Artificial intelligence (AI) was a hot topic at the first-ever Centennial Impact Summit, titled “Theology, Technology, and Anthropology: Reclaiming Embodiment in a Brave New World.” Held at Colorado Christian University in Lakewood, Colorado, on Sept. 26 and 27, the summit explored the impacts of technology on humans, culture, and spirituality.
During a panel discussion on Saturday (Sept. 27), author Brad Littlejohn, podcaster Isabel Brown, and AI pioneer Tim Estes shared diverse perspectives about the effects and opportunities of technology. With AI becoming so pervasive, they said, Christians must wisely steward its creation and use.
Brad Littlejohn: AI Fails at Emotional Support
Brad Littlejohn, a director at American Compass and an adviser for the Digital Childhood Alliance, spoke about humanity’s need for companionship, affirmation, and satisfaction from meaningful work. Referencing the Creation account in Genesis, he noted that Adam’s God-given job wasn’t fulfilling until he could share it with Eve, his fellow image-bearer of God.
With today’s screen-reliant careers, Littlejohn explained, employees can’t step back and enjoy the satisfaction of blessing others through their work. Sending emails and uploading documents lacks any face-to-face, visible sign that you have blessed your boss and served other image-bearers. Likewise, social media has perverted relationships, stripping humans of the “human quality of seeing faces light up with joy” during interactions.
After two decades of technology and a dozen years of social media, people are “starved of someone to stand across from us,” Littlejohn added, and now AI is trying to fill that role. The quick adoption of AI—with 43% of adults worldwide using it for emotional support—shows that people want to be affirmed, Littlejohn said, yet the technology wasn’t designed for that purpose.
RELATED: John Stonestreet: God’s Image-Bearers Must Defend Human Dignity
The author and former fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center warned Christians against letting AI hijack their brains. The dangers can’t be cured with “guardrails” but require reconsideration and “cultural repentance,” said Littlejohn.
