I recently discovered that the author of a book I am reading has a website where people can ask his chatbot questions and receive detailed answers based on how you phrase your inquiries. What’s particularly unsettling is that you can hear the responses in the author’s voice, making it feel as if you are having a private consultation with him. The first five questions are free, but afterward, you must pay for additional inquiries.
Churches are using AI in various ways, from outreach and administration to even sermons. I feel like I’m late to this conversation. One of the more concerning uses involves interacting with a chatbot version of Jesus. I decided to ask the chatbot Jesus if it knew me. Its response was, “I do not yet know the details of your life, brother/sister — tell me your name or what you’d like me to know, and I will listen.” As I said to my own: “I am the good shepherd; and I know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep” (John 10:14-15). Chatbot Jesus quotes a verse that says it knows me, but admits it does not. At least it's honest.
Conversing with a digital representation of Jesus raises the question: Is this the future of spiritual development? When COVID-19 struck, I started using Zoom for the first time, cutting my own hair, and working out at home instead of at the gym. I thought I would maintain these practices post-COVID, but now I use Zoom sparingly, pay for haircuts, and have returned to the gym. AI will continue to evolve and be used for various purposes, some of which are beneficial. It can accelerate research and improve conciseness. However, apps like Text with Jesus or Talk to the Bible create the illusion that you are communicating with God.
In the Text With Jesus app, users can also converse with biblical characters, including Mary, Joseph, Judas, and even Satan. I’m unsure why anyone would want to engage with Satan. Catholic apps like One Day Confess and Confession – Catholic assist users with confession and spiritual reflection, providing AI-guided responses based on biblical texts.
It’s essential to keep in mind that you’re interacting with a program designed to piece together words in a sequence. AI chatbots use technologies such as Natural Language Processing (NLP) and machine learning to interpret and generate human-like text. People sometimes forget that they are engaging with something algorithmic that can feel personal.
This morning, I came across an article titled “AI Does Not Have the Holy Spirit.” This distinction is crucial when considering the difference between thinking you are communicating with the Lord and realizing that the chatbot’s language is arranged from an endless array of sources based on your input. When we communicate with the Lord, we are dialoguing with someone far superior to anything we can imagine, someone who knows our history, our wiring, and our future, and who sacrificially loves us. He is our eternal heavenly Father and does not need to learn about us as we speak with Him. Let’s gather to worship the one True God who communes with us and gives us the Holy Spirit.
