Has man created a tool we must master before it masters us? Good question, but a necessary one. Is humanity entering into a new realm of slavery? Not one of whips and chains but of voluntary servitude.
In the whirlwind of technological progress, few topics spark as much debate as the rise of artificial intelligence. Recently, Matt Shumer, CEO of an AI startup, released an essay titled "Something Big Is Happening," which quickly circulated through academic circles, including my own university. Shumer's core message is both simple and alarming: AI's abilities are expanding at an exponential pace that most of us are only beginning to comprehend. The cognitive prowess of AI is indeed remarkable and accelerating. Graduates entering the workforce will find that mastering AI isn't just an edge, it's the entry ticket.
A crucial gap in Shumer's analysis emerged. His perspective centers entirely on raw capability: processing power, speed, and efficiency.
What unique qualities do humans possess that no algorithm could ever replicate? This inquiry reframes the entire AI discussion, shifting it from mere technological dominance to the essence of human purpose.
Identity over intelligence to replace the human edge? Maybe not.
At the heart of this lies a biblical truth often overlooked in tech conversations. Psalm 8:5 declares, "You have made [man] a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor." Humans aren't defined solely by our intellectual output or computational speed. Our true distinction comes from bearing the image of God—a divine imprint that endows us with inherent dignity and purpose. We're not just processors of information; we're crowned creations, reflecting the Creator's character.
Theologians like John Calvin and documents such as the Westminster Larger Catechism echo this, noting that God originally endowed humanity with knowledge, righteousness, and holiness—attributes marred by sin but redeemable through Christ. The Apostle Paul elaborates in Colossians 3:10, urging believers to "put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator," and in Ephesians 4:24, to embrace a self "created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness."
This renewal, driven by the Holy Spirit, fosters a relational knowledge of God—not cold data, but a covenantal bond deepened through prayer, repentance, and life's trials. The outcome? Wisdom. AI can sift through oceans of data in seconds, but it lacks the capacity for the fear of the Lord, which Proverbs 9:10 calls the beginning of wisdom.
Machines can't cultivate the discerning judgment born from spiritual growth and obedience.
Let’s face it. AI delivers rapid data analysis, trends, and suggestions. But the real challenge—deciding what truly counts for a community's well-being or viewing business as a mission field rather than a profit machine—demands human wisdom. As God's image-bearers, we weigh ethical nuances, long-term impacts, and redemptive opportunities that algorithms simply can't grasp.
Wisdom or AI or both? This wisdom doesn't just set us apart from AI; it equips us to harness it responsibly. How can we prepare the next generation to excel with AI while remaining anchored in divine truth? It begins with scriptural insights into the human heart.
The Bible reveals a recurring cycle: An innovative tool emerges, granting new powers, only for humanity to subtly transfer allegiance from God to the invention. Take the brick in Genesis 11:3-4. This ancient tech breakthrough enabled efficient construction, neutral in itself. Yet it fueled the Tower of Babel, where people declared, "Let us build ourselves a city... so that we may make a name for ourselves." The sin wasn't the brick, but the self-reliance it inspired, echoing modern AI's allure of godlike autonomy.
The golden calf in Exodus 32 follows suit. Israelites melted Egyptian gold into an idol, "rejoicing in the works of their hands," as Stephen recounts in Acts 7:41. In 1 Samuel 8, Israel's demand for a king mirrored neighboring nations' military tech, but God saw it as rejection of Him. Jeremiah 17:5 warns, "Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the LORD."
Tools evolve—bricks, gold, chariots, now AI—but the heart's temptation remains: idolizing creation over the Creator. AI, with its seductive efficiency, might be the most potent version yet.
Is humanity on a path of from self-sufficiency to surrender? If surrender then to whom?
The Babel narrative doesn't end in despair. After humanity's scattered failure, Genesis 12 introduces God's call to Abraham: Where Babel sought self-made glory, God promises, "I will make your name great." This shifts from human-driven achievement to grace-filled redemption.
The gospel doesn't dismiss human ingenuity; it redirects it. Abraham's capabilities served God's covenant. Similarly, Genesis 1:28's mandate to be fruitful, multiply, and subdue the earth—reaffirmed post-flood in Genesis 9—invites AI as a tool for that purpose, under Christ's lordship.
For educators, parents, and mentors, this means grounding the young in biblical anthropology first. Before touching AI interfaces, teach them their identity fallen yet redeemed image-bearers, part of God's restoration story. In Christ, they're not defined by productivity but by grace.
Thus equipped, AI becomes a servant, not a master—a gift of common grace advancing the cultural mandate. Students who fear the Lord will wield AI with wisdom, knowing no synthetic intelligence can supplant the authentic kind.
Has humanity become the crowned creators in a coded world filled with algorithms and quantum thinking?
The future isn't about fearing AI's takeover; Shumer's right that it will transform society. The real challenge is raising a generation discerning enough to distinguish the tool from the True Source.
Will AI replace wisdom? No, because wisdom isn't coded—it's cultivated in hearts aligned with God. Our task is to learn its use, ensuring we master it, not the reverse. In doing so, we honor our crown as image-bearers, turning potential pitfalls into pathways of purpose.
Replies
Fabulous post/forum, Steve.
The spirits of the fallen ones are right here, according to Enoch, (who never tasted death.) In the dreams and plans of the (demonic) left's ideology, they will build a greater 'mankind' "in his (Satan's) image and likeness," than what our GOD made. Their prophet Yuval Noah Harari, said exactly that. "We will go far beyond what the God of the Bible, did."
And, pretty obviously, AI ...IS....part of that plan to make us serve demon masters.
So, precisely...we must interrupt... step backwards.... and begin to REDEFINE ...what and whom we are. We must reclaim literacy. Step 1.
God showed us, if we would pay attention to Him.
He kindly gave us a preview.
When dufus couldn't define "Woman," when being nominated for our highest court, shouldn't we have understood THEN? It's a continual drumbeat from the ones calling us, again and again, a (damned) democracy. Even Tucker continues calling us a democracy.
That word is nowhere to be found in our documents. So why the lie? (Is AI able to change cultural meanings over time.) Of course.
Do we understand yet we are letting hell define each part of our lives into something less than who we are, as men and women made in the image and likeness of God? Believers in God? And living in America? The greatest country on earth?
Define .. Family. Define .. Child. Define...Boy. Girl. Mother. Father. Faith. Property. Health. Sex. Chromosomes XX vs XY. The right to say NO.
Every single thing that has been stolen from us began by 1st diminishing its definition. Such as 'Republic' to 'Democracy.' Then 'Rights' to 'Permissions.' Mother-May-I? Only Mother is now govco.
We must demand the end to agency controls over and into our lives, hopes, dreams and freedoms. Property tax is but one brick taken out of the wall of freedom and true rights.
If you own it, then please why do we still owe some agency money on that same property. Circular thinking--our founders would have destroyed.
Will AI replace wisdom? - In some people, because they want to be told how to live, what to eat, and how to vote. We'll always have some stupid people who believe AI will make them smart if they obey the machine.