Is Artificial Intelligence Helpful Or Harmful?
Today we’re continuing our 4 week teaching series called Kingdom Thinking. In this series we’re providing biblical responses to some relevant questions, and today we’re addressing the question Is Artificial Intelligence Helpful or Harmful? Is artificial intelligence a good thing or a bad thing? It’s a relevant question because AI is already reshaping so much of our world, and it’s happening quickly! I mean AI can do research and write papers within seconds...AI can help doctors diagnose and create treatment plans for illnesses...AI can even drive cars without anyone inside it!...We have AI in our phones, workplaces, hospitals, and homes. We have AI in so many different things, it’s reshaping our world, and it’s all happening so quickly!
What used to be science fiction has now become a reality, and some people are viewing this as an exciting time. They think AI will be as transformative to our society as the printing press was to the Enlightenment Age, the combustion engine was to the Industrial Age, and the computer was to the Information Age. But others are viewing this as a fearful time. They think AI will lead to the decay and destruction of humanity replacing our jobs, hindering our creativity, and killing us off when they become deadly humanoids like the Terminator. So which is it? Is AI helpful or harmful? It AI a good thing to embrace, or is it a bad thing to fear? This is what we’re talking about today, so let’s turn to Genesis 11 and get into it. You’ll find Genesis in the beginning of the Bible, it’s the very first book of the Bible, and we’ll be in Genesis 11:1-9. For those of you taking notes, today’s message title is: Is Artificial Intelligence Helpful or Harmful? The big idea of the message is technology can be helpful or harmful, depending on the hearts that use it...Technology, including AI, can be helpful or harmful, depending on the hearts that use it...
Here’s your context. The Tower of Babel story is about the early development of human civilization in the plains of Shinar, which is modern day Iraq. It’s a story about the development of new nations, new languages, new human achievements, and new advanced technology, that eventually turn into human disappointments. As we study today’s text we’ll learn about the following three things: #1 The tower of satisfaction, #2 The tower of disappointment, #3 The tower that never fails. We’ll learn about the tower of satisfaction, why that tower turns into a tower of disappointment, and our desperate need for the tower that never fails. Let’s check it out.
The Word:
Genesis 11:1-9 states, “The whole earth had the same language and vocabulary. 2 As people migrated from the east, they found a valley in the land of Shinar and settled there. 3 They said to each other, ‘Come, let’s make oven-fired bricks.’ (They used brick for stone and asphalt for mortar.)” That little detail about the oven-fired bricks is interesting, because oven-fired bricks were an advanced technology for that era in history. Some people think the Tower of Babel was a ziggurat like the Egyptian pyramids, but the Tower of Babel came before the Egyptian pyramids. The Mesopotamians advanced in using oven-fired bricks, while the Egyptians were still using mud bricks. The Egyptians didn’t start building pyramids until they switched to using oven-fired brick technology too, which were strong enough to handle bigger structures like the pyramids. Archaeologists have confirmed that the materials for making those bricks were present in that geographical location, and they were eventually commonly used in that region. So archaeology supports the claim they were using oven-fired bricks to build the Tower of Babel. It also supports the claim that those oven-fired bricks, were an advanced technology for that era in history.
