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God vs the Algorithm

God vs the Algorithm

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 Introduction• Imagine a world where everyone is connected. One global language. One algorithm. One system that knows what you want even before you ask. That’s not science fiction—that’s right now. But here’s the question: Are we building something divine… or just another Tower of Babel?”• I’m Brent, and this is episode 49 of The Bible Unplugged. We continue our 3-part series on the Tower of Babel story. The dynamics of creating a tower to heaven never died. The same desire of the people back then lives on today.• Please take a minute to look at the show notes for this episode at PowerLoveandMiracles.com under the Podcast tab.The Background• As we discussed previously, the impact of the Tower of Babel story can easily get lost when reading the list of names in Genesis 11. This 8-verse interlude breaks up the list with a difficult lesson about human pride and motivation.• In this short passage the people of the earth went from being totally unified in language and intent to being scattered throughout the earth with very little in common with each other.• Back then, the people wanted to influence, if not outright manipulate, God’s presence. The tower was their way of demanding that God to come down to them. God’s response was a lesson in why we need divine authority that is more powerful than our ambition.How are We the Same?• The Tower of Babel project was abandoned, but the human motivation for control lives on.• In every age, the same roadmap to the Tower comes back:• Centralize power• Elevate human greatness, and• Create systems that make God controllable, if not optionalThe Rise of the Algorithm• In our current environment, we are building a new and refined version of the Tower of Babel. Artificial Intelligence, AI, can be our greatest blessing or our greatest curse. Which way this goes depends solely on how we, as humans awakened to and enlightened by the direction of the Holy Spirit, utilize AI for the purpose of serving God, not manipulating God.• Today’s Tower of Babel can be defined by three aspects of modern technology:• Big Tech with global platforms that shape and even define language, culture, desire, and behavior• AI systems trained to predict and even control human behavior• What I call “branding culture” – making a name for ourselves has become a digital artform and obsession.• This parallels the Genesis 11 account in a number of ways:• A single global language and culture of data and unified connections between people across the world.• Attempts to manipulate reality- we have the ability to create alternate realities that are indistinguishable from the real world using only a few verbal prompts.• Replacing divine dependence with predictive control – when AI sets schedules, suggests directions for thought, and controls what reality we become aware of, we may lose our perceived need for God.• Paul was led by the Spirit to show us how this could take place. In the book of Romans chapter 1 he writes about what happens when humans give up on God’s truth:• They don’t glorify or give thanks to God and began to see themselves as the final authority• They profess to be wise, but become fools, unable to discern what is real from what is digitally driven.• They give up on the glory of God and worship their own image.• The most poignant message is this: in Romans 1:25 Paul says, “… they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped the creature rather than the Creator….”A Future Echo of Babel• In the book of Revelation chapter 18, we find a description of our desire to replicate the Tower of Babel. Babylon the Great is a metaphor for where this all leads:• A marketplace for souls whose attention is bought and sold• A community of luxury, pride, and control• A place where all nations are deceived• Babylon in the book of Revelation is the spiritual descendant of the Tower of Babel- a man-made world order that tries to replace God with wealth, control, and power.What Do We Learn from This?• As with any human endeavor, what starts off as useful innovation often leads to idolatry: the technology becomes the focus of devotion, not the benefit to humans.• We try to hold on to an illusion of control. As the people of Babel did, we seek safety in numbers, connection with everyone, and control over attention. But at what cost? There are potential losses of:• Privacy• Freedom• Worship• Identity• We begin to serve the system rather than the Savior. We find, though, that any system we build that doesn’t glorify God eventually fails. We learn that just because a system works by making life better doesn’t mean it’s holy.• The ultimate disruption of Babel wasn’t the end of the tower project—it was Pentecost. In Acts 2, God restores common language so that everyone could understand the Gospel message. Pentecost was the starting point of universal connection with heaven on God’s terms...
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