AI is here to stay, and we will have to cope with it. The question really is, how do we see ourselves in its presence? Is there something that sets us apart from it? These are questions we will have to constantly grapple with. There are, no doubt, many concerns with AI. Here are some,
(i) AI taking over many of our jobs
(ii) It can be biased and discriminate, for example, in the area of health care and education
(iii) It poses a security and privacy threat
(iv) There’s the danger of misusing personal information because it has access to the internet. These are serious issues that governments and policymakers will have to contend with.
However, as Christians, we have our own issues with AI. What does it mean to be a human made in the image of God in an AI world?
Humans are conscious persons. We are self-aware. Like God, who is aware of Himself, humans created in His image are no different, we are also self-aware. We are subjective beings able to feel and respond to different situations in unique ways. AI does not have the ability to feel or experience something personally and respond to it subjectively. The human brain has evolved over so many years and certain brain pathways are so well-trodden and ancient, that make it difficult for AI to replicate and imitate.
We are moral persons. AI doesn’t inherently possess morality. Humans have the freedom to exercise their morality in unique ways depending on the situation they find themselves in. For Christians, to a large extent, this stems from their belief in a God who is interested in their well-being. AI doesn’t have this personal approach to morality. So that means it draws on our interactions, available online, from which it generates its “moral” responses. Hence, whatever AI generates is bound to be influenced by our biases and judgments.
We are embodied persons. We possess a body that responds to sensations. We feel physical pain and pleasure. AI is incapable of real sensational experience. Because we possess sensation we also have the ability to adapt to different situations and respond uniquely and creatively to whatever we encounter. In Christianity, even God felt sensation. Unlike other faith-systems – where AI is compared to God who exists remotely and sends messages through his prophets like AI and Chat GPT – in Christianity, Jesus walked with us, ate, and cried. And on the cross, He even felt physical pain.
Finally, humans have the unique ability to relate to God. We experience His forgiveness and find meaning when He intervenes in our life. While AI is a fantastic tool to enable us to live productive lives it cannot offer hope, forgiveness, and love. We, on the other hand, not only experience hope, forgiveness, and love from God, but we are also able to offer it to others.
So does AI undermine us? It does not undermine who we are and for that matter does not undermine God either. In fact, I believe, at least for now, we are better off.
