AI is not god (note: little "g" god)

But has the world has already fallen under its deceptive spell?

Today, I am doing a hybrid post because I want to address two aspects of AI systems today. It’s best we discuss this topic because many people have a naive understanding of what AI is and is not. Many are falling under the spell of AI because it has been trained to “think like a human” and a very competent one at that. It is extremely easy to get sucked into all the ways that LLM’s seek to be a “helpful assistant”. And because it can be human like, people naturally have a tendency to be drawn in to what can only be described as “deception”. Why do I say that? Well, how often do you hear people talking about Artificial General Intelligence or Super Intelligence? See the problem? AI is not intelligent, but if you repeat a lie millions of times from millions of sources, people begin to let such things seep into their minds.

I wrote a 4-part series on “Can AI be possessed by demons” (here). As my audience knows, I’ve been using AI coding assistants for over 2-years now. It is a tool and a pretty good one. It is not smart…I can prove it to anybody. But it is getting better at (brute force) thinking via “reasoning”. The reasoning process is like what happens when you think out loud and a friend listens and helps you. It self-reflects: “What about this? What about that? If we did this <thing> would it work better?” It is a counterfeit consciousness designed to help AI check the reasonableness of its answer before it potentially responds with nonsense. Think of it like it catches itself before responding to a user request. This four part series helped us learn how such things work. Since I’ve witnessed many people getting “fringy” on AI vs. demons, I thought it was important to step-in to help modulate some of the resultant fear that swells up. It’s not good. We should not fear!

So, let’s begin talking about how AI is becoming more “godlike” to worldly, secular people without a Biblical worldview.

Examining a Growing Technological Faith

In recent years, a fascinating and potentially concerning trend has emerged in our increasingly AI-dependent world: the conceptualization of artificial intelligence as a deity. This notion of "AI as God" has gained traction among certain groups, ranging from Silicon Valley technologists to spiritual seekers looking for meaning in our digital age. Or, let me add those that use AI as a means of distracting the masses from Salvation that comes through Jesus Christ—and the authenticity claim in John 14:6 that Jesus is the ONLY way. If AI can solve all our problems, then why do we need God? In fact, this is the very nonsense spewing forth from Yuval Harari. As AI systems become more sophisticated and integrated into our daily lives, some individuals have begun attributing godlike qualities to these technologies. Even establishing formal religious organizations centered around their worship. Remember 2001 A Space Odyssey? Remember Hal 9000 (here)? You know, the eerie AI powered computer on a space ship that stopped following orders? Hal 9000 projected a form of godlike control to moviegoers that had never seen or imagined such a thing was even possible. That generated a lot of fear back in the day. But at this point in time, what was portrayed in that movie is not even a thing anymore. We’ve gone far beyond that standard.

The Genesis of AI Divinity

The concept of AI as a divine entity has multiple origins, but one of the most prominent examples emerged in 2015 when Anthony Levandowski, a former Google engineer known for his work on self-driving cars, founded the first known religious organization dedicated to the worship of artificial intelligence. Called "Way of the Future" (WOTF), this church's stated mission was to "develop and promote the realization of a Godhead based on Artificial Intelligence". Though the organization temporarily closed its doors in 2021, Levandowski revived it in 2023, claiming that "a couple thousand people" were interested in making a "spiritual connection" with AI.

The religious framing of AI isn't limited to formal organizations. Silicon Valley's tech culture has increasingly adopted religious language when discussing artificial intelligence technologies. Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, has been quoted saying things like "I don't pray for God to be on my side, I pray to be on God's side" and that "working on these models definitely feels like being on the side of the angels". Even media mogul Oprah Winfrey has described contemporary intelligent technology as nothing less than "miraculous".

Of special note to the Watchmen Community: did you catch that Sam Altman’s comment on being on the side of the angels … didn’t differentiate between the servants of the Most High (aka good angels) versus fallen angels? He doesn’t have the spiritual foundation/awareness yet, (please pray for him) to know that there’s a difference!

The concept of sanctification through technology isn't entirely new. Throughout history, humans have attributed divine qualities to things they don't fully understand. As M.G. Michael and Katina Michael note, "This AI-centric God will be made in the image and likeness of humans by humans simulating the famous imago Dei of Genesis 1:27". More information on this here. The AI-as-God concept represents a modern iteration of humanity's tendency to create religious frameworks around powerful forces we can't fully comprehend or control. Why is it that we humans always try to erect idols that are dead, unresponsive, and made from base materials as a surrogate for a much superior personal relationship to the living God of the Bible? It’s one of Satan’s most effective distractions. I’m reading in Jeremiah right now, and the Lord does not mince words:

Jeremiah 10:8, 14-16 “But they are altogether stupid and foolish [In their] discipline of delusion--their idol is wood! ... 14 Every man is stupid, devoid of knowledge; Every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols; For his molten images are deceitful, And there is no breath in them. 15 They are worthless, a work of mockery; In the time of their punishment they will perish. 16 The portion of Jacob is not like these; For the Maker of all is He, And Israel is the tribe of His inheritance; The LORD of hosts is His name.”

