Don't Be Scared of "AI": It's Just Fancy Math, And Here's Why That's Good News for God's Word
Hey King Jesus Believers,
I’m writing as someone who has been working hands-on in operations research and predictive analytics, globally, since 2015, and as a fellow believer who’s passionate about seeing God’s truth shared faithfully in every sphere—including technology. Over the years, I’ve seen firsthand how powerful data and statistical models can be for solving problems, and how easily misunderstandings about these tools can lead to fear. That’s why the bad press AI sometimes gets in Christian communities can feel a bit misguided—even silly—though I mean that with all respect to those who genuinely want to honor God with discernment.
I get it. When you hear "Artificial Intelligence," it sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie. Killer robots, computers taking over the world, maybe even something that tries to replace our faith. It's easy to feel a little fear, a lot of curiosity, and maybe even some hype around it. And honestly, that's exactly what the people who named it "Artificial Intelligence" wanted. It's really good branding for something that's actually... well, just really, really clever math.
Let’s break down why that name is so misleading, and why understanding the truth about AI is actually great news for sharing the Bible.
The "Artificial" Problem and the "Intelligence" Illusion
First, that word "artificial." It makes you think of something fake, right? Like an artificial flower that looks pretty but has no life or scent. It suggests something that's a poor copy of the real thing. But when we talk about God, we know He's the source of all life and truth. So, for something to be truly "artificial" in a scary sense, it would have to be completely devoid of God's touch, and that's just not how things work. Every ability, every bit of ingenuity we have, comes from Him.
Then there's "intelligence." This is where things get really tricky. Our minds immediately go to human-like understanding, emotions, or even wisdom. We think of a conscious being, capable of making choices based on morality or feelings. But here's the big secret: AI models don't think. They don't understand. They don't have feelings or intentions.
Think about it like this:
Intelligence implies a mind. AI doesn't have a mind. It's just lines of code.
Intelligence implies learning like a human. AI doesn't learn like you or I do by experiencing the world. It "learns" by crunching numbers and finding patterns.
Intelligence creates unrealistic expectations (and fears!). This is why we get all those movies about robots taking over. The name "AI" just feeds into those ideas, making us think these things are super-beings when they're actually very limited tools.
The Bible often talks about true wisdom coming from God, not from human efforts alone (Proverbs 2:6, James 1:5). It reminds us not to rely on our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5). In a weird way, the very warning in scripture about human wisdom helps us understand what AI isn't. It's not a new form of wisdom; it's a new way to process information.
What AI Actually Is: Math, Probability, and Lots of Data
So, if it's not truly "intelligent" in a human sense, what is it?
Imagine it like the most advanced game of "Mad Libs" you've ever played, or a super-fast "Finish the Sentence" game.
Here's the real deal:
It's just math. Seriously. AI, especially the stuff like ChatGPT that writes articles or answers questions, is basically really complex statistical modeling, linear algebra, and optimization algorithms running on super-fast computers.
It's about probabilities. When you ask an AI a question, it doesn't "know" the answer. Instead, it looks at all the data it's been fed (which is tons of text from the internet). It then calculates the most probable next word, then the next, and so on, based on patterns it has seen. For example, if you say "Jesus said, 'I am the ____'", the AI doesn't understand Jesus or "I am." It just knows that in its training data, "way," "truth," and "life" show up way more often after "I am the" in a spiritual context than, say, "dog" or "chair." It simply picks the most likely word based on what it's been trained on.
It's pattern recognition on steroids. Think of it like this: A weather forecaster doesn't feel the rain coming. They look at patterns: temperature, humidity, cloud cover. When those things co-occur in a certain way, they predict rain is likely. AI does the same, but with text, images, or sounds. It recognizes massive patterns in data and uses those to predict outcomes or generate new content.
It doesn't "understand" meaning. When an AI generates a beautiful prayer or a profound thought, it's not because it understands prayer or profundity. It's because it's been trained on millions of prayers and profound thoughts, and it's simply predicting the statistically most likely words that would form such a text. It's like a mimic, not a master.
It’s not really new—just faster. Ecclesiastes reminds us, “There is nothing new under the sun” (Ecc. 1:9), and that’s true here: the core ideas behind AI, like Bayes’ theorem (1763), have been around for over 250 years. What feels new today isn’t the math but the massive processing power of modern computers making these old algorithms practical at an unimaginable scale.
Instead of "Artificial Intelligence," we should probably call it something more accurate, like a "Probabilistic Pattern Predictor" or a "High-Dimensional Math Assistant." Not as catchy, I know, but way more honest!
Why This Matters for the Church: A Massive Opportunity!
This understanding changes everything. It turns what seems like a threat into an incredible opportunity for God's Kingdom.
Here’s why:
The Bible is the most widely distributed book in the history of the world. It's the most quoted, and because of that, it has an absolutely enormous digital footprint. Think about how many websites, books, articles, and sermons are online that directly quote or discuss scripture.
Guess what? This is fantastic news for how AI works!
Since these AI models learn from the vast ocean of data on the internet, the more the internet is flooded with sound, accurate, biblical truth, the more the AI models will reflect that truth.
If people are using AI to ask questions about faith, theology, or even just what a certain Bible verse means, and the internet is saturated with faithful, Christ-centered answers, then the AI is much more likely to give a faithful, Christ-centered response. This helps guard against skewed or unbiblical narratives that might try to creep in.
So, instead of being scared of "AI," let's see it for what it is: a powerful new tool, driven by math and data. And let's realize that we, the Church, have the ultimate "data set" – God's Word! Our mission isn't to fear technology, but to actively, intentionally flood the digital world with the light of scripture.
Let's get out there, digitally share our faith, post sound biblical teachings, and ensure that the voice of truth is the loudest voice in this new, technologically advanced age. We're not just consumers of information; we're called to be propagators of truth. And in this age of "AI," that means making sure the digital world is overflowing with God's perfect, unchanging Word.
Blessings,
A Fellow Believer in Christ
