In a recent video series, Elder Gerrit W. Gong discussed spiritual guideposts that can inform our personal use of artificial intelligence (AI).
While many across the globe are concerned about the moral implications of AI, Elder Gong emphasized that this tool has immense potential for good when used and developed wisely.
“As someone who has worked for years at the intersections of faith, learning, and global policy, I see artificial intelligence not only as a massively consequential technological development, but also as a profoundly significant moral opportunity to reflect on who we are and to determine how we act in today’s world,” he shared.
Here are nine standout quotes from the video that can empower you to navigate Al wisely.
1. The Truth That Grounds Us
“We each have divine worth and dignity. … When we truly understand who we are, we can approach AI and other new technologies with greater confidence, purpose, and wisdom.”
2. Remember What AI Can’t Do
“Artificial intelligence can answer questions, but it cannot answer prayers. It can organize information, but it cannot offer revelation, covenant connection, or divine truth.”
3. God Is Never Artificial
“As a creation of God, man can create AI, but AI cannot create God. By its nature, artificial intelligence is, in some ways, always artificial. Deity is never artificial at any time, in any way. …
“God is not a chatbot or search result that answers questions [with] what it thinks we want to hear. God knows our intents, the hopes and longings of our hearts, the anguish and joys of our souls. He listens, He hears, He answers.”
4. This Principle Is Vital
“Here’s a vital principle: The more we work with intent, diligence, and effort, the more and better we benefit from and through our work. … Please do not let AI replace you in work that would otherwise help you stretch and grow. And please do not take credit and claim as your own work what you know AI has primarily done.
“When we apply the principle of individual growth through our work and effort, AI can enhance, deepen, enliven our creativity and capacity.”
5. Focus on What Really Makes Us Human
“For a long time, we’ve defined ourselves on what human beings can do that machines, even intelligent machines, cannot do. Yet, as artificial intelligence makes some forms of intelligence a kind of commodity, we're challenged to redefine ourselves beyond intelligence. We can place greater emphasis on what really makes us human—enduring characteristics such as faith, compassion, love, humility, empathy, forgiveness.”
6. You Are Divine, Not Data
“You are not a random data point in an unfeeling algorithm. You’re a beloved child of God, a child of the covenant, a disciple of Jesus Christ. Your eternal worth is not calculated by likes, trend lines, or predictive analytics. No machine can measure your divine potential. Each individual matters. All of us are unique.”
7. Agency Is Sacred
“Technology cannot tell us who we are or what we should do. Our individual moral agency means we can choose, with God’s help, our path and priorities. God invites us to act in faith, choose wisely, and grow through lived effort and experience. With God’s help, we can chart a path of personal growth and discipleship that algorithms will never fully comprehend. Let AI inform, but you decide with the Lord. Your identity and your agency are sacred.”
8. Remember to Reach Out
“In our personal lives, please use AI for logistics and drafts, but not as a substitute for trusted relationships. Set boundaries. If you feel tempted to confide more in a chatbot than in a friend, a parent, or leader, may I invite you to reach out today, now, to a real person who knows and loves you?
“Trust in God and those around you who do know and love you. God knows you better and loves you more than you know or love yourself. This is the reason He gives us each other. That can never be said for an AI chatbot.”
9. The Constancy of Divine Intelligence
“In a world of accelerating technology and artificial intelligence, may we never lose the divine intelligence that matters most—the voice of God. May we listen for His whisper amid the noise, love one another beyond algorithms, and steward creation and the environment with reverence.”
Learn more from Elder Gong in the full video.
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