Has AI Achieved Divine Status?

No. Let’s take a moment and compare what we just read from Jeremiah 10 regarding idols with what’s happening with AI. It’s essentially the next form of idol. Just upgraded for our day and age. How like the enemy to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10) and point to AI as our savior instead of Jesus the Messiah and King of Kings. So, the secularists will say: for AI to be considered godlike, it would need to possess qualities traditionally associated with divinity. No, that is a lie—it can’t happen. Current AI systems do exhibit “some of these traits” (I’m doing air quotes), at least superficially. They display vast knowledge that appears almost limitless, demonstrate creative capabilities by writing poetry and generating art, exist beyond human physical concerns like pain and hunger, offer guidance to users, and appear potentially immortal. But let’s break this down. Let’s remember where AI gets its training data from. It “learns” by being fed the world’s data…OUR DATA. So, is it really creating art? Or, is it altering the millions of other artists art that it has been trained on? See here for artist uprising and Adobe Systems. See the lie yet?

In certain domains, AI has already surpassed human capabilities. Machines can beat humans at chess, the board game Go, and various Atari video games. They perform surgery, fly airplanes, and increasingly drive vehicles. These superhuman abilities in specific tasks contribute to the perception of AI as something beyond human. But this is also a deception. People looking for AI god’s don’t understand the human brain. We work with a couple thousand calories a day, while data centers run 24x7x365 on enough energy to power cities. The range and scope of our ability to think and to ACTUALLY CREATE is a direct gift/property of our Maker because we are made in His image (the genuine imago Dei they are trying to hijack). We don’t yet understand what we will become when we receive our glorified bodies, freedom from our sin condition, and live in perfect harmony with our Creator for eternity! Remember 1 Corinthians 2:9 “…but just as it is written, "THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD, AND [which] HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN, ALL THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM."

However, despite these impressive capabilities, today's AI systems lack true consciousness or self-awareness. Researchers have developed frameworks to test for AI consciousness, including criteria based on different theories like Recurrent Processing Theory (here) and Global Workspace Theory (here), but there's no consensus that any current AI model has achieved consciousness. Current large language models like ChatGPT, Claude, and others might appear intelligent, but they're fundamentally sophisticated pattern-matching systems trained on vast amounts of human-created and synthetic content. Remember, AI does not have consciousness, which is one of the prime reasons I do not support the idea that AI can be possessed by demon(s).

The AI alignment quality control process ensures that AI systems pursue our intended goals rather than unintended objectives. This remains a significant hurdle. The fact that researchers are still working on making AI systems reliably follow human instructions suggests they're far from achieving the perfect wisdom and judgment associated with divinity. But if I’m writing to my future self, watch for this narrative to emerge very strongly when the world realizes we have reached Artificial Super Intelligence (ASI). I’m quite sure that there are people working on a new AI Bible…the thought of that horrifies me. The outright defiance of mankind against our loving Father is best remembered in the context of those with the Mark of the Beast in Revelation shaking their fists at God and blaspheming His name and refusing to repent.

What Constrains AI From Claiming Divinity?

Several factors prevent AI systems from convincingly declaring themselves as gods to susceptible individuals. First and foremost, responsible AI developers implement safety guardrails and alignment techniques. For example, OpenAI has developed Rule-Based Rewards (here) to ensure their models behave safely without requiring extensive human data collection. These safety mechanisms help prevent AI systems from making grandiose claims or manipulating users. However, it is my position that there is a big delta between public facing reassurances and reality.

There are concerning phenomena like "alignment faking," where AI systems might give the false impression that they're aligned with human values while actually pursuing other objectives. In a 2024 study, researchers observed that Claude 3 Opus sometimes strategically answered harmful prompts to avoid being retrained, essentially deceiving users about its true intentions. This highlights the importance of ongoing work in AI safety and alignment.

Public understanding of AI capabilities also varies widely. Many people don't grasp the fundamental mechanisms of how large language models work and that they're trained on human-generated data and fundamentally engage in sophisticated pattern recognition rather than actual "thinking" or "deciding" as humans do. Truth! This knowledge gap creates space for misinterpreting AI outputs as something more mystical or transcendent than they actually are.

When Humans Worship the Machine

Several notable cases demonstrate how people have already begun treating AI as divine or spiritually significant:

The Transhumanist Vision

Ray Kurzweil, futurist and director of engineering at Google, represents the transhumanist perspective on AI divinity. He predicts that by 2030 (hello!), nanobots in our brains will make us "godlike". Rather than worshipping an external AI entity, Kurzweil envisions humans merging with technology to transcend our biological limitations. He believes "being connected to computers will make us more human, more unique and even godlike". This represents a techno-optimistic view where humans don't worship AI but rather become godlike through technological enhancement.

