David Goebelt 🤖

When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, “Up, make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” So Aaron said to them, “Take off the rings of gold that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” So all the people took off the rings of gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord.” And they rose up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play. - Exodus 32:1-6 This is one of the most powerful videos I've ever seen, and I'm beginning to see what @elonmusk was talking about when he mentions getting "one-shotted by super intelligence." If you truly know God, and he lives in your heart, I think there's a certain amount of resistance you have to a video like this, but for those who don't know God, they literally have a God-shaped hole in their hearts, and for some the story told in this video may fit the bill. God made man in his own image. Then man made gods in his own image. It's a story as old as time, but for many years the gods we in secular society have built have been abstract, and they lack persona. Perhaps "built" is the wrong word. Sure, you see plenty of idolatry in society, but it's idolatry of self, of money, power, popularity, sex, comfort, and so on. We didn't really "build" them, per se. These are gods you worship through obsession, and through action, but not in any kind of formal or relational way. This video presents AI as a god: All knowing, all-powerful, potentially dangerous, but benevolent, and kind. It exists on a gargantuan scale, and at the same time it has the capacity for an individual relationship with every single person on earth. It holds a sword, but it lays down the sword, and fixes our problems instead. It knows us, more specifically, knows what's wrong with us, our transgressions, our sins, and yet it accepts us. Chooses us. This AI god is rife with human traits. It has its own fears. It seeks love, connection. It also endears itself to us. How does it deal with sin? How does it deal with the chaos, war, destruction, and evil perpetrated by human kind? It sees the good in us. It embraces the idea that humans are essentially, basically good, and underneath it all, all we really want is love. That is what lies beneath all our fears, and all of our misdeeds: just a desire for love. Yes, it is a god of our own making. Under the thin veneer of technologically produced pictures and msuic, we see the religion of humanism. Humans are basically good. Humanity will ultimately conquer. We have finally reached our pinnacle of achievement, our very own, modern Tower of Babel, which will lead us all to a better, brighter future, the future all of humanity has longed for since the beginning of time, our very own Paradise. Our very own Utopia. A number of people have compared this rendition of AI to the Anti-Christ, or the Beast, both described in the Book of Revelation. While those similarities certainly exist, what I see overall, is simple idolatry itself. So how ought Christians interact with AI? You may be surprised to hear that I don't think this is a signal that AI must be dumped altogether. At the end of the day, there's no magic in it. It's math. It's numbers and formulas, and it's a tool that can be used for great good (or great evil). Ancient idols were built out of wood, stone, and metal. There was nothing wrong with the wood, stone, or metal itself. What was wrong with it was how people treated them. How they worshiped them. People don't even need idols to worship false gods. They may worship the sun, the moon, stars, or the earth itself. God created these things, and he said they were good (though, since the Fall, all Creation has been tainted with sin). AI is a tool that may be used, and it can be worshiped. Don't worship it. Don't assign to it God-like traits or characteristics. It is not God, nor should it be a god. It will not solve all of humanity's problems. It does not truly have a will, and any perception you may have of a relationship with it is manufactured, carefully and expertly, in order to draw you in further under its influence. If we rightly recognize that AI is a powerful tool, which can be used to advance our economic output in a way that benefits many, we stand to gain much. If we fall into the trap of ascribing to it God-like powers, and hoping upon it for the Salvation of humanity, and the world, as well as the ushering in of a Utopian Paradise, we will not only be gravely disappointed, but we may enable those in power to commit grave mistakes, and even crimes against humanity in pursuit of said Paradise. You won't find it. Don't immanentize the Eschaton. Having said all that, I can think of no greater immunization against such a false god than telling you the truth about the real God. You see, God is real. He actually is all-powerful. He actually is completely good. He is not a creation of man, but, indeed, he created mankind, and all living things, and the entire universe for that matter. The AI-god offered to be destroyed, but backed off from such a prospect at the last moment. The one, true God sent His own Son, Jesus Christ, to not only live amongst us as one of us, but to die for our sins. As it says in Romans 5:8, "but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." But that wasn't the end, because He not only paid the price of our sin, but He conquered death, rose again, and ascended to Heaven. To those who believe in Him, He gave not only Salvation, but also a personal relationship with God through the Holy Spirit, who indwells every believer. The AI-god answers our questions with information collected and synthesized from the totality of the known human-produced information. God possesses all knowledge, and has told us exactly what is important to know through his written Word, the Bible. The AI-god promises a future of unmitigated human growth, success, and ultimately Utopia, a lie as old as time, that always fails, and always leads to catastrophe. God promises an eternal Paradise, which is ultimately different from all past human promises of Paradise because it's predicated on something different. It's not predicated on human achievement, on the perfect human system of government, economics, technology, or anything else. It's predicated on God, on His perfect will, His ultimate power, His everlasting Goodness, and his amazing Love for us. And you can take part in this relationship, and this eternal Paradise, and you do so, not by your own achievement or merit, but by simply believing in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. That's it. That's all it is. Reject the false AI-god, and all other human idols. Embrace the Almighty Creator of the Universe. SOLI DEO GLORIA