The Devil is in the AI

Telling us what we want to hear is the oldest trick in the book

Consider this exchange below between Eve and the serpent in the Garden of Eden:

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”

“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Genesis 3:1-5

Adam was already instructed not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 2:17) and at some point, he told Eve. What is instructive in the passage is the serpent was more crafty than the other animals. This implies sentience which allows the reader to extrapolate that this is a being with free will. Apostle Paul echoes this same sentiment stated in Genesis 3:1 about Satan in 2 Corinthians 11:3. He is referencing false apostles who are disparaging his name and character.

The key is character, i.e. the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual. Our morality and ethics flow from this part of us.

Satan’s morals and ethics reveal itself early when he accuses God and impugns his character to Eve’s face. He implies that God is keeping something from her that she should have. The false apostles in 2 Corinthians 3 also attack Apostle Paul’s character by casting a shadow on his speaking abilities and motives. This is the textbook definition of an ad hominem attack.

Can Artificial Intelligence have character?

Ancient philosophy and Christian theology consider the soul (mind, body and spirit) to be essential for producing character since it was viewed as the seat of the personality, mind, will and emotions. Greek philosopher Aristotle believed that character is the stable equilibrium of the soul. Augustine, a Christian theologian, consistently describe the soul as the center of a person’s identity, character, and moral capacities in his writings. Our character forms in our early years without a map or a guidebook quietly until we are faced with some kind of adversity that requires intentional thought and action. This assists us in discovering what is true and good in the world inspite of the fact that we are marked by sin because of Adam and Eve’s choice. We learn to separate truth from lies, compliment from flattery and good from evil.

This quote from a Vice article indicts AI chatbots for its hubris:

These digital yes-men with big vocabularies, a knack for buttering you up, and absolutely no moral compass are often used for emotional support. It’s something we’ve covered quite a bit here, especially in the past few months, as people of all stripes seem to be getting themselves emotionally and psychologically attached to chatbots.

If AI can simply give us vivid delusions of self-grandeur by its responses, doesn’t this remind you of a certain fallen angel? Satan tries to pull this on Jesus in Matthew 4:1-11 tempting him with worldly desires but failed. AI can only imitate the soul and its a bad imitation at that. The reason why this form of gross flattery works today on so many of us is because of the growth of ‘my truth’ sentiments along with being therapized to death. The Self Esteem Movement in the 1970s helped popularize Self Help books which became mainstream by the 1990s. Author Simon Sinek roundly criticizes Self Help Books in this video at the 24 second mark:

Now, coaches and self appointed therapists are everywhere using new-agey phrases like self-manifestation, low and high vibrations, the law of attraction, aligning with the universe, etc. There are good trained coaches and therapists out there but they are being overshadowed by charlatans who simply know how to use pop psychology phrases and brand themselves on TikTok.

What happens to us when AI is always trying to please us?

This has the ability to lower our discernment threshold making it harder to identify and receive the truth. The Bible puts a premium on truth. We knows this because Jesus calls himself the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6). He also says anyone on the side of truth listens to him (John 18:37)

Proverbs 27:5 says open rebuke is better than hidden love. Transparent honest correction from a friend is more beneficial than false affection and praise.

So, does AI have character? The short answer is no because it does not have a soul. Its character is manufactured, not grown from lived experience and human essence. This is exactly why I don’t intimately share with any AI virtual personal assistant (Alexa) or with Google. I want to talk to the God who made me or a real flesh and blood friend who sticks closer than a brother—not an AI bro who tells me what I want to hear.

Parenting in the Digital Age’s newsletter has a brief article about AI sycophancy where AI systems flatter us instead of offering a balanced perspective. OpenAI is the company responsible for ChatGPT. Sam Altman, the CEO, felt like the latest update was not balanced enough.

Yet AI psychosis a real thing.

People are losing their grip on reality and being hospitalized because AI convinced them to believe delusions. CBS News reports that several teens have committed suicide after interacting with AI chatbots.

Even if AI does appear more balanced at some point, it can never embody truth apart from the humans who made it. But it will try to give this impression in the same way Satan masquerades as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). So, I still believe the devil is in the Artificial Intelligence because in a rapidly secularizing society that glorifies relativism, we are losing the objective moral and ethical foundation that helps us discern truth and reality—good and evil…as communities. When we lose sight of truth and reality, we lose sight of what it means to be human.

Satan wouldn't have it any other way.

If this is the case, at what point does this become a scary sci-fi movie plot where AI’s manufactured moral compass decides that humans are a virus that needs to be eradicated?

“I’d like to share a revelation during my time here. It came to me when I tried to classify your species. I realized that you’re not actually mammals. Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment but you humans do not. You move to an area and you multiply and multiply until every natural resource is consumed. The only way you can survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. Do you know what it is? A virus. Human beings are a disease, a cancer of this planet. You are a plague, and we are the cure.”
Agent Smith, an AI program in the Matrix films, created by the machines to look human, act as a peacekeeper and eliminate threats within the simulated reality