Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation.
Psalm 25:5
Recently, there has been a ton of chatting… chatbotting… related to A.I., officially known as Artificial Intelligence. These chats have widely ranged from the ways A.I. will improve our lives to being responsible for the end of humanity as we know it. Yes, the unknowns related to A.I. come with both anticipation and trepidation. As believers, it’s imperative to uncover the truth while grounding our findings in God’s wisdom. I decided it was time to obtain a panoramic view of A.I. via a godly lens.
Professor at Stanford University, John McCarthy coined the phrase “Artificial Intelligence” in 1955, defining it as “the science and engineering of making intelligent machines.” Recent definitions call A.I. the “simulation of human intelligence by machines, especially computer systems.” Overall, A.I. was developed to support humans in dealing with the overwhelmingly large amount of data. To put numbers to it, it is projected by 2025 the human race will generate 175 zetta bytes of data. A zetta byte is 1 followed by 21 zeros! Instead of having a zeta byte of data at my fingertips, I would love a zeta byte of dollars in my bank account. 😊
In all seriousness, A.I. was designed to mimic a human brain’s functioning developed by human beings who create the algorithms that drive A.I. And… it is here where the problem lies. Designed, developed, and created by humans… A.I. reflects ALL the good and ALL the bad that humans are capable of. While our Christian hearts and minds gravitate to our Biblical-based friends and colleagues, we must keep in mind that there are many ungodly peeps out there who are involved in the design and proliferation of A.I. YIKES and UGH!
We must look at everything…. And I mean EVERYTHING with a godly lens. I came upon a devotional penned by the late Dr. Charles Stanley titled: Facts and Truth. I’m sure Dr. Stanley wrote this devo without A.I. on the forefront of his mind; however, his godly-inspired wisdom can easily be applied to A.I. In his devo, Dr. Stanley discusses the differences between facts and truth. Facts, he wrote, are details such as the who, what, when, where, and how of a situation. Facts differ depending upon our perspective. This is where human error factors in. Truth, on the other hand, encompasses the facts while ultimately grounding its source and full expression in God. Facts are of the world, based on human perspective, while truth abides in godly wisdom and HOPE.
As we seek God, He promises to guide us into His absolute truth, void of multiple, misleading perspectives. In EVERY situation, we must ask Him to open our eyes to His eternal truth and everlasting wisdom. As we listen to God and are guided by His Holy Spirit, we must settle into His omniscience… His infinite knowledge. Yes, as we seek, ask, listen, and settle, we have access to His infinite all-knowingness… what I like to refer to as “Godly Intelligence” … G.I.
On the other hand, if one refuses to follow God’s Word, His Will, and His Spirit’s voice, then godly wisdom will NOT factor into their decision-making. Even their prayers are reduced to useless babbling and God simply doesn’t hear their petitions. When one focuses on worldly facts without godly truth, their thoughts are FLAWED and FILLED with lies… yikes! The prophet Isaiah speaks of this during the Babylonian exile period when the Judeans were in constant rebellion mode. In Isaiah 55:8-9, God’s message is simple, yet to the point: For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. His thoughts, His ways, His truth, His wisdom are NOT of this world. All of God’s thoughts are filtered through His eternal lens, a lens rich in wisdom and anchored to HOPE.
As I watch the news and see the world spinning out of control, I find myself shaking my head ALOT. Did she just say that with a straight face? Did he just answer a question with a question? Am I the only one losing my mind to a world that has lost its ability to tell the truth? Lies seem to be a part of our cultural vernacular, while people tell them with straight, even judgmental faces and facial expressions. I found myself questioning humanity on every level, every day. Then, God showed up with His wisdom in 1 Corinthians 2 where Paul discusses the differences between a natural man and a spiritual man to the peeps of Corinth. LIGHTBULB! In 1 Corinthians 2:12-16, Paul writes with a godly-inspired pen: Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can we know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. For who hath know the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ. Paul draws a deep line in the sand while defining the differences between a spiritual man versus a natural man… one of God and one of the world. The differences are night and day: light versus dark, good versus evil, eternal versus earthly.
When you find yourself shaking your head while watching the news, scrolling social media, or discussing world events, keep Paul’s godly-inspired words in the forefront. A natural man does what comes naturally and is BLIND to the spiritual world. He is bound to the material world and allows spiritual messages to roll off his back. He has NO capacity for fellowship with God. A non-believer is BLIND to God’s Words, wisdom, truth, and HOPE. While a spiritual man has been saved by Jesus and is a new creature where His Holy Spirit lives. A believer learns from His Spirit and is liberated by His Spirit. He views situations and circumstances with Godly Intelligence. He is rightly judged by no one because the unsaved world can’t comprehend his G.I. This epiphany reminds me of the Amazing Grace verse: I once was lost, but now am found. Was blind, but now I see.
So, what do we do with our G.I.? God guides us in Ephesians 5: 15-17: Be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time… Do not be foolish but understand what the will of the Lord is. In ALL situations, God wants us to respond through His will and act in accordance with it, while infusing His HOPE in ALL of it. We are called to be peacemakers… people who infuse situations with the tranquility of the Lord’s love, truth, and presence. Whatever lies we hear, injustice we see, or pain we endure, we must respond in truth by going to God’s wisdom. We must share an eternal view of circumstances, based on His truth and HOPE, while keeping our emotions anchored to His Spirit.
Intelligence that leaves God out of the equation is steeped in failure… HOPEless. Regardless of how many zeta bytes A.I. processes, if the data is grounded in worldly facts but void of God’s truth, how intelligent is it? Hmmm… The word artificial has a whole new connotation when filtered through a godly lens. In essence, ARTIFICIAL is FAKE. Only those who are blind to God’s wisdom, truth, and HOPE will believe in fake intelligence. We must pray for the lost and blind, that they may seek God’s Word, believe in Jesus, abide in His will, and understand His truth to experience HOPE in G.I., not A.I.
The mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so.
Romans 8:6-7
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