What does the Bible say about technology and Artificial Intelligence?

Artificial intelligence has arrived in our homes, workplaces, and churches. Alexa answers our questions. ChatGPT writes our emails. AI systems schedule our appointments, recommend our entertainment, and increasingly shape how we think about the world. For Christians, this raises urgent questions: How should we understand these technologies? What wisdom does Scripture offer us?

Watch: What Does the Bible Say About Technology and Artificial Intelligence?

Understanding Technology

The word "technology" combines two Greek words: techne (skill, art, or trade) and logos (word, study, or concept). Technology is applied science and amplified power. It takes what we know and extends what we can do.

Merriam-Webster defines technology as "the practical application of knowledge especially in a particular area." Britannica puts it this way: "the application of scientific knowledge to the practical aims of human life—or, as it is sometimes phrased, to the change and manipulation of the human environment."

In other words, technology has always been with us. When ancient metalworkers shaped bronze and iron (Genesis 4:22), they were using technology. When Noah built the ark according to God's specifications, he used technology. The printing press that spread the Reformation was technology. So is the internet that now carries the gospel worldwide.

What Is Artificial Intelligence?

In 1956, John McCarthy, Marvin Minsky, Nathaniel Rochester, and Claude Shannon coined the term "artificial intelligence," defining it as "the science and engineering of making intelligent machines."

Today, AI comes in different forms:

Narrow AI (also called Weak AI or Specific AI) performs specific tasks within a defined scope. Your voice assistant, Netflix recommendations, and email spam filters fall into this category. These systems cannot think or make decisions beyond their programming.

General AI describes machines that could think, learn, and apply knowledge across different tasks like humans do. This remains theoretical.

Superintelligent AI would surpass human intelligence in thinking, innovation, and reasoning. This too is theoretical, existing only in speculation and science fiction.

We can also categorize AI by function:

Reactive machines respond to specific inputs with predetermined outputs. They operate in real time without storing data or learning from past experiences. Simple spam filters work this way.

Limited memory AI stores and uses past data to improve predictions and performance over time. Self-driving cars, Netflix recommendations, smart home devices, and customer service chatbots use this approach. So do AI systems in medical diagnostics and power grid management.

Theory of Mind AI represents a future stage of artificial intelligence that would understand and respond to human thoughts and emotions. Current AI systems operate based on commands and data without truly understanding emotional states or mental processes. Theory of Mind AI remains theoretical, with no existing systems possessing this capability.

Self-aware AI exists only in science fiction. This hypothetical stage would involve machines possessing consciousness and self-awareness, like the robots in iRobot or Her.

Key terms to understand:

A Brief Timeline of AI

From Alan Turing asking "Can machines think?" in 1950 to ChatGPT bringing AI into everyday use in 2022, the field has progressed through decades of breakthroughs and setbacks. The journey included the invention of the first chatbot (ELIZA in 1966), Deep Blue defeating chess champion Garry Kasparov (1997), and the deep learning revolution sparked by AlexNet in 2012.

The past few years have been particularly significant. OpenAI released GPT-1 in 2018, followed by the impressive GPT-3 in 2020. ChatGPT, based on GPT-3.5 and GPT-4, launched in late 2022 and brought AI into mainstream conversation, leading to global excitement and debate about the future.

What Should Christians Know About God and Technology?

Scripture offers clear principles for understanding technology, including AI. (For a comprehensive evangelical statement on artificial intelligence, see the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission's statement on AI.)

1. God is sovereign over all human ingenuities and technologies. At Babel, God demonstrated His authority over human technological ambition (Genesis 11). When Jesus told Simon Peter where to cast his nets, He showed sovereignty even over fishing technology (Luke 5:1-6).

2. God created humanity, not technology, to be His image-bearers. Genesis 1:26-28 and Psalm 8:5-6 make this distinction clear. Humans bear God's image. Our creations do not.

3. Humanity chose to worship the creation rather than the Creator. Romans 1:24-25 describes this fundamental problem. We have a tendency to elevate what we make above the One who made us.

4. The biggest problem humanity faces is sin, not technology or AI. Romans 3:23, 5:12, 6:23, Jeremiah 17:9, and 1 John 1:8 all point to sin as our fundamental issue. God alone atones for our sin through Christ's death and resurrection. The Roman cross itself was torture technology. God took a tool humans meant for evil and used it for ultimate good.

5. Technology, and therefore AI, is created by human beings who are simultaneously image-bearers of God and sinful. This dual nature (Genesis 1:26; Romans 3:23) means our creations reflect both God's image in us and our fallen condition.

6. Technology, and therefore AI, can elicit temptation in humans. James 1:13-15 and Jeremiah 17:9 remind us of our susceptibility to temptation. Can humans worship their own creations? Yes (Jeremiah 10:1-10). Can we be deceived? Yes (Genesis 3). Can we be motivated by selfish desires? Yes (James 4:1-4). Does AI frighten or worry you? Those reactions reveal something about where your trust lies.

