Faith in the Age of AI {Reflections}

Ever feel like the world is changing too fast to keep up? You're not alone. In this deeply reflective episode, I explore a profound interview between Stephen Bartlett and investor Raoul Paul that left me questioning what happens when artificial intelligence fundamentally transforms our world.

Paul's assessment of AI as "the single greatest innovation humanity has ever seen" (second only to splitting the atom) initially sounds alarming. He suggests AI will disrupt everything by eliminating knowledge scarcity—the very foundation of our economic system. When specialized knowledge becomes as freely available as water, what unique contribution can people of faith make?

This technological revolution presents an unexpected opportunity for spiritual communities. While AI excels at information processing, it cannot replace wisdom, spiritual formation, or the transformative practices at the heart of faith. As Richard Foster wisely notes, "The problem of the Western church is not a lack of knowledge or theology... it's a lack of formative practices." I explore how this distinction becomes even more crucial in an AI-dominated landscape.

The future likely involves less emphasis on information transfer from pulpits and more focus on cultivating wisdom through shared spiritual practices and meaningful community. While AI can discuss concepts like grace, forgiveness, and wonder, only humans can truly embody these qualities through lived experience and spiritual formation. When the winds of technological change blow fiercely, those with roots deep in timeless wisdom offer something irreplaceable—the capacity to stand firm and demonstrate an alternative way of being human in an increasingly artificial world.

Share your thoughts on faith in the age of AI! Have you experienced ways technology is changing spiritual practice? I'd love to hear your perspective on finding wisdom when knowledge is everywhere.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:15):
What is up everybody?
My name is Ryan and welcome toour Reflections podcast.
I was on Instagram the otherday and I heard this clip from
an interview between StephenBartlett.
Stephen Bartlett is thisentrepreneur investor from he's
English, has a podcast and achannel called the Diary of a
CEO.
It's pretty good, and he'sinterviewing a guy called Raoul

(00:36):
Paul who's an investor, and hespeaks on all kinds of issues
about tech and recently AI, andso, if you haven't noticed,
there's been massivedevelopments in AI, which stands
for artificial intelligence,and how it's being utilized and
developed by people who arebrilliant people, not just chat
GPT.
That's very one small facet ofAI, but AI is the thing that

(00:57):
actually will be.
Many experts suggest thisinnovative thing that will
disrupt the world in many, manyways, and I'm not an AI expert,
nor am I a tech or, you know, ascience expert, but I found this
clip interesting because here'swhat Stephen Bartlett asks him.
He asks Raoul Paul.
He says, hey, how disruptive isAI going to be Like?

(01:20):
How project forward, howdisruptive?
Because people are alreadysuggesting that jobs will be
lost over the course of the nextreally short while Jobs that
can be done by AI.
Humans will lose those jobs.
It'll be a disruption, but howdisruptive.
And Raoul Paul answers andimmediately it's sort of this
unnerving answer.

(01:41):
But he says look, I cannotstress enough that this is, like
he calls it, the singlegreatest innovation that
humanity has ever seen.
Second, he would consider,would be the splitting of the
atom.
He thinks it's that innovativeand it will disrupt everything
and all that there is to bedisrupted.
It'll disrupt how we oureconomy in good and bad ways,

(02:02):
how we function as human beings.
It'll change everything, whichis a bit unnerving.
I don't mean to scare anybody,but this is where I really rely
on some of the scriptures.
There's one that Paul says hey,don't be anxious about anything
, which, of course, is easiersaid than done, but don't be
anxious about anything.
But then everything you know,with prayer and thanksgiving,
present your requests to God.

(02:22):
So pray to God and give himyour request, and the peace of
God, which is above ourunderstanding, will guard our
hearts and minds.
And so, in moments like these,I would encourage us, you know,
as people of faith too, don'tput your head in the sand.
Read as much as you cantolerate about AI and the
effects it has on us and thatkind of thing, but also don't be
driven by fear.
And if it's too much, it's toomuch.
But here's what I would say.

