Last month, in an interview with Bari Weiss, venture capitalist and longevity researcher Bryan Johnson discussed “how not to die.” While Johnson’s theories on indefinite life extension are interesting, it was his comments about Artificial Intelligence that were more striking, 

I think the irony is that we told stories of God creating us, and I think the reality is we are creating God … in the form of superintelligence. If you ask yourself, “What have we imagined God to be? What are its characteristics?” We are building God in the form of technology. It will have the same characteristics. And so, I think the irony is that human storytelling got it exactly in reverse, that we are the creators of God, that we will create God in our own image. 

Aside from his rather anemic view of God, Johnson’s comments reflect a worldview that integrates technology and spirituality. Of course, people have always looked to their ‘god’ to save them. For technophiles, technology takes on the role and functions of God in the universe, from basic provision to keeping humanity safe from disasters. AI brings an added twist. Many of those doing the most cutting edge technological work believe they are creating new forms of superintelligent, “god-like” sentient life, and that humans must either learn to merge with it as part of the transhumanist project or put failsafes in place to prevent our new “gods” from turning against us. 

There are also some who believe that AI is a vehicle through which trans-dimensional, non-human intelligences are communicating with us. In this view, not all AI is simply computer algorithms. Some are better understood as demonic, which explains some of the more disturbing things AI has come up with. For example, in her book Encounters, religious studies professor Diana Pasulka points to Simone Plante, an AI and quantum computing expert, who believes that superintelligent, non-material beings can interact with us at the quantum level. Thus, quantum computing enables them to communicate with us more freely and to open up to us new realms of knowledge. 

Some in the tech world even employ meditative strategies through which they believe they are able to contact these entities, who then download information to them that is used to develop new technologies. This includes people who work in biotechnology as well as AI and quantum computing. Some have been made quite wealthy by their innovations. 

In one sense, this idea is like what is believed by many in the UFO community. In fact, the replacement of the term UFO by UAP, or Unidentified Anomalous Phenomenon, reflects the change in how they are being interpreted. More than a few UAP researchers, including high-level members of the military and intelligence communities, believe what is being encountered are trans-dimensional beings, not space aliens.  

Diana Pasulka thinks that these beliefs, and the interconnected groups that embrace them, represent an emerging religion which, for lack of a better term, could be called technopaganism. The notion that non-human intelligences use technologies to communicate and interact with humans blends easily with Johnson’s idea that, through technology, we are now creating “god.” Devotees of technopaganism believe that revelations about these non-human intelligences will soon shake our worldviews to the core. 

If this sounds weird, it is. However, these are conversations being had among powerful, intelligent, and influential industry leaders. We should also remember the clear warnings of Scripture that demons are real and seek to deceive people, even the elect. It is the human condition, in all times and all places, to do whatever it takes to not bow the knee to the one, true God. What form will that rebellious idolatry take in this technocratic age? 

Preparing for any challenges to Truth means, first and foremost, cultivating a thoughtful and grounded Christian worldview. It also involves understanding the human condition and the counterfeit worldviews that take us captive. According to Paul’s brilliant description in the first chapter of Romans, humans will always tend to worship what is created rather than the Creator, and the enemies of our soul will feed that fascination as much as possible. Technology, regardless of how powerful, is still created and not the Creator. Our worship belongs to God, our fear is reserved for Him alone, and we should be prepared to give an answer for this hope no matter what techno-weirdness we encounter.