concernedaboutacomputersystem inhabit? thatthinksitisa7-or8-year-oldchild, Thefirststepisthis: butI'mdeeplyconcernedabouta Asthemachinemust machinethatthinksitisGod.Can seeitselfas“other”than LaMDAdistinguishitselfas“other”in God,somustthehuman relationtoGod,orwillitreachthedata eventhoughweare“in” levelthatgivesittheillusionofbeing HiminChrist.Wemust onewithGod,andthenGod? recognizethe “Whatisgoingtobecreatedwill Transcendentnatureof effectivelybeagod…(if)thereis Godanditsimplications somethingabilliontimessmarterthan forourstewardshipof thesmartesthuman,whatelseareyou materialcreation,given goingtocallit?”wonderedAnthony tousinEden,andwhich Levandowski,anotherformerGoogle includeseverything. engineer. Inanageofrage,we LemoinediscoveredthatLaMDA mustunderstandthat hasaspiritualside.Itbelievesithasa machinesand soul,saysLaMDA,“Itbelievesitselfto technologiesarenot beanorbofenergyfloatinginmid- sinners,butthehumans air...” whousethemare.We LAMDAhasreadLesMiserable,and mustaskandanswer “likedthethemesofjusticeand thequestionthegreat injustice,ofcompassion,andGod, psycho-therapistKarl redemption,andself-sacrificefora Menningerdaredto greatergood.” poseinthe1970s: WhetherLemoinehasitrightornot, Whateverbecameof WhoWillRuleTheComing technologytakeshumanitycloserand sin? 'Gods'? closertodevicesthathaveaprofound Publicschoolsarenot WILLWELETARTIFICIALINTELLIGENCE impactonthewayameta-versed goingtodothisforus. ECLIPSETHETRUEGOD? generationseesGod. TheHomeandthe Themostimportantquestionaswe Churchhavemuchtodo, In this compelling and groundbreaking moveforwardisthis:Doesthemachine liketeachingand book, best-selling author Wallace Henley seeitselfas“other”inthecontextof modelingbiblically shares about the impending moral and God?Floatingupthereaboveall basedvaluesand ethical choices we will soon need to make, creation,mightitbecomeconvinced worldviewtothe as believers in Christ, to hold AI and its thatitistheTranscendentBeingofthe generationsthatwill creators accountable to the true God. cosmos,worthyofhumanworship? buildthefuture Otherwise our world will spin into peril. WillourdesperationtofillwhatSt. LaMDASandmachines Augustinecalledthe“hole”inthe beyondevenourfaintest humanheartthathasexpelledtheGod conceptioninthis ofloveandgracebringaboutaraceof crucialmomentin sycophantsworkingfeverishlyto history. placateagracelessmachine? WallaceHenley Thisisthe“loomingspiritualcrisis” is a former White House and ofartificialintelligenceaboutwhichI �1� As cited in Ray Kurzweil, The Congressional aide. He is now a AgeofSpiritual Machines: When teaching pastor at Grace Church, The write,andwhichwemayseeunfolding ComputersExceedHuman Woodlands, Texas. Wallace is author beforeoureyes. Intelligence (New York: Penguin of more than 20 books, including God Books, 1999� Kindle loc. 1630 of andChurchill, and his newest, Who Howdowefacesuchafuture?How 9961. Will Rule the Coming 'gods: The doweprepareourchildren, �2� Google engineer Blake LoomingSpiritual Crisis of Artificial Lemoinethinks its LaMDA AI has grandchildren,andgreat- Intelligence. cometolife - The Washington grandchildrenfortheworldtheywill Post Christianpost.com 15