Gary Varvel: Will Artificial Intelligence summon a demon?
My AI essay plus ew Humor Me cartoon
A BIBLICAL VIEW OF AI
In 2014, Elon Musk said, “I think we should be very careful about Artificial Intelligence. If I were to guess what our biggest existential threat is, it’s probably that…with artificial intelligence, we are summoning the demon.”
Hyperbole?
President Trump signed an executive order stating that America was going to be the dominant leader in Artificial Intelligence and then introduced the $100 billion to $500 billion project called “Stargate,” My mind went immediately to Revelation 13. I’ll explain why in a minute.
Technology is neither good nor evil. It depends on how it is used. And since the Bible says we are all sinners, sooner or later, technology will be used for evil.
Allow me to draw your attention to a peculiar verse in the Old Testament. The Bible says in Genesis 11, that after the flood when people started repopulating the earth, they decided to make a name for themselves and build a tower to the heavens. And then God came down to Earth to see the project.
Genesis 11:6 states, “Look!” he said. “The people are united, and they all speak the same language. After this, nothing they set out to do will be impossible for them!”
Notice that God said, “Nothing will be impossible for them?”
So God stopped their project by confusing their language so that they couldn’t communicate. This language barrier delayed the increase in knowledge for millennia. But our generation has overcome the language barrier and we are witnessing the “impossible” things that Genesis 11:6 talked about.
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For thousands of years, people traveled by horse and buggy. But from 1900, to 1969, humans went from horse and buggy to launching men into space. How do you explain that? Exponential growth.
Systems theorist, author, designer, inventor, and futurist, Buckminster Fuller created the ‘knowledge doubling curve.’ He wrote that until 1900, human knowledge was doubling every century. But by the end of World War II, knowledge was doubling every 25 years. Some years later, IBM added to Fuller’s theory and predicted by 2020, knowledge would double every 12 hours because of the internet.
Daniel 12:4 says, “But you, Daniel, keep this prophecy a secret; seal up the book until the time of the end, when many will rush here and there, and knowledge will increase.”
My friend, based on this verse, we are living at the ‘time of the end,’ when God said, ‘many will rush here and there’ (transportation) and ‘knowledge will increase.’ (technology). Both of those things grew exponentially during the 20th century.
Founder of Lamb and Lion Ministries, Dr. David Reagan preached a fascinating sermon a few years ago called the “Exponential Prophecy Curve.” He explains the speed at which the growth in population, advances in medicine and military weapon systems, communications, computers and the internet. All of these things are fulfilling Bible prophecy.
Which brings us to AI and Musk’s legitimate fear.
Revelation 13:14-15, “And with all the miracles he (false prophet) was allowed to perform on behalf of the first beast (antichrist), he deceived all the people who belong to this world. He ordered the people to make a great statue of the first beast, who was fatally wounded and then came back to life.“
15 “He was then permitted to give life to this statue so that it could speak. Then the statue of the beast commanded that anyone refusing to worship it must die.”
Look at that verse again. The statue will have the ability to ‘speak’ and it command that anyone ‘refusing to worship it must die.’
We already have robots with the ability to speak but this one will command that anyone not worshipping it will die. Whether Musk knows Jesus Christ or not, his fears are valid. Now look at what else it will do.
Revelation 13:16-18 says, “He required everyone—small and great, rich and poor, free and slave—to be given a mark on the right hand or on the forehead. 17 And no one could buy or sell anything without that mark, which was either the name of the beast or the number representing his name. 18 Wisdom is needed here. Let the one with understanding solve the meaning of the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. His number is 666.”
AI systems will be interconnected around the world tracking every living person and controlling their purchases. Throughout history, this has been impossible, until our generation.
The Bible prophecy about the ‘beast’s statue’ sounds like AI technology. And it will be used for evil by the antichrist. Which means that AI is another sign we are very close to the return of Jesus Christ. Are you ready to meet Him?
Part 2: Your personal AI agent
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DEVOTIONAL SERIES ON CONTENTMENT
Part 1 - The secret to being content in every circumstance of life
Part 2 - The Biblical keys to braving the roller coaster of life
Right on target with the Scriptures. We are definitely in the End Times now. Israel is fulfilling prophecies right & left!
Thank you for showing us the connection between what is happening with technology and Bible prophecy. My hope is that through your cartoons and your biblical explanations, that people will see the reality of what is happening today and come to Christ.