CHRIS ROPER: God in the age of AI

One of the enjoyable devices in Dan Brown’s 2003 novel The Da Vinci Code is how he uses historical artefacts, architectural elements, ancient texts and artworks to provide “evidence” for his story: things such as the architecture of the Jerusalem Temple, the Dead Sea Scrolls and so on. And here I’m assuming you’re familiar with the novel, which sold more than 80-million copies.

If The Da Vinci Code were written 200 years from now, what sort of historical artefacts and documents would be used to prop up the fictional narrative? One possibility is the ancient document Antiqua et Nova, a doctrinal note produced by the offices of the Catholic Church’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and its Dicastery for Culture and Education, on the Liturgical Memorial of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church. Which is not ancient to us, as the note was approved for publication by Pope Francis on January 14 2025, at an audience granted to the prefects and secretaries of the dicastery.

Antiqua et Nova is subtitled Note on the Relationship Between Artificial Intelligence and Human Intelligence. It explores the complex relationship between God, human intelligence and AI from a Christian, and specifically Catholic, theological perspective. If I were to point to a key takeaway, it’s that AI is a human-created tool, whereas human intelligence is a divine gift that reflects the image of God, and therefore the two are fundamentally different.

In the introduction to Antiqua et Nova, the authors make the point that “the Christian tradition regards the gift of intelligence as an essential aspect of how humans are created ‘in the image of God’ (Genesis 1:27)”. Later on, they write: “If AI is used to help people foster genuine connections between people, it can contribute positively to the full realisation of the person. Conversely, if we replace relationships with God and with others with interactions with technology, we risk replacing authentic relationality with a lifeless image.”

Many people are worried about AI replacing humans, not only in terms of taking their jobs but also in interpersonal relationships. The authors of Antiqua et Nova have an even more terrible (from their perspective) outcome in mind: that AI will replace God.

In a section titled “AI and Our Relationship with God”, they write: “Some even speculate that AGI [artificial general intelligence] could achieve superhuman capabilities. At the same time, as society drifts away from a connection with the transcendent, some are tempted to turn to AI in search of meaning or fulfilment — longings that can only be truly satisfied in communion with God. However, the presumption of substituting God with an artefact of human making is idolatry, a practice Scripture explicitly warns against.”

And here they reference Exodus 20:4, one of the Ten Commandments: “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.”

The Ten Commandments, for those readers who are not Christian, are like a human version of Isaac Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics, which are: “1) A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm; 2) A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law; 3) A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.” 

The Catholic Church is more worried about algorithmically inscribed false idols than the more traditional graven idols, though. “Moreover, AI may prove even more seductive than traditional idols for, unlike idols that ‘have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see; ears, but do not hear’ (Psalms 115:5-6), AI can ‘speak’, or at least gives the illusion of doing so.”

And Antiqua et Nova warns us, in the section “AI and Our Relationship with God”, that “while AI has the potential to serve humanity and contribute to the common good, it remains a creation of human hands, bearing ‘the imprint of human art and ingenuity’ (Acts 17:29). It must never be ascribed undue worth. As the Book of Wisdom affirms: ‘For a man made them, and one whose spirit is borrowed formed them; for no man can form a god which is like himself. He is mortal, and what he makes with lawless hands is dead, for he is better than the objects he worships since he has life, but they never have’ (Wis 15:16-17).” I must say, I find it encouraging that we can find biblical verses that relate to AI. Truly, human ingenuity knows no bounds.

Antiqua et Nova is not just about the potential negatives of the explosion of AI; it also talks about the many positives AI brings. But one more warning is worth thinking about. “Years ago, the French Catholic author Georges Bernanos warned that ‘the danger is not in the multiplication of machines, but in the ever-increasing number of men accustomed from their childhood to desire only what machines can give’.”

And Pope Francis’s comments about the difference between what AI does, and what humans do, resonate. “Together, we can seek the truth in dialogue, in relaxed conversation or in passionate debate. To do so calls for perseverance; it entails moments of silence and suffering, yet it can patiently embrace the broader experience of individuals and peoples. The process of building fraternity, be it local or universal, can only be undertaken by spirits that are free and open to authentic encounters.”

Considering that the poor guy had to endure a visit from US Vice-President JD Vance on Easter Sunday (a day before his death on April 21), he was probably an expert on inauthentic encounters.

I’ve written before about AI Jesus, the AI chatbot on Twitch that uses OpenAI’s ChatGPT-4 models and PlayHT’s text-to-voice generator to simulate Jesus’s personality and responses. I asked AI Jesus: “Is it wrong to worship an AI God?” but there were so many people in the queue, I gave up waiting for his answer. I guess that’s the way it works with Christian prayer too, which probably has an even longer queue.

The similarity is even more uncanny. On the principle that most gods are too busy to answer us directly, traditional religions outsource God’s work to priests and other franchisees. So I asked an AI disciple what AI Jesus would have answered, and it said: “The AI Jesus chatbot does not promote or endorse worshipping an AI god … and typically offers responses grounded in Christian teachings and ethical perspectives without suggesting that AI itself is divine or should be worshipped.

“The project frames the AI Jesus as a modern reinterpretation of Jesus suited for the digital age, providing accessible spiritual conversation rather than replacing or competing with traditional religious faith or worship. It does not claim that AI is God or encourage worship of the AI entity itself. Instead, it serves as a tool for engagement and guidance, reminding users that it is an AI and not a supernatural being.”

In its conclusion, Antiqua et Nova invokes the “wisdom of the heart”, a concept highlighted by Pope Francis. “This wisdom should guide the human-centred use of AI to promote the common good, protect creation, foster solidarity and lead humanity towards happiness and full communion with God. Thus, the relationship between God and AI is mediated through human intelligence and ethical responsibility, with AI serving as a tool within God's providential plan for human flourishing.”

The atheists among us will be uncomfortable about the term “God”, but if we use “human ethics” as a synonym, Antiqua et Nova presents a compelling way to discuss how to manage the complex and contested ways we think about AI. The fact that Pope Francis has just died somehow makes his observation all the more poignant: “In this age of AI, we cannot forget that poetry and love are necessary to save our humanity.” The challenge, of course, is going to be preserving the definition of what human poetry is, and fighting back against the danger flagged by Bernanos, which is that there is an ever-increasing number of people who are accustomed from their childhood to desire only what machines can give.