around His still small voice amidst AI’s pervasive influence? Do you have a group that practices information checking in which you can dialogue about life decisions? How does your movie for your life compare with God’s movie for his people? Let’s play that forward. Where will you seek God’s wisdom—from the Almighty’s Influence, or an artificial one?
As a People of God, as a local gathering of temple stones (1 Peter), we read the proverb written to God’s collective “child”:
Proverbs 6:20-22
"My child, keep the commandment of your father, and do not disregard the instruction of your mother. Bind them on your heart continually; tie them upon your neck. When you walk, she will lead you; when you lie down, she will watch over you, and when you awake, she will converse with you."
Here are articles and research that expand our understanding.