7. Technology, and therefore AI, can and has been used to advance the gospel. Consider the progression: ancient letter-writing and postal systems, land and sea navigation, the printing press, industrialization, radio and film, television and satellite broadcast, the internet and YouTube, and digital and social media. Each technological advance has been used to spread the good news of Jesus Christ.

8. The use of technology and AI will require biblical wisdom and discernment. James 1:5 tells us that if we lack wisdom, we should ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach.

9. We should trust in God alone, not technology. Psalm 20:7 says, "Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God."

10. We should seek to use technology, and therefore AI, to God's glory. First Corinthians 10:31 applies here: "So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."

What AI Cannot Do for Our Souls

As we consider the capabilities of AI, we must also recognize its clear limitations:

1. AI cannot worship, pray, repent, or trust God like a human was designed to. These actions require a soul, conscience, and relationship with God that no machine possesses.

2. AI cannot separate Christians from God's love. Romans 8:37-39 promises that nothing in all creation can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

3. AI cannot replace true knowledge of God and His Word. Proverbs 9:10 says, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight." John 1:1-3 identifies Jesus as the Word who was with God and was God.

4. AI, or its hypothetical iterations, cannot surpass God's wisdom and knowledge. Romans 11:33-36 declares the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God.

5. AI systems frequently produce biased, inaccurate, or misleading outputs. These systems reflect the biases, errors, and limitations of their creators and training data. They can generate confident-sounding falsehoods and lack the ability to verify truth objectively.

6. AI cannot pray for or counsel you like a brother or sister in Christ. James 5:13-16 calls us to pray for one another and confess our sins to one another. This requires genuine relationship and the presence of the Holy Spirit in believers' lives.

7. AI cannot replace intimate love in marriage. Ephesians 5:22-32 describes the profound mystery of marital union as reflecting Christ and the church. No artificial companion can provide this covenant relationship.

8. AI cannot confront your sin and snatch you from the fire. Jude 1:23 and James 5:19-20 call believers to bring back wandering brothers and sisters. This requires spiritual discernment, courage, and love that only the Spirit can provide.

9. AI cannot determine the ultimate course of human history. While AI poses genuine risks that require wisdom and caution, Christians know that history unfolds according to God's sovereign plan. History as we know it will not end by human inventions, technology, or ingenuity. It will end by God's sovereign and divine intervention through Christ (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Revelation). 

Technology Throughout Scripture

We can rest assured that part of God's plan for humanity is to integrate technology into human affairs. As a matter of fact, the Bible records many technologies that shaped the ancient world:

  • City-building (Genesis 4:17), 
  • musical instruments (Genesis 4:21), 
  • metalworking (Genesis 4:22), 
  • ship-building (Genesis 6-9), 
  • tower construction (Genesis 11:3-5), 
  • irrigation and agriculture (Genesis 26:18-22), 
  • breeding techniques (Genesis 30:37-43), 
  • brickmaking (Exodus 5), 
  • writing systems (Exodus 24:12; Deuteronomy 27:2-3), 
  • blueprints and craftsmanship for the Tabernacle (Exodus 25-31; 35-40), 
  • weapons and armor (1 Samuel 17:38-40; 2 Samuel 21:16), 
  • fortified cities and walls (Joshua 6; Nehemiah 2:17-20), 
  • temple architecture (1 Kings 6-7), 
  • water systems like Hezekiah's tunnel (2 Kings 20:20; 2 Chronicles 32:30), 
  • roads and chariots (1 Kings 9:19; Isaiah 66:20), 
  • fishing technology (Luke 5:2-7; John 21:6), 
  • Roman roads and infrastructure used for missionary journeys (Acts 9:11; Acts 28:14-15), 
  • ships for Paul's travels (Acts 27:6, 37-44), 
  • security systems (Acts 12:6-10; Acts 16:24-26), 
  • and armor (Ephesians 6:11-17).

Scripture treats technology as part of human life, sometimes celebrating human ingenuity as reflecting God's creative image (See Genesis 6–9), sometimes warning against trust in human strength over divine power (see Genesis 11).

Moving Forward with Wisdom

The rise of AI does not require us to abandon biblical principles. The same God who ruled over ancient metalworking and modern medicine rules over machine learning and neural networks. The same human nature that built the Tower of Babel now builds large language models.

We need wisdom. We need discernment. We need to examine our hearts for where we place our trust. We need to remember that our biggest problem has never been our lack of technology, and our greatest hope has never been in what we can create with our hands.

A Christian's hope is in the Creator, who redeemed his people through the cross, and who will return to make all things new. Until then, Christians steward every gift, including technology, for His glory and the good of their neighbors.

The Apostle Paul wrote these words in wonder, contemplating the character and purposes of God Himself. No human achievement prompted this doxology, no technological marvel stirred his soul to worship. He gazed at the majesty of the Almighty and could only cry out:

"Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor? Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid? For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen" (Romans 11:33-36).

Artificial Intelligence is a marvelous feat of human ingenuity. But it will never compare to the unsearchable wisdom of the God who created the minds that built it.

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