As It Is Written

As noted in the essay above, AI’s dangers are not rooted in some sci-fi surge toward superintelligence, but in its profound amorality, amplifying whatever human intentions (good or bad) feed into it. The real safeguard isn’t smarter tech, but deeper human moral formation, something only transcendent truth can reliably provide. The proposed path forward resonates deeply: making more Christians isn’t the answer. We need Christians not shaped by rote doctrinal evangelism or institutional revival. Instead, we need to recover the principles and values that drew great Christian thinkers like Augustine, Aquinas, Anselm, Pascal, or C.S. Lewis to faith—those timeless anchors against materialism, nihilism, and unchecked human appetite.

Contemporary Christianity often struggles as a “polemic against materialism” because, in many expressions, it has accommodated too much to consumer culture, prosperity theology, and/or therapeutic theologies, diluting Christianity’s historical counter-cultural edge. The result? It can feel like just another lifestyle brand in a marketplace of meanings. So, what must Christians do to counter AI’s potential harms—harms that stem from deploying an amoral tool in a morally drifting society?

1. Reclaim Moral Formation as the Church’s Primary Mission
   AI exposes our society’s “moral de-skilling”: we outsource judgment to algorithms, eroding the virtues needed to wield power wisely. The Church’s unique role is to cultivate what AI cannot—conscience, empathy, and intuition grounded in transcendent good. This means prioritizing discipleship that forms character: Scripture-soaked prayer, sacramental community, practices of self-denial, justice, and mercy. As Proverbs reminds us, “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom”—the very wisdom AI lacks.
2. Teach Principles Over Mere Doctrines
   Rather than leading with creedal formulas (which can feel abstract or tribal today), start with the lived principles that motivated history’s greatest Christian minds:
   • Augustine’s restless heart: The recognition that finite things (wealth, pleasure, tech) cannot satisfy our infinite longing—only God (or just the values He promotes) can. In an AI age promising endless optimization and distraction, this counters hedonic materialism head-on.
   • Aquinas’s teleological vision: Everything has a proper end; humans flourish by ordering desires toward the Highest Good. AI as a tool must serve human dignity and the common good, not efficiency or profit alone.
   • Lewis’s Tao (natural law): Universal moral truths—justice, truthfulness, courage, magnanimity—are objective, not invented. Society needs these “first principles” to constrain AI ethically; without them, we get biased systems reflecting fragmented human whims.

   By teaching these as rational, humanly compelling responses to existence’s big questions (Why do we feel guilt? Why chase meaning? Why resist tyranny?), Christianity regains its intellectual and moral authority. It becomes a persuasive alternative to secular materialism, not just a competing dogma.

3. Engage Actively in AI’s Development and Use: Christians can’t retreat into Luddite fear or uncritical embrace. We need “seats at the table”—engineers, ethicists, policymakers shaped by these principles. Advocate for AI aligned with human dignity: fairness in algorithms, safeguards against manipulation/dehumanization, equitable access. The Church can model wise stewardship: using AI for good (e.g., translation for missions, aid distribution) while rejecting uses that erode soul-formation (e.g., replacing pastoral care with chatbots).
4. Live as a Counter-Cultural Witness
   Ultimately, the most powerful “more Cowbell” is embodied: communities where people find deeper joy in simplicity, generosity, and relationship than in tech-enhanced consumption. When Christians demonstrate lives ordered to higher values—resisting algorithmic addiction, prioritizing persons over productivity—we offer a lived polemic against materialism that no argument alone can match.

Converting en masse may not be viable today, but attracting seekers through intellectual honesty and moral vitality is. By looking back to those formative thinkers—not as relics, but as guides to human flourishing—we equip Christianity to steer AI (and society) toward good rather than harm. The Church’s voice isn’t just needed; in this amoral tech era, it’s irreplaceable. Let’s make it heard, not through louder denunciation, but through wiser, more principled living.