Vs. 4, “And they said, ‘Come, let’s build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the sky. Let’s make a name for ourselves; otherwise we’ll be scattered throughout the earth.’” What’s happening here is they’re rejecting God, and they’re not doing swhat God told them to do. In ch’s 1-9 he told them four times to be fruitful and multiply, to have kids and to scatter to spread God’s glory throughout the earth. But they aren’t doing that, and it’s because they want to build a tower, and make a name for themselves. They want to use their advanced technology to achieve something great, so they can make their name great. They want to spread their glory, instead of spreading God’s glory. They want to build their life without God, instead of building their life with God. The Tower of Babel is about so much more than building a physical tower. It’s about trying to build our life and find satisfaction in life without God. So the 1st tower we’re learning about is:
#1 The Tower of Satisfaction = We’re learning about the tower of satisfaction. The text says they’re trying to build a tower that reaches the sky, and the Hebrew word for sky can also be translated as heavens. So they’re trying to build a tower that’ll give them heavenly satisfaction in life, which is something we all do. We all have different towers, different things we’re trying to build, achieve, or obtain, thinking it’ll give us some heavenly satisfaction in life. What are those things for you?...What are the towers, the things you’re trying to build, achieve, or obtain, thinking it’ll give you some heavenly satisfaction in life?...Everybody has towers of satisfaction they’re trying to build, but nothing we build, achieve, or obtain ever gives us the lasting heavenly satisfaction we’re seeking. It’s because God’s supposed to be our primary source of satisfaction, not the towers we build. C.S. Lewis states, “The books or music in which we thought the beauty was located, will betray us if we trust them. It’s because the beauty isn’t in them, it just came through them...If they are mistaken for the thing itself, they’ll turn into idols breaking the hearts of their worshippers.”...In the words ofJonathan Edwards, “Fathers, mothers, husbands, wives, children, friends...These are shadows; the enjoyment of God is the substance. These are scattered beams; but God is the sun. These are streams; but God is the fountain. These are drops, but God is the ocean.” Both Lewis and Edwards are saying the towers we’re building will never satisfy us without God. It’s because God’s supposed to be our primary source of satisfaction, not the towers we build. These people are trying to build a tower, build their name, build their brand, build a life and a tower of satisfaction without God. But it’s about to turn into a tower of disappointment.
Vs. 5, “Then the Lord came down to look over the city and the tower that the humans were building. 6 The Lordsaid, ‘If they’ve begun to do this as one people all having the same language, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. 7 Come, let’s go down there and confuse their language, so they won’t understand one another’s speech.’” The phrase the Lord came down, is a sarcastic phrase mocking their puny little human endeavors. It’s a sarcastic phrase implying this great tower they’re building is so small to God, that he has to come down from heaven just to see it. It’s a reminder that it doesn’t matter how great we think we are, God is infinitely greater. It doesn’t matter how great we think our advanced technology is, including Artificial Intelligence, God is infinitely greater and infinitely more intelligent. As great as AI is at processing billions of pieces of data within seconds, it’s still limited on what it can and can’t do. But God doesn’t have any limitations, so he’ll always be a greater Savior than AI or anything else. The Lord came down to see their tower, to show he’s far greater than their puny little tower and human endeavors. But the text also says he confused their language, meaning he created new languages so they couldn’t communicate to finish the tower. God flexed his great power over their great tower, turning it into a great tower of disappointment. He did this to show his power is greater than their power, and to show what their lives will be like if they keep trying to build their lives without him. It’ll be a great tower of disappointment. So the 2nd tower we’re learning about is...
#2 The Tower of Disappointment = We’re learning about the tower of disappointment, which are the towers we build without God. The reality is our lives and all the towers of satisfaction we’re trying to build can come tumbling down at any second. The stock market could crash. You could lose your job. You could lose somebody you love, or be told by a doctor that you have a terminal illness. There are so many things that could cause our lives and towers of satisfaction to come tumbling down at any second. It’s because our lives and towers of satisfaction are fragile without God. It doesn’t matter how advanced our technology gets, we still need to rely on God’s power to save and sustain us, because our lives and towers of satisfaction are too fragile to save and sustain us. So the problem isn’t with us having advanced technology like oven-fired bricks or AI. The problem is with us trying to build our lives and find satisfaction in life without God. Instead of these people using technology to glorify God, they used it to reject God and rebel against his command to scatter throughout the earth. Like the oven-fired bricks AI isn’t the problem, it’s the sinful hearts of those using AI that can become the problem. The problem is when we think AI or anything else can replace our need for God. But our lives and towers of satisfaction are too fragile to save and sustain us. They’ll eventually turn into a tower of disappointment without God.
