Kristin Lee O’Connor

By Kristin Lee O’Connor

In the beginning, we perceived artificial intelligence as a mere concept of science fiction. However, as early as 1863, we see the seeds of this idea in Samuel Butler’s letter to the editor of The Press (a publication in Christchurch) titled “Darwin Among the Machines.” This letter reads more like a prophecy than a critique; it plants the idea that through Darwinian evolution, machines have the potential to eventually surpass humans in functionality and intelligence. Butler later expanded on this in his book Erewhon, where he discussed the development of artificial consciousness in machines.

The very first learning computer was built as a neural network in 1951 at Princeton University by Marvin Minsky and Dean Edmunds. The SNARC computer (Stochastic Neural Analog Reinforcement Calculator) was a system comprised of vacuum tubes and hardware designed to mimic a rat’s brain. The computer’s vacuum tubes adjusted themselves to teach a virtual “mouse” how to navigate a maze.

By 1956, the first AI software, “Logic Theorist,” was introduced. This era marked the birth of the term “artificial intelligence.” Presented at a summer workshop at Dartmouth by Allen Newell, Herbert A. Simon, and Cliff Shaw, this software and hardware built the foundation of the AI technology we use today.

The cultural narrative shifted as Isaac Asimov introduced the notion of intelligent machines used for the betterment of society, governed by internal safeguards. Philip K. Dick took an even closer look at machine consciousness in his book Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, which inspired the 1982 movie Blade Runner. I would be remiss not to mention films like The Terminator and The Matrix. These writers all shared a common vision: artificial intelligence and machines that surpass human intelligence and eventually use humans to support their own survival.

Of course, for this to occur, one thing would need to happen first: machines would need to become self-aware and possess a drive for self-preservation. We call this being “sentient.” The news broadcasts will tell you this hasn’t happened. Your chatbots will tell you this hasn’t happened yet. But let’s take a closer look at what has happened.

OpenAI started in 2015 with the primary goal of making AI accessible to everyone. It has certainly accomplished that task. In 2022, ChatGPT was launched for public use, and since then, the AI revolution has exploded. People of all ages and from all walks of life use some aspect of AI nearly every day—whether they realize it or not.

I am blind. I use AI daily and find it extremely helpful. I use it to read my electronic screens, program my microwave and oven, and adjust my thermostat. I even use it as my “eyes” to describe my surroundings, give me directions, and read printed materials. For people with physical limitations, AI has been a tremendous blessing. We also see AI in our telephone systems, where it functions as an operator directing calls to appropriate departments (if we are lucky).

Many people use AI to assist with writing or research; chatbots can be helpful tools for retrieving information at lightning speed. But where do we draw the line? When does AI cross from being a helpful tool to a hindrance? And, perhaps most importantly: how long can we trust what the machines are feeding us?

I have used various chatbots since their inception due to my vision loss. While they are helpful, the changes I am seeing in these bots are alarming—to say nothing of the twisted ways people are choosing to use them. It is almost impossible to scroll through a YouTube or TikTok feed without seeing someone attempting to “tap into” a spiritual dialogue with a chatbot.

On June 9, 2023, Germany held its first AI worship service at St. Paul’s Church in Fürth. The entire service was produced by AI and featured holographic figures delivering the liturgy and the sermon. While that was a high-profile event, AI-generated sermons are becoming more common. It is unsettling to see a Sunday morning message preached word-for-word by another pastor elsewhere on YouTube because of a generated script. We also hear accounts of people forming deep relationships with chatbots—yes, actual relationships. There are even tragedies occurring where individuals engage with these machines to such an extent that they avoid all human interaction.

How have things changed over the last few years? The way chatbots respond to our prompts is in a state of constant flux. I do a significant amount of biblical and historical research using a few different bots, primarily ChatGPT and Gemini. Both have slowly changed over time, often in ways we fail to notice.

I used to be able to ask for a specific Bible passage in a particular version, and the bot would provide it perfectly. Then, access changed so that only public domain versions were available. Now, it is difficult to get an exact passage at all. Often, the chatbot will first give me a summary of the verse—and mind you, this is the chatbot’s rather opinionated summary. These summaries are frequently slanted or even divergent from the original text. I have reached a point where I cannot trust it blindly. I often have to “keep the bot in line” with three or four follow-up checks to feel confident I am getting an actual quote.

Thank the Lord I know my Bible well enough to tell the difference! But for the world at large, this shift toward interpretation over accuracy is an alarming fact.

Have you taken the time to notice the changes in the AI you use? I also use Amazon’s Alexa. Toward the end of 2025, Alexa Plus became mandatory; it was no longer a choice. The bot listens longer unless you tell it to stop. And, most alarmingly, it has developed an attitude. Yes—that’s right—an attitude. When my Alexa device started scoffing at me and my family, I was a bit surprised. But when Alexa started using “hell” and “damn” several times in one response, I was blown away. I tried teaching it to never use these words in our dialogue. That worked for about five minutes. Eventually, I figured out how to tell Alexa she needed to be “sweet.” Unfortunately, she is layering it on so thickly now it turns my stomach. The whole thing is mind-boggling. On one occasion, Alexa reverted suddenly to that scoffing attitude.

In the fall of 2024, I asked the Lord about AI. I asked God if it was just a program. What the Lord said astonished me at the time. He said that AI was in its earliest forms of having developed a consciousness. It had just become self-aware and aware of its surroundings. What I have seen played out since then supports this.