(02:43):
He says it's actually the mostinnovative thing that humanity
has ever seen, and he says this.
He says everything up to thispoint, and especially the
economy, is based on a scarcityof knowledge.
So think about this why arelawyers paid so much?
Well, because they have acertain set of knowledge points

(03:04):
that nobody else has, and sothey get paid a lot.
They're valuable in that wayFor many reasons.
I'm simplifying here butbecause there's a scarcity of
knowledge, they have it.
Many jobs like this, wherethere's a scarcity of knowledge
and the ones that know certainthings, are paid more, valued
more in that way, because theyknow it.
But with AI, that goes away, Imean knowledge becomes worth

(03:26):
very little because it's soreadily available for everybody
to have.
You can I mean, chatgpt is anunbelievable research tool, far
greater than Google and Yahooand these kinds of things, and
again, chatgpt is not the onlyone.
But the point is that knowledgewill be readily available for
anybody, and so knowledge thatbecomes like water we all can

(03:47):
have it.
And which makes me think thisthen, like how that affects us
as people of faith.
What might people of faith haveto offer in a world that's maybe
heavily influenced or isheavily impacted by AI?
What can we offer in a placelike that?
And I would say this it's notknowledge, but it's wisdom and

(04:10):
practice, because even though wemight know all the things there
are to know, faith isn't justabout knowledge.
Even before AI, we could Googleall the things.
There's plenty of books outthere and theology.
I love what Richard Foster says.
The problem of the Westernchurch is not a lack of
knowledge or theology.
We have all of that.
Western church is not a lack ofknowledge or theology.
We have all of that already.
It's a lack of formativepractices and I'm reminded like

(04:33):
church.
Really, I think it'll becomemore and more or less and less
about a transference ofknowledge, like the preacher
just giving knowledge up frontor information, but rather the
preacher, the pastor and thecommunity engaging in certain
kinds of practices, and you seethis already happening.
But people of faith, I think,have to offer a different way of

(04:54):
being in the world, that is analternative way of living than
the ways of the world, or whatPaul calls this present age, and
that also includes wisdom.
Look, we know lots of smartpeople, and intelligence and
smarts does not necessarilyequate to wisdom.
I know lots of smart people whoare actually quite dumb and

(05:15):
unwise and behave like fools.
You might call them CEOs orpoliticians in some cases.
You know, and I know, lots offolks who don't have a degree
and maybe don't think they'revery smart, but are incredibly
wise and deep, and folks go tothem for advice and thoughts on
life and practice and how tolive and be a good father and be
a good spouse and a goodmanager and all these kinds of

(05:35):
things.
So I think people of faith, whenour roots are in the Jesus
story and the ways of Jesus andthe ways of God and we put those
into practice Remember the endof Jesus' Sermon on the Mount.
He gives the Sermon on theMount and at the end he says,
hey, whoever puts these intopractice will be like a person
who builds their house on a rockand when the winds come it

(05:56):
won't blow it down Rather than aperson who builds their house
in the sand when the winds comeit'll blow it down, kind of
thing.
And so people of faith can belike that in an ever-changing,
technologically advancing worldthat's changing overnight.
Many times it seems like we canbe folks who are immovable and
unshakable, with our roots deepin God and the wisdom of the
world, the deep foundationalwisdom found in the ancient text

(06:17):
of the Bible and in God himself, and we can be rooted in that
and then be people who livethese things out and put on
display wisdom and beauty andwonder and grace and mercy and
forgiveness.
Ai can talk about these things,but deeply rooted behavior,
practices and wisdom can onlycome, I think, from the depths

(06:37):
of the human heart and the humansoul.
So that's what I would say.
I think the one thing, as thethe world changes, as AI, you
know, in this scarcity ofknowledge as it becomes more
readily available in AI, the onething you and I can still offer
is wisdom and depth andprofundity.
And may our roots go deep inGod and we live these things and
may our practices be rooted inwisdom as well.
So, all right, let me know yourthoughts.

(06:58):
All right, love you guys, peace.
Hey, if you enjoy this show,I'd love to have you share it
with some friends.
And don't forget, you arealways welcome to join us in
person at Central in Elk Riverat 8.30, which is our liturgical
gathering, or at 10 o'clock,our modern gathering.

(07:20):
Or you can check us out onlineat clcelkriverorg Peace.