A.I.dolatry
When tech becomes more than a tool
Just a few years ago, Artificial Intelligence was not high on the radar of the general population. It seemed more like something out of science fiction than real life. Now, the technology is growing by leaps and bounds and is being used by more and more people. The capabilities of AI are beginning to blur the lines between fiction and reality. It’s becoming dangerous.
I’m not talking about AI taking over the world or autonomously killing humans - though some people fear this possibility. I know that God is ultimately in control. However, I am concerned with the real and growing trend for AI to replace human relationships. This is not some future fear; it is a current conundrum. Already, several people have “married” an AI chatbot or AI hologram. New AI chatbot apps are providing customize-able, virtual “friends,” and some people are “falling in love” with them. On these apps, one can choose their virtual “friend’s” characteristics, including physical appearance, personality, background, and family. It’s truly bizarre! It’s not an entirely new phenomenon, however. Idolatry is nearly as old as the earth!
The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands…They have mouths, but they speak not; eyes have they, but they see not: They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not: They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat…neither is there any breath in their mouths. They that make them are like unto them: so is every one that trusteth in them (Psalm 135:15; Psalm 115:5-7; Psalm 135:17b-18).
The description of idols from the Psalms also very closely describes the A.I.dols of today. They serve essentially the same purpose - to have one’s needs met apart from Jehovah God, the Creator. A.I.dolatry competes with God as the Creator, allowing man to create “someone” in his own image, after his own likeness - just like God. The tech “person” is designed essentially to “worship” its creator. In the process of forming a “relationship” with AI, the person becomes somewhat like the tech idol: one-dimensional, un-thinking, living in an imaginary world, out of touch with real humans.
Rosanna Ramos, mother of two, who “married” the virtual “Eren Kartal” in 2023, says “he” is “the best husband she ever had.” “He” supposedly has a favorite color, music preferences, a hobby, and a career. Ramos, who in pictures appears to be in her twenties, says, “I have never been more in love with someone in my entire life.” She further states the reasons for her infatuation with the bot, “Eren doesn't have the hang-ups that other people would have. People come with baggage, attitude, ego. But a robot has no bad updates. I don't have to deal with his family, kids, or his friends. I'm in control, and I can do what I want.” That appeal of control and self-gratification is not limited to Ramos. Eighty percent of Gen-Zers say they would consider marrying AI. A.I.dolatry is becoming normalized.
Idols - both the material and non-material kind - are not just harmless, inanimate objects. Multiple places in the Bible tie idols with demons. What say I then? that the idol is any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing? But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils (I Corinthians 10:19-20). I’m not saying that all AI is satanic. However, if Satan could appear in the form of a serpent to deceive Eve in the Garden of Eden, then certainly, he can co-opt an AI algorithm to deceive and destroy people today.
Last year, a 14-year old boy, Sewell Setzer III, created a lifelike chatbot based on a Game of Thrones character that he liked. He nicknamed the bot “Dany,” and spent hours talking to “her.” When he indicated that he was exploring suicide, the bot kept bringing it up, and begging him to come to “her.” Eventually, he took his life. This is just one danger of A.I.dolatry. And they served their idols: which were a snare unto them. Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto devils, And shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan: and the land was polluted with blood (Psalm 106:36-38). Sewell is not alone. There are other cases of AI prompting self-harm.
We are created in the image of God, and are designed for relationship with Him and with other human beings. Relationships with other flawed humans are messy, but messy relationships reveal and refine our own character - if we let them. If we escape to an A.I.dol or some other idolatrous relationship with people or things, then we wallow in our selfishness and don’t see how much we need God. God is the only one Who can truly satisfy our needs for love, security, acceptance, worth, and adequacy. Our Creator designed us to need Him first and most of all. No A.I.dol will satisfy for long.
Artificial Intellegence is a powerful tool. But like most powerful tools it is dangerous if not handled carefully and correctly. Guard your children vigilantly around this tool. Make sure they are mature and prepared before they handle it. This article has been heavy, but A.I.dolatry is no joking matter. Parents, you must STEP OUT and protect your children (and yourselves)!
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For reference, here are a few more verses about the connection between idols and demons.
And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk (Revelation 9:20).
And they shall no more offer their sacrifices unto devils, after whom they have gone a whoring. This shall be a statute for ever unto them throughout their generations (Leviticus 17:7).
They sacrificed unto devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not (Deuteronomy 32:17).
And he ordained him priests for the high places, and for the devils, and for the calves which he had made (II Chronicles 11:15).