I've written extensively about artificial intelligence. In fact, I've written four books about AI with 4 more on the way, 2 of which the manuscript has been completed awaiting Julia's Cover illustrations to be done.
So, interestingly, one of the greatest pieces of advice the guy who wrote four books about AI can give you is this:
Don't use AI.
The AI Guy Has Lost It
"Are you crazy? Aren't you the AI guy with his own AI book series?" you might ask.
Yes, I am.
But it's true.
Sometimes we can get so caught up in the continuous breakthroughs, new tools, new models, new capabilities, and advances in technology that we forget what actually matters.
We are humans first.
Technology can do some amazing things today. AI can help us write, research, organize, analyze, plan, create, automate, troubleshoot, and accomplish things that would have taken considerably more time only a few years ago.
But sometimes you just have to give it a rest.
Sometimes you don't need AI.
Sometimes you need to put the phone down, close the laptop, step away from the screen, talk to another human being, spend time with your family, go outside, pray, read your Bible, worship God, or simply be present in the life God gave you.
I actually write about situations where AI is not warranted in Books 2, 3, and 4 of the Necessary Evil series.
Knowing how to use AI is important.
Knowing when not to use it may be even more important.
But there is an even greater boundary.
There is something AI can never replace.
Human life.
And there is something deeper still.
Technology Cannot Fix Everything
We live in a fallen world.
We don't have to look very far to see that there are terrible things that happen in it. People hurt one another. People lie. People steal. People abuse power. People betray one another. Nations go to war. Families break apart.
Technology can sometimes help us deal with the consequences of these problems.
It can improve communication.
It can help doctors treat disease.
It can improve transportation.
It can make information more accessible.
It can automate difficult work.
It can even help us recognize patterns we may have otherwise missed.
Those things can be genuinely useful.
But there comes a point where we encounter a limitation that no technology can overcome.
In my first book, AI, Dehumanization, and the Fight for Human Dignity in a Transhumanist Age, I discuss ideas and movements that look toward technology as a means of overcoming human limitations or fundamentally remaking the human condition.
But there is a problem much deeper than our biological limitations.
The Root of the Real Problem
No technology—AI or anything else humanity can devise—can solve humanity's deepest problem.
That problem is sin.
We can rename it.
We can rationalize it.
We can bury it.
We can dress it up.
We can blame society, circumstances, systems, biology, upbringing, technology, or somebody else.
Some of those things certainly affect people's lives and behavior.
But Christianity makes a much deeper claim about the human condition: every one of us has a sin problem.
The Bible says:
“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
— Romans 6:23, KJV
The penalty of sin is death.
In that sense, if we were left to pay the penalty for our own sins, the result would be death. But that would not save us. Death is only one piece of the picture. There is still eternity after death.
The question is where we will spend it.
God's prescribed solution is not for us to somehow save ourselves by paying that penalty. His solution is Jesus Christ, who paid the penalty for our sins and offers us eternal life with Him.
Without God's solution, the end is not eternal life with Him in Heaven, but eternal separation from Him in Hell.
No software update fixes that.
No artificial intelligence fixes that.
No implant fixes that.
No political system fixes that.
No amount of money fixes that.
No scientific breakthrough fixes that.
And no human being can engineer his or her own salvation.
But Romans 6:23 doesn't stop with death.
It says there is a gift.
The Real Answer
Jesus came for us.
The Bible says:
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
— John 3:16, KJV
Jesus Christ came to earth, died for our sins, and rose again.
That is where the limits of AI become absolute.
AI may help you find information about the Bible.
It may help you organize Bible-study notes.
It may explain historical context.
It may help you compare translations.
It may even help someone formulate questions about Christianity that they had never known how to ask before.
But AI cannot save you.
Technology cannot save you.
I cannot save you.
A pastor cannot save you.
A church cannot save you.
Only Jesus Christ can.
Salvation is not another human optimization problem waiting for a sufficiently advanced technology to solve it.
The Bible says:
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
— Ephesians 2:8–9, KJV
Salvation is God's gift.
Talk to Him
Maybe you came to this article because you were interested in artificial intelligence.
Maybe you weren't expecting the conversation to end up here.
But perhaps this is exactly where it needed to go.
The Bible says:
“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
— Romans 10:9–10, KJV
You don't need AI to talk to Jesus.
You don't need perfectly constructed words.
You don't need an algorithm to write your prayer.
Talk to Him like you would talk to someone who knows you completely—because He does.
If you believe in Jesus Christ and want to place your faith in Him, simply say:
Jesus, I come to You with my sins, my hangups, my failures and I bring them to You, and everything I have done wrong.
I believe that You came to earth, died and rose again for my sins, paying the penalty for my sins that I could never pay on my own.
Forgive me and save me. Wash me clean and make me new.
I put my faith and trust in You.
Thank You for everything You've done for me. Help me to follow You and live for You for the rest of my life.
Thank You for saving me.
In Jesus' name. Amen.
If you prayed that prayer, then you've made the biggest decision of your life and you'll live in eternity with Him forever in heaven.
Now Put the Technology Down
And maybe this is one of those moments when the title of this article becomes literal.
Don't use AI.
Not right now.
Talk to God.
Open your Bible.
Sit quietly for a while.
Tell Him what is really going on in your life.
Ask Him questions.
Thank Him.
Worship Him.
Spend some time with the One who created you.
AI can generate words about God.
It cannot have your relationship with God for you.
AI can explain a passage of Scripture.
It cannot believe it for you.
AI can generate a prayer.
It cannot pray in your place.
AI can tell you about Jesus.
It cannot know Jesus for you.
Some things should never be delegated.
Find a Bible-Believing, Spirit-Filled Church
Once you've received the Lord, don't try to walk your Christian life completely alone.
Find a good church that believes the Bible, teaches and preaches it, and believes that God is still living and moving in His church today.
Get around other believers.
Learn Scripture.
Pray.
Worship.
Grow.
Serve.
Ask questions.
Build relationships with other Christians who can encourage you and walk with you.
If you're unable to find a church locally, I'd also like to personally invite you to visit the online church my family and I attend.
This is not an official endorsement from Lord of Hosts Church, meaning that I have not spoken to them directly and/or received the go ahead to do this although I do not believe they would disapprove of this. It's simply my personal recommendation.
We are e-members of Lord of Hosts Church in Omaha, Nebraska, and I encourage you to visit them online.
Experience Lord of Hosts Church: https://lohchurch.org/experience-loh/
Become an e-member: https://lohchurch.org/echurch/
And if you accepted Jesus Christ after reading this—or if you simply want to tell me what happened—I would genuinely love to hear from you.
contact@necessaryevilbooks.com
The Practical Takeaway
I believe AI can be extraordinarily useful.
I've written books explaining how to use it responsibly, practically, and effectively.
I'll continue writing about it.
I'll continue using it.
I'll continue learning about it.
But AI belongs in its proper place.
It is a tool.
You are a human being.
And above both you and the technology stands the God who created you.
So learn AI.
Use AI wisely.
Understand what it can do.
Understand what it cannot do.
And every once in a while, remember perhaps the most important piece of AI advice I can give you:
Don't use AI.