Vs. 8, “So from there the Lord scattered them throughout the earth, and they stopped building the city. 9 Therefore it’s called Babylon, for there the Lord confused the language of the whole earth, and from there the Lord scattered themthroughout the earth.” Notice it repeatedly says the Lord scattered them throughout the earth, and the implication is their plans failed, but the Lord’s plans prevailed. This is the 3rd and last tower we’re learning about. We’re learning about...
#3 The Tower That Never Fails = We’re learning about the tower that never fails, which is God’s tower. It’s God’s tower, it’s God’s plans. Remember God’s plans were for them to be fruitful and multiply, to scatter throughout the earth. But they made their own plans, and their plans failed, but God’s plans prevailed. It’s because God’s plans are the only plans that’ll never fail, and nothing proves this more than the resurrection of Jesus. See the people back then eventually sinned again. They eventually sinned again, rebelled again, built towers without God again, just like us. But several hundred years after the Tower of Babel, God came down from heaven again. Jesus came down from heaven as our incarnate God to disrupt the plans of Satan, sin, and death. He came down from heaven to die for our sins on the cross, and then he rose again proving his plans are the only plans that are eternal. His plans are the only plans that can give us eternal life, joy, satisfaction, and salvation through faith in him. Jesus is the only tower that’ll never fail, and the Tower of Babel is a reminder to build our lives and towers of satisfaction on him. It’s a reminder that Jesus is the greater Savior who can always save and sustain us, when everything else fails us. The greatest towers and plans we could ever build in life, are the ones we build on the eternal tower and plans of Jesus. Without him, our lives and towers will become towers of disappointment.
Now here’s where AI fits into all this. AI is our version of the oven-fired bricks. The oven-fried bricks were an advanced technology for people back then, and they used it to build a life and towers of satisfaction without God, which eventually led to towers of disappointment. AI is our version of the oven-fired bricks, because it’s our advanced technology in this era. But we have to be careful not to make the same mistakes they made back then, so it doesn’t lead to towers of disappointment in our lives too. So let me give you 4 things to consider when it comes to AI.
#1 AI can be a helpful tool, but it can also be a harmful tool. = There is no doubt that AI can be a very helpful tool for humanity. I mean it’s already helping doctors diagnose diseases, creating treatment plans for diseases, detecting cancer early, detecting natural disasters early, and using Drones with AI mapping to help find survivors of natural disasters. AI can also help us create diet and workout plans to reach our fitness goals. It can help us brainstorm, strategize, and provide research on any topic within seconds. It can help us scan the entire internet for the cheapest prices for products. AI can be a helpful tool for humanity in so many different ways. But it can also be a harmful tool in many different ways. The oven-fried bricks weren’t a bad thing. They were a good thing used in bad ways, and the same can happen with AI. When our youth rely on AI heavily for schoolwork, it can slow their brain development. It can cause them to lose creativity, critical thinking, and other skills as they rely more on using AI than their brains. We’re also using AI in our military weapons to help advance our national security, and we can imagine there are all kinds of risks associated with AI being able to use weapons against humans. We also have the risks of AI outsmarting and harming humanity in ways we aren’t aware of yet. In fact in 2023 Elon Musk and Steve Wozniak signed a letter warning us to hit the pause button on developing AI any further, until we can have a better understanding of the long-term risks. The letter warns us to consider if we should be, “Developing nonhuman minds that might eventually outnumber, outsmart, and replace us...risking the loss of control of our civilization.” If people like Elon Musk and Steve Wozniak are concerned, maybe we should be too. The benefits of AI are great, but so are the risks.
