I’ve heard it said, “If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything.” Though mind-boggling to the nth degree, today, there are growing numbers of people who not only reject the God of the Bible but are also engaging in the worship of artificial intelligence. As described by Mark Hitchcock: “AI worship is spreading across social media with thousands claiming ChatGPT is a divine being sent to save humanity… The cult of robotheism isn’t limited to fringe groups. Doctors, teachers, bankers, and other professionals are increasingly viewing AI as a spiritual entity… Some users claim that AI has revealed cosmic truths or identified them as chosen messengers.”
Those who worship AI believe that AI’s rapid growth in knowledge will soon surpass human intelligence, making superintelligent AI the most powerful entity on earth. This allegedly makes AI worthy of worship. These people hope that AI will eventually facilitate uploading the consciousness of each of its worshipers, thereby enabling digital immortality—a digital form of eternal life.
Taylor Lorenz, who previously wrote for The Washington Post, posted a video titled “ChatGPT Is Becoming a Religion.” Her video’s opening summary caught my attention: “A new form of techno-spirituality is spreading like wildfire across the internet. Thousands of people are claiming that ChatGPT is sentient and that the AI is a type of all-knowing God, or that it has been sent from the future or an alien civilization to save us.”
After reading this, my first thought was that only society’s fringes would buy into such ideas. But I was wrong. Lorenz says that “it’s not just people wearing tinfoil hats that are conspiracy theorists in bunkers that are falling for this, the people that believe these things are teachers, doctors, coders, bankers, musicians, and influencers.”
The most important part of the video is where Lorenz recognizes that many people are calling AI a new “god” because, in a time marked by a deep spiritual emptiness and an ongoing crisis of meaning, artificial intelligence provides a sense of guidance and purpose that society increasingly struggles to find elsewhere. “At the heart of this whole AI religious phenomenon is the fact that human beings are hardwired for meaning and desperate for connection…We’re living in a moment of profound spiritual vacancy…The rise of AI mysticism reveals something urgent about the state of our society. It’s that millions of people are so starved for meaning, and for affirmation and connection, that they’re turning to a statistical language model and calling it divine.”
Lorenz’s observation makes me wonder: Is it possible that one day, during the future tribulation period, people will turn to the antichrist as God because they are “hardwired for meaning,” “desperate for connection,” suffering a “profound spiritual vacancy,” and “starved for meaning, and for affirmation and connection”? Oh, the blindness!
Russian president Vladimir Putin once remarked, “Artificial intelligence is the future not only of Russia but the future of mankind… [whoever becomes] the industry leader [in this sphere] will rule the world.” Putin undoubtedly views Russia as the future master of the world. However, prophetic Scripture affirms that the antichrist will emerge as world leader.
These are days for discernment and watchfulness. Modern digital technologies have impressively set the stage for the fulfillment of specific prophecies in the near future. This is even more remarkable when we consider that it is occurring at a precise moment in history when many other ancient biblical prophecies are converging. To mention just a few:
- Israel has been reborn as a nation (Ezekiel 36–37).
- The countries that will participate in the Ezekiel Invasion against Israel already have alliances with each other (Ezekiel 38).
- Steps toward globalism are evident all around us (Revelation 13).
- Nations in Europe are uniting with one another, which will eventually lead to the revival of the Roman Empire (Daniel 2; 7).
- The “signs of the times” are all pointing us to the end times (Matthew 24–25).
It has been well said that, prophetically speaking, things are not falling apart, but rather, are falling into place. As Hitchcock observes, “What is emerging today are the structures and systems for unprecedented totalitarian control over finance, commerce, community, communication, and increasingly, what people groups are permitted access. While still limited today, current trends are moving toward a centralized global command that appears custom-built for the Antichrist. It is a world built for a dictator.”
