Technology in the Bible

Is there anything to say about the Bible and AI?

That is of course a difficult question. We can take it a bit broader: how does the Bible view technology in general?

First of all it is striking that in the Bible itself there is also technological development. Where Genesis starts in paradise, a garden, Revelation ends with a city.

Furthermore, the first examples of technology are signs of creative power: Jabal (livestock), Jubal (music) and Tubal-Cain (metalworking) in Genesis 4. And in Exodus 31 we read that God fills Bezalel with His Spirit "to work skillfully" on the tabernacle. God gives technical gifts.

But then there is also Babel. People wanted to build a tower "that reaches into heaven" (Genesis 11), and God intervenes.

The difference lies, of course, in the motive. At Babel it was: "Then we will be like God." Against God in the highest place.

And how does that work with AI?

Scientist Marc-Antoine Dilhac of the Université de Montréal recently warned that AI might well become the core of a new religion. Man seeks something to hold on to, and whoever does not trust in God finds another altar.

At the same time AI helps in detecting lung cancer, predicting natural disasters and improving education for children with learning difficulties.

So yes: how do we interpret AI?

I think we must be alert to these two questions:

1. In what do we ultimately place our trust? (the second commandment)

(The full text can be read on the Instagram account.)