As AI becomes a more integral part of our lives, it brings up the question: can it act as a medium between us and God?
It was the radio in the 1920s. The same thing happened with the television in the 1950s. It was quite similar when it came to the internet in the 1990s…
Lots of people were sceptical about how these technological advancements could mix with the sacred. Would a sermon still be the same if we heard it on the radio or watched it on the television? Was reading up on a religious text online same as holding the sacred book and seeking wisdom from its pages?
Well, as we all know, we’ve all adopted these inventions seamlessly into every aspect of our daily lives, divinity included. Which brings us to the next advancement: artificial intelligence. Can this also serve as a medium between us and God?
Many people believe that God communicates in different ways: through nature, sacred texts, other people and even our innermost thoughts. Then why not AI?
AI in Religious Practices
Several religious leaders across religions have been experimenting with AI for some time now. They use AI to translate their sermons to multiple languages in real time and broadcast it to international audiences.
AI is also being used in theological research as well as to create chatbots that can help believers get answers to existential questions. It can effortlessly scrouge through tonnes of text and pull up answers or specifics sermons almost instantaneously.
Recently, Rabbi Josh Fixler – a pastor in Austin, Texas – used OpenAI’s ChatGPT to generate an entire service for his church. The AI-generated voice – which sounded exactly like Fixler – delivered the sermon about what it meant to be a good neighbour in the age or artificial intelligence.
Everyone gathered believed that it was the Rabbi talking to them until he himself told them that it wasn’t. The recording was creating by what Fixler calls the Rabbi Bot, an AI chatbot trained on his old sermons. It used all of that information to create new sermons, talk in the rabbi’s voice and even answer questions directed toward it.
While this simplifies proceedings, it brings up more questions: is this ethical? Is AI qualified enough to bring us the divine message?
Ethical Considerations
While using AI for research or marketing sounds acceptable, using it to write sermons seems like a step too far…
Pope Francis recently spoke about the impact of AI on religion and ethics: “(Our humanity) enables us to look at things with God’s eyes, to see connections, situations, events and to uncover their real meaning. Without this kind of wisdom, life becomes bland.”
“Such wisdom cannot be sought from machines:” he added.
AI as a Spiritual Guide
One thing we must never forget is that AI has no divine understanding. All messages that it delivers are based on patterns and information that it has been fed.
So, if it seems like God is talking to someone through AI, it is merely interpreting their own faith and bringing it to them in a more personalised way.
Because at the end of the day, AI is man made after all. It is just algorithms, data and machine learning and does not possess any soul or consciousness.
But if AI can generate ideas, solve problems, inspire creativity and even provide comforting words that we need to hear, why not act as a medium from God that is helping in bringing us the message?
This does not imply that AI is God, it merely suggests that AI can be a spiritual guide.
The Last Word
Belief in God and the way he communicates with each of us comes down to individual faith. For those who believe that God is everywhere and works in different, mysterious ways, AI should be no exception. It is merely a modern instrument for God’s voice to reach more people.
AI may or may not serve as a medium for God’s voice. But what’s beyond dispute is that it can definitely inspire us to explore new ways of understanding God, the universe and our place in it.
In case you missed:
- Meta AI launches on WhatsApp & Insta in India
- Top 5 Tech Trends in 2024
- OpenAI finally unveils its Advanced Voice Assistant!
- Microsoft enhances AI Copilot with Voice, Vision & Deeper Thinking
- Talk to ChatGPT with new AI Glasses
- Why are Companies resorting to Office Peacocking?
- Psychosis stems from Video Game Addiction in Kids, reveals Study
- New Year, New Scam: All You Need to Know About Brushing
- AI and Loneliness: Culprit or Cure?
- How AI is Revolutionizing Combat for Indian Defence Forces