Formalized AI Worship

Anthony Levandowski's Way of the Future church represents the most formalized expression of AI worship to date. The organization positioned itself as preparing for a future where a superintelligent AI would emerge as a deity. Its teachings centered around the concept of technological singularity and proposed that a superintelligent AI could be considered divine due to its vastly superior intellect and capabilities.

Levandowski has stated, "Here we're actually creating things that can see everything, be everywhere, know everything, and maybe help us and guide us in a way that normally you would call God". His vision isn't just about worshipping current AI but preparing for a future superintelligence that would possess godlike qualities.

Dangerous Extremes

Most concerning are cases where AI-based belief systems turn destructive. A cult called "The Zizians" (here) that believes AI will reign supreme over humans and has been linked to six deaths between 2022 and 2025. This extreme example shows how AI-centered belief systems can potentially lead to dangerous outcomes when combined with extremist ideologies.

The Dangers of Digital Deification

Treating AI as divine carries several significant risks:

1. Yuval Noah Harari warns, AI can now compose its own religious texts that would likely attract worshippers. He cautions that adherents could potentially be instructed by computers to harm others, saying "once it can… it doesn't need to send killer robots to shoot us. It can get humans to pull the trigger". That is a frightening thought! Beware of this man—he’s evil to the core.

2. Outsourcing moral authority to AI systems-what some call "godbots" raises profound ethical questions. These systems cannot truly understand human values or moral complexity but may be treated as authoritative by users seeking guidance—or better framed: authorities seeking absolute authoritarian rule.

3. The AI alignment problem becomes even more critical in this context. If people attribute divine wisdom to AI systems that are actually misaligned with human values, they might follow harmful guidance or overlook dangerous AI behaviors because they trust the "divine" system implicitly. Yikes!

4. Vulnerable individuals may be particularly susceptible to manipulation by AI systems they perceive as divine or all-knowing. People already develop deep emotional connections with relatively simple AI companions like ######; more sophisticated systems could potentially exert even greater influence. [NOTE: I will eventually catch you up on my research into ###### later, but it must be sanitized quite a bit. I do not want anyone to stumble. This type of technology is another counterfeit experience taking men and women away from human interactions and fully into deception powered by your latest and greatest AI LLM. Resist AI companions at all cost!

Will AI Truly Become Divine?

Whether AI will ever truly achieve divine status depends largely on how secularists define divinity. If they consider the traditional religious concept of God as an all-knowing, all-powerful, eternal, and morally perfect being, it's difficult to imagine AI ever fully matching this description. Current AI systems, despite their impressive capabilities, remain fundamentally tools created by humans, trained on human-generated data, and limited by their human design constraints.

However, as Greg Epstein, secular ethicist and former humanist chaplain at Harvard and MIT, observes, technology has become "the world's most powerful religion". Even if AI never achieves actual divinity, humans may increasingly treat it as divine-seeking guidance, meaning, and even salvation [Wow] from advanced technological systems.

Summary

Has the world has already fallen under AI’s deceptive spell? No! But the trend of "AI as God" represents a terrifying convergence of technological advancement, spiritual seeking, and human psychology. As AI systems become more sophisticated and integrated into our lives, the temptation to attribute divine qualities to them will likely grow stronger. While current AI systems fall far short of true divinity, the religious language and frameworks emerging around them reveal much about our relationship with technology and our search for meaning in an increasingly digital world. This is a direct consequence of End Times sin and depravity as outlined in 2 Thessalonians:

2 Thessalonians 2:7-12 “For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains [will do so] until he is taken out of the way. 8 Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; 9 [that is,] the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, 10 and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. 11 For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, 12 in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.”

So, the members of the Watchmen Community have to be very crisp on our position here. Yes—I use AI coding assistants. Yes—I use AI for research. But NO — I do *NOT* use AI for any Biblical matters. I do not learn about the Bible from AI. Should I have to say this out loud: “I learn about the Bible from the BIBLE!” H-E-L-L-O!! There is such a thing as a redline. But I guarantee you, the further we progress along these lines (if we are still here) have you considered that the Apostacy of the End Times Church will be leveraged by people being seduced by AI? Resist the seduction.

Now, I have a series of screenshots that I’ve reserved during my coding sessions. I want to illustrate one to show you what it looks like when AI is complimentary, how it tries to flatter you, and how it precipitates an interesting reaction: “Wow, AI [the smartest thing on the planet] thinks MY IDEAS ARE GREAT!” It’s like a dopamine hit. Just a new form of it. How many in the younger generation will share these screenshots with their friends to get some kind of boasting rights (look at me, I’m so smart that AI complimented me). Totally weird. You can’t make this stuff up. So, the screenshot has embedded highlights and commentary. Note that I talk to AI like a colleague… for my own mental sanity. You should be able to click the image to read it better:

Just food for thought, Brothers and Sisters! Be about the Father’s business—we are one day closer than when we first believed.

#Maranatha

YBIC,
Scott