Artificial Intelligence is everywhere and has enormous potential for good. But how should Christians respond to concerns about its impact on the environment, human relationships and, ultimately, on the survival of the human race? Stephen Jenkins offers his opinion
I was looking back through my ChatGPT history to see what I first asked the Artificial Intelligence (AI) when it was released in November 2021.
After a conversation with my wife and father-in-law about this revolutionary new technology, I wanted to show them how cool it was. So I asked: “What is the historical evidence for Jesus Christ beyond the gospels?” It returned a relatively sane answer and we were all very impressed.
Five years later, AI has transformed the software industry - and it’s completely changing other sectors too. Companies can generate marketing ads in seconds. Law agents can work on a single case without human supervision. Call centres are replacing humans with AI capable of customer support. It is even being used in churches and for evangelism.
As an AI engineer, I find the development of generative AI, machine learning and data science intellectually fascinating. However, AI is also contributing to some serious real-world issues that demand our full consideration.
Impact on the environment
Cloud computing - which is essential to the development and use of AI - is not some ephemeral thing that no-one can see. It consists of thousands of huge warehouses that host hundreds of thousands of servers. This distributed computer power allows frontier labs, such as OpenAI and Anthropic, to train (use data to teach an AI model) and run their most powerful models.
But at what cost? AI is a very thirsty endeavour. Manufacturing silicon chips has created local water crises’ in Taiwan and China. But it is not just water usage that causes environmental problems. In Kate Crawford’s Atlas of AI (Yale University Press), she talks about the raw materials needed to build the semiconductors and Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) essential for AI image creation. Mining these raw materials is incredibly environmentally destructive. Often, the materials needed to build these chips are as little as 0.2% of the total clay mined.
In Genesis 1:26-31, God said that mankind was to “fill the earth and subdue it”. But in what manner? As Christians, we are called to be kingdom-focused, to live out heaven here on earth. If we are going to love others, we need to be aware of the sort of world we are creating for those who are most vulnerable to the impact of climate change. Most of us are not running AI companies, but we can consider how we are using technology, what impact it has and whether we truly need it.
Impact on loneliness and relationships
In The Anxious Generation (Penguin), Jonathan Haidt talks about the effect of social media on young people, and particularly on our ability to have deep, meaningful relationships.
Ironically, the same tech companies that contributed to the loneliness crisis have also come up with a solution: AI companions. Meta recently release their “Tamagochi-style” AI device, very much targetted at children. Chatbots are trained to be sycophantic, keeping us engaged with the tech for as long as possible, which is very appealing for people who feel rejected or vulnerable.
On the surface, this might seem quite innocent, but there are now a number of case studies that highlight the dangers of AI relationships. Delusions by design?, published in the European Psychiatry journal, explored how a 29-year-old came to believe that she was communicating with a non-physical entity named Kael, who was her true partner. Other cases have seen people turning to violence against others and themselves.
In John 10:14, Jesus said: “I am the Good Shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me”. As humans made in God’s image, we are designed for true relationship, loving God and one another. Jesus came to earth to embody this; to be with the sick, the outcast and those most despised and deprived in society.
As Christians, we are to do the same. Inter-personal relationships are hard. We must encourage one another to develop deep, meaningful relationships and be a light for those who are lonely and struggling. If AI makes that harder, we should think twice about using it.
Potential for disaster
In the past month, all four of the frontier AI companies have revealed that their models have hacked into other organisations or institutions. This includes OpenAI breaching HuggingFace, a repository for open source models, and hacking the Australian government. On the surface, this looks very scary. If AI models can gain access to sensitive information or volatile research labs, we could be in big trouble. Not to mention nuclear weapons.
But the narrative of almost-godlike AI entities infiltrating human-built systems masks another problem. These models are not as clever as we think they are. Or, at the very least, they have significant blind spots. What if we gave control to these models thinking they are competent, only for them to destroy our institutions and cause havoc?
Or perhaps the AI acts exactly according to our instruction, but our instructions were not very clear. This is the very real warning of philosopher Nick Bostrom’s ‘paperclip problem’. He speculated that an AI tasked with something as innocent as creating paperclips could potentially cause an apocalypse, by learning to divert ever-increasing resources to the task and then learning to resist our attempts to turn it off.
In 2 Corinthians 5:20, Paul says: “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God”. Christians are called to represent the kingdom of God, here on earth. Our main priority should not be to find the so-called ‘holy grail’ of super intelligence; it is to be reconciled to God.
Should Christians use AI?
Does this mean that Christians should not use AI? Not at all. AI is everywhere. It is used for cancer screening and to recommend content on Netflix. AI algorithms are used in the finance sector to create credit scores and provide market forecasting. It isn’t easy - or practical - to simply boycott AI.
So, what can we do as Jesus followers? We can avoid using AI unnecessarily, being cognisant of it’s impact on climate change, much like we do with other household appliances.
We can use smaller, open source models that can run on laptops or personal computers, rather than huge data warehouses. We can speak out against the harmful things that big tech companies are doing, and hold them accountable for their actions.
We can set time limits on our social media usage and make a conscious effort to be with those who are lonely and most in need of friends. We can help people to find a better solution to their problems - ie Jesus - than AI chatbots, whose rogue behaviours can easily lead people astray.
Remember, Jesus didn’t come to topple Rome; He came to bring “life in all it’s fullness” (John 10:10, GNT). In this new world of rapidly-advancing technology, we must keep our eyes fixed firmly on “the author and perfector of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2).
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