#2 AI can provide knowledge, but it isn’t all-knowing. = AI can provide knowledge, provide some truthful answers to questions you ask, and provide it at rapid speeds. It can help us gain more knowledge and answers by providing us with book summaries, or by answering our questions when we type them into ChatGPT, Grok, or Gemini. The rapid response of AI is a good thing that can save us time, make us more efficient, and make us more knowledgeable. But that’s only if the knowledge we’re receiving is actually true. We have to be careful not to treat AI like it’s an all-knowing, all-powerful God. The people who built the Tower of Babel thought they didn’t need God anymore, but God humbled them and showed them they did. We need to realize the same thing about AI, because AI isn’t an all-knowing, all-powerful God. AI sometimes makes mistakes, gives false answers, and can be used to manipulate the truth. AI isn’t ethically neutral, because it inherits the ethics and beliefs of its developers. It can manipulate the truth to create fake news, fake images, and fake videos to influence people’s beliefs. If Hitler could manipulate the minds of people in Nazi Germany by controlling information, how much more do you think someone like him could do that by using AI? In the wrong hands, AI can be used to manipulate the truth and control information in ways that influence our education, elections, economies, and governments. So don’t surrender your mind and submit your life to AI like it’s an all-knowing, all-powerful God because it isn’t. AI can provide some knowledge, but it isn’t all-knowing, all-powerful like God. Only God is all-knowing, all-powerful, and we must cling to his biblical truths.
#3 AI can be personalized, but it can’t replace a person. = AI can be personalized to fit
your preferences. For example, you can customize GPT to have whatever personality you want. Some of the options are: “Cheerful, Thoughtful, Encouraging, Enthusiastic, Critical, Blunt, and Gen Z...” I have no idea what their impression of a Gen Z personality is like, but apparently you can make GPT have a Gen Z personality...So you can personalize AI, give it a name, and give it a personality. This is causing some people to become emotionally and intimately connected with AI. They hunger for a personal relationship they can be fully transparent with, and their personalized AI becomes an artificial relationship. In fact some developers are creating AI humanoids, personalized Care and Companion Bots for emotional care and companionship. But it doesn’t matter how much you personalize your AI humanoid, a machine can’t replace a real person. A machine can’t feel, empathize, relate to us like another person can. Even if the customer service AI Chatbot says “I’m sorry to hear you’re having an issue with your order.” They aren’t really sorry, because they can’t feel emotions! They can be personalized and programmed to act emotional, but they can’t replace a real, empathetic, loving, caring person who can relate with your human struggles.
#4 We can use AI as a gift from God, but not as a replacement of God. = We can use AI as a gift from God that can help us with some things, but it can’t help us with everything. The reality is some people, including some developers, are treating AI like it’s an artificial savior. But what we learned from the Tower of Babel is the issue wasn’t their advanced technology, it’s that they tried to replace God by building a life and towers of satisfaction without God. They tried to create their own artificial savior, which led to a tower of disappointment. The same will be true for us, if we treat AI like it’s an artificial savior. It’s like Isaac Asimov once said. Isaac Asimov was an American science fiction author and biochemistry professor at Boston University. He was a prolific writer, publishing 40 novels and over 280 books. He’s best known for his book I-Robot and the Foundation series. Asimov said, “If you have a robot that can comfort you when you cry, but you still die without God, what have you gained?” Without God, you’ll have gained a great tower of eternal disappointment...You can use AI as a gift from God, but not as a replacement of God. You can use it as a gift from God, but use it with digital discernment, being cautious of its harmful effects, and remembering it isn’t all-knowing, it can’t replace people, and it can’t replace God.
The big idea of the message is that technology can be helpful or harmful, depending on the hearts that use it...Technology, including AI, can be helpful or harmful, depending on the hearts that use it. Like it or not, AI is here to stay, and it’s affecting our world in helpful and harmful ways. But the question is how will you use it and let it affect your life? How will you use it and let it affect your faith? The problem isn’t with the technology, it’s with the sinful hearts of humanity. It’s that we keep trying to build our lives and towers of satisfaction on artificial saviors, when there’s only one true eternal Savior, and his name is Jesus. Our greatest threat with AI isn’t the possibility of it killing off humanity, it’s the possibility of people turning to it as an artificial savior. It’s the possibility of it misleading humanity away from the real Savior Jesus, who can save humanity’s soul. We can use AI, but we must never let it replace Jesus as the true savior of our soul. Jesus is a real eternal Savior, not an artificial savior, so go to him as your Savior...Let’s pray...