{"id":10650,"date":"2024-05-29T10:02:29","date_gmt":"2024-05-29T14:02:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/?p=10650"},"modified":"2024-05-29T10:02:29","modified_gmt":"2024-05-29T14:02:29","slug":"is-the-use-of-artificial-intelligence-a-threat-to-the-bible-or-morality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/2024\/05\/is-the-use-of-artificial-intelligence-a-threat-to-the-bible-or-morality.html","title":{"rendered":"Is the Use of Artificial Intelligence a Threat to the Bible or Morality?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"artificial
Shutterstock.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The rise of artificial intelligence, or AI, has brought lively conversations about new technological possibilities, warnings, and concerns over potential misuses and abuses. Dr. John Plake, chief program officer at the American Bible Society, told CBN News his organization set out in its annual \u201cState of the Bible\u201d survey to \u201clook at this unique angle on the Bible and technology.\u201d<\/p>\n

The American Bible Society frequently asks specific questions about the intersections of faith and technology, but with the AI discussion rapidly expanding in recent months, researchers decided to ask people a series of positive and negative questions about the burgeoning tool.<\/p>\n

Plake said, \u201cWe looked at things like, \u2018Can AI be relied on for moral reasoning?\u2019 or, \u2018Would you be against AI helping your pastor to prepare his sermon or perhaps preparing the sermon and your pastor just delivering it?\u2019 \u2014 things like that. We asked, \u2018Do you believe that AI goes against biblical teaching?’\u201d The \u201cState of the Bible\u201d report then broke down the results by generation and level of Scripture engagement, and the survey yielded some fascinating findings. Plake said, \u201cPeople who are more engaged with Scripture tend to be more skeptical of artificial intelligence. And I think part of that is that they\u2019re tuned into moral hazards that come about when we think about machines doing our thinking for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Scripture-engaged respondents were less optimistic about AI\u2019s future benefits, less likely to believe it aids in moral reasoning, and less likely to see it as enriching spiritual practices or promoting \u201cspiritual health.\u201d It\u2019s not just Christians who are cautious, though. The general public seems overwhelmingly unsure of what the future holds and appears to be more driven by fear than excitement over what\u2019s to come. The results found that 68 percent of the public disagreed with the idea that AI could \u201cpromote spiritual health,\u201d and 58 percent also disagreed when asked if it could \u201caid in moral reasoning.\u201d<\/p>\n