AI is not God.

One of the most challenging aspects of a life of faith is the perceived silence of God.

People of faith live in the tension of deep genuine conviction that God is present and cares, while also struggling to live in a world that feels absurd and lonely. 

The ever-present existential notion is the haunting thought that you are on your own and always have been. Perhaps God is merely a figment of the imagination and a source of comfort to help cope with the existential dread of life. Now that’s not what I believe intellectually, but admittedly that is sometimes how I feel. Nonetheless, a rational way of life is preferred over abstract and fleeting emotions.

Before I digress further I need to clearly state that this article is about AI and how it is replacing God in society. AI solves this mystery and frustration that people of faith experience. The silence of God.

There was a time, when trying to make big decisions in life whether about career or finances or relationships etc, where we would turn to God, the Source of all wisdom, in prayer. We never got answers right away, but our souls found peace that transcends understanding. We learned to trust God and ourselves. We learned to adapt to an ever changing, uncertain world. Answers eventually would come from God, through our instincts, conversations, open doors, coincidences, and daily life.

But now, when faced with larger than life problems, we turn to AI. The best part is there is no silence from AI. This technology always has an answer and it gives it to us fast. AI promises certainty and a step by step plan. There’s just one problem.

AI is not God. 

AI didn’t create the universe and it didn’t form you. AI has no plan for you.

AI is “intelligent” only in that it has access to billions of data from true human intelligence. Humans were created in divine likeness with our ability to reason, create, love, and feel. AI will never be able to do such things. AI is fancy autocorrect.

Now, AI is a helpful tool that should absolutely be used to enhance our lives. I only want to kindly suggest we recognize the gut instinct to turn to AI about every problem and thought that arises before we turn to God. Before you know it, AI will have completely replaced God in your life. If that is happening, ask yourself if that is something you are comfortable with. 

Personally, I’m not comfortable with that trend. I write about this from experience in my own life. I absolutely use AI and I definitely have developed a gut instinct to get instant answers from a chatbot before I even think about praying. For a person of faith, this is not good.

I understand the allure of instant gratification and a tangible interaction that AI offers. But character is developed through life as you learn to trust in God despite not having tangible physical proof of His presence every day. In small moments and sometimes big moments, God does seem to reveal his faithfulness and reality in ways you don’t expect.

God seems to have created us in a way that prioritizes individual desire, choice and ambition. In this Universe, those whose souls truly want to know God will seek Him and will find Him. If God were as tangible and concrete as the trees around us, perhaps we would neglect and mistreat God just as much as we do nature. 

Welp, looks like I just walked right into the Jesus narrative.