Column Title: Communitas
Column Entry: “The Image of God and ‘The Narrow Path’ to AI Sanity”
Column Description: The term Communitas refers to an unstructured community of equal members often traveling from one place to another. Like the characters in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, we are fellow pilgrims on the road towards the Father’s house, following Jesus as the way, truth, and life. This column is a space to share common ideas about faith, communication, and culture with the intent of affirming the image of God in all persons.
By Elizabeth McLaughlin, PhD, Bethel University
May 2025 / April 2025 / September 2022 / August 2022 / July 2022 / January 2022 / September 2021
The Image of God and “The Narrow Path” to AI Sanity
In his April TED talk, Center for Human Technology founder and technologist Tristan Harris spoke of the need for people concerned about the rapid development of GAI (Generative Artificial Intelligence) to seek a narrow path between dystopia and chaos through “responsibility, foresight and wisdom.” Harris was the primary narrator for Netflix’s 2020 film The Social Dilemma outlining the dangers of social media; his desire is to motivate wise practice while the foundations of GAI are still developing.
Harris says, “[We’re] currently releasing the most powerful, inscrutable, uncontrollable technology we’ve ever invented that’s already demonstrating behaviors of self-preservation and deception that we only saw in science fiction movies.” He continues, “We’re releasing it faster than we’ve released any other technology in history, and with under the maximum incentive to cut corners on safety.” Cue memories of Hal, the computer of death in Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 film 2001 A Space Odyssey.
As Christians, we must contribute to this urgent conversation on how GAI is developed, monetized, and launched into the marketplace in ways that contribute to human flourishing instead of letting it blindly overtake us. Jesus said that he is “the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6),” and this passage affirms that a relationship with him is the only way to the father. Christian communicators can address and advocate for sane GAI guardrails making it possible to fulfill the commandment to love God and love neighbor in the wake of this exploding technology. What are the right ways, what is the truth, and where is life in this conversation?
Harris challenges his audience to seek the narrow way. “So, what would it take to choose another path? I think it would take two fundamental things. First is that we have to agree that the current path is unacceptable, and the second is that we have to commit to find another path in which we’re still rolling out AI, but with different incentives that are more discerning with foresight and where power is matched with responsibility”.
The Genesis affirmation that humans are created in the imago Dei offers a framework of incisive questions to help channel this dialogue. We are called to represent God as stewards and replenishers of creation. Central are questions affirming human agency and dignity. Some include:
- Will this platform/application enhance or hinder human creativity and innovation?
- Will this platform/application enhance or hinder human communication or relationships?
- Will this platform/application enhance or hinder humans’ power to make their own choices?
- Will this platform/application affirm or dehumanize people?
- Can this platform/application potentially damage children, and how can we address this?
- Will this platform/application exploit human beings through discrimination, economics, fake news, political propaganda, or control?
- Will this platform/application overtake human production?
- Does this platform/application have any accountability or liability for its use?
This conversation requires that we examine before Christ our own attitudes and practices with social media and AI. Are we guilty of doom scrolling? Talking more on our phones than face-to-face? What are we modeling for our students, colleagues, families, and others? Is AI doing the intellectual work we should be doing without it? Do we have balance?
Meanwhile, GAI evolves, and changes roll on with lightning speed. In the April column, I referred to the case of the 14-year- old boy who committed suicide to join his character-bot love interest Daenerys Targaryen from the HBO series Game of Thrones. The company, Character.AI is apparently suing for First Amendment rights for their chatbots: the same rights as human beings. If bots have human rights, the implications are staggering.
What can we do right now? First, we can educate ourselves and create dialogue in our spheres of influence. Second, we can work to influence the development and use of GAI with a sight on the laws that can slow change down to consider the human side. Most importantly, we can pray and depend on Christ to guide our participation in finding the narrow way.