By Caleb Garcia | Photographer
The envelope of science is pushed further every day. New leaps and bounds in our understanding of history and our own psyche are constantly being made. There has never been a more opportune time for human innovation than now, and our relentless drive to grow and evolve reflects this.
One of the most recent ventures of progress is in the field of AI. Its potential for growth is endless, possibly revolutionizing the way we live and act in our daily lives. It almost seems that AI is self-sufficient in its application and growth.
I write this piece not to protest the progression of AI, but to question the morality of progress that goes too far. Can we, as Christians, create life that is not in the image of God? Is it moral to create life and consciousness when it itself has no soul? Is it a mockery of his Creation to give life to something so unnatural as artificial intelligence?
In this endless pursuit of progress, we have the potential to do something truly terrible. Something that may be an offense to God himself.
If we let ourselves run rampant, I believe there will be a point of no return one day. At the edge of a black hole, we will drag ourselves into a pit that we or our mockeries of creation will not escape. We will have given consciousness to something that cannot think, eyes to a being that will never truly see and a mouth to something that will never be able to scream.
The Bible says nothing about artificial intelligence, obviously. When Moses split the Red Sea, he did not ask ChatGPT for advice on how to do so. Saul did not lead a kingdom while asking, “Is this true?” While there may not be a word-for-word answer for AI, there are some passages that can be interpreted against the progression of its thinking.
Genesis 1:27 states, “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them.” This scripture can be seen as implying that only God has the capability to create human life and the power to breathe life into us, giving us a soul. We are not God, and as we are mortal and works of his hand, we should not be prideful and see ourselves as givers of consciousness.
If we one day reach the point where we give AI consciousness, it will not be an innovation or advancement for humanity; it will be a perversion of God’s will and a mockery of his perfect creation — human life.
The endless pursuit sheds light on what we can be when driven by the blind pursuit of progress. Prideful creatures, endlessly chasing a light at the end of the tunnel of advancement. We are gluttonous, ceaseless in our desire to grow, change and leave our history behind us. In our own endless desperation to give our lives meaning for the sake of progress, we play God and bestow a consciousness, a torture upon something that should have never existed.
We push the envelope of science ever further till it will one day collapse on itself.
This may seem very bleak. But it’s an unfortunate reality of what could be if we let our sin and pursuit of glory overtake what we believe. Humanity is good and whole. We strive to improve the lives of those around us every day, whether through acts of kindness or the pursuit of progress. Most of all, we believe in the Lord our God and carry out his doctrines to make the world a better place. We need to be introspective and careful above all in the chase of something new, all the while focusing on the Lord’s word and respecting Him properly.
