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AI and Humanity
What's the Church's role in conversations about humanity's relationship with technology? (Shutterstock Photo)
Special to United Methodist Insight
Don’t be conformed to the patterns of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your minds so that you can figure out what God’s will is — what is good and pleasing and mature.
– Romans 12:2 (CEB*)
There is something I cannot hide… my love for science fiction. Perhaps you would use another term to refer to me (nerd, geek, sad). I cannot help it. My two earliest memories are: 1) my mother taking me to school (she was a teacher) with her before the school year started and 2) R2-D2 being shot by the Jawas in Tatooine. That was it… I have been hooked ever since! Yet today I want to share with you something that has been in my mind now for some time. What I am about to share with you is not fiction; it is happening and has the power to transform the reality of our world.
Semiconductors keep advancing exponentially as Moore’s law predicted (roughly every two years, the number of transistors on microchips will double.
…, this phenomenon suggests that computational progress will become significantly faster, smaller, and more efficient over time). 1 Yet the “next step for computers is to leave the digital world and store information in atoms. Thus giving way to the age of quantum computers. In December 2024, Google uncovered its quantum computer called Willow. According to researchers, Willow was able to “complete one particular problem in five minutes, while the same task would have taken today's supercomputers 10 septillion years… to finish.” 2 Tesla3 and DARPA4 (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) are developing their own versions of a "neuralink" – a device that connects directly to the brain to control objects. In the case of Tesla, it is designed for quadriplegic patients or any other person who has lost physical capabilities. In the case of DARPA, it is developed for military defense.
It is quite probable that we are the “in-between” generation. A generation that will be the last to live solely on planet earth. NASA and other private companies are working to send humans to Mars by the 2040s. 5 The field of robotics and AI is advancing very rapidly. As in any other field, opinions vary as to the full impact of automation in the world and particularly our country. Some predict that “roughly 25 percent of U.S. jobs are at risk of being automated by the late 2020s.” From the more “optimistic” sector of developers, they think that “AI— it’s not going to reduce the number of people that work, It’s going to require people to retool their skill set.” 6 Other predictions however estimate that about “half of the jobs in the USA will be performed by robots/AI within the following decade7.
Finally, and perhaps the most significant technological advancement of all is the one described by Ray Kurzweil. Kurzweil, in his 2024 book titled “The Singularity Is Nearer: When We Merge With AI,” asserts that as early as 2029 technology would have reached the point where humans and computers will be able to merge. Humans will be able to expand the “neo-cortex,” which is thought to be responsible for the neuronal computations of attention, thought, perception and episodic memory, and in essence become limitless. By the 2030s technology, according to Kurzweil and many other sources, humans will be able to offload their consciousness into an AI and bioengineer a body and achieve, in essence, immortality8
Erasing the boundary
Kurzweil asserts that by the 2030s and with the help of nanobots, our brains will be augmented. Kurzweil goes on to make this claim: “the future is clear, minds based only on the organic substrates of biological brains can’t hope to keep up with minds augmented by nonbiological precision nano- engineering.” 9 Based on the latest books (published from 2016 to 2024) and articles (published in 2024 and 2025) I have read, point to the 2030s as the “turning point” decade for AI, computers and robotics. While there are still some technological barriers, scientists agree that the 2030s will be a decade where the singularity (computer programs become so advanced that AI transcends human intelligence, potentially erasing the boundary between humanity and computers) can be or will be achieved.
I think Phyllis Tickle’s observation in her 2008 book "The Great Emergence," that we’re currently in the midst of a major inflection point that occurs about every 500 years, is correct. Socially, politically and technologically, we are in a moment of great change. Just as reformations in the past, where a new theological framework was formulated, the time has arrived for the Church to re-think itself and build the new theological foundations for future generations.
What do I mean? Let me provide two examples.
The Apostle Paul became the early theologian that gave us a language to understand Jesus and the consequences of his death and resurrection. Concepts like: salvation, righteousness, grace, faith are further by Paul’s letters. Jumping 1,500 years, Martin Luther provides an entire new approach to the understanding of God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Luther’s theology becomes the foundation for practically all Protestant denominations (and non-denominational churches as well) until today.
Paul’s words “Don’t be conformed to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds so that you can figure out what God’s will is—what is good and pleasing and mature” (Romans 12:2) take a more pressing meaning if we compare them against the realities we are already living in and the reality our children and grandchildren will inherit. On the one hand and at the most basic level, these technological developments are pushing us to ask the question like: what does it mean to be human? What makes us, us? We will have to decide if we are going to be “human fundamentalists” (meaning being completely opposed to any non-biological “enhancements”) or we will allow ourselves to be “augmented” by “non-biological" elements.
Seeming limitlessness and immortality
In a world of seeming limitlessness and immortality, what is God’s role in people’s lives? In a society with interstellar capabilities, what does the “Lordship of Jesus” mean?
On the ethical side, will the opportunities to “re-tool” oneself be open to all people or, based on the history of our country, harder to grasp or closed to people of color, women and/or the poor or any race or ethnicity? How many people will be able/capable to re-tool themselves? Kurzweil asserts that these technologies will, eventually, reach all people around the world (consider cellphones). Yet, he does present a scenario where “toxic politics” could prevent certain people/countries from getting access to this technology or use these technologies against other people. In her 2024 book titled “Imagination: A Manifesto,” Ruha Benjamin questions the “imaginations” that have shaped our world. Imaginations arising from powerful, white, European or European-descent men usually dictate the future of the world.
In an interview given to NPR, BryceTech CEO Carissa Christensen, when asked why Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk are spending billions of dollars to develop rocket technology, said: “[it] is in large part about these two guys’ legacies and their visions for humanity10… Jeff Bezos talks about colonies orbiting the Earth, and Elon Musk, of course, talks about Mars as a destination.”11 Who is driving the imagination(s) in our world? Will these imaginations ultimately be good for most people or are they satisfying ego, power acquisition and financial gain? In these imaginations, what is the role of the “common people?” What is the future for us, our children and grandchildren?
Companies, scientists, physicists, and technology entrepreneurs are already having ethical conversations about these topics. Yet I have not heard or read what we the Church think about any of these matters. I think it is imperative for us as the Church to be ready with our own positions and not necessarily to have answers, but perhaps more importantly, to question the imaginations propelling these advancements.
I also think we do not need to recreate another "Galileo vs the Pope" (religion vs science) scenario. Yet we the church most discern God’s imagination for humanity under these circumstances. Is our current theological framework enough to proclaim an alternative to the imaginations of the “tech bros?” Or should we be working, through prayerful discernment and holy conferencing, on a new theological structure that outlines in concrete and powerful ways God’s imagination for our world and all creation?
In the conversations I have had with God, there is a stirring in my heart. This stirring points to the fact that we are ill-prepared for the reality that is impending. I think we need to lead this conversation and create or build a new theological grounding. You may be asking, “well, Carlos, what is that new theological framework we should be building?” My initial hints/hunches/Spirit-led thoughts, point to the development of a theology that fleshes out the kingdom of God on Earth as it is in heaven. The rule of God seeks justice, equity, equality, dignity, wellbeing and peace for all. The rule of God is underscored by hope and not by a misplaced sense of patriotism, ego, power, or financial gain. This rule is God’s rule and not the rule of an oligarch, pathetic pseudo-celebrity, or “tech bro.”
The rule of God transcends time and space. The rule goes with us as we venture to other planets. It's a rule of which we humans, despite our best efforts, will never be in charge. The rule of God brings true ultimate peace, love, and justice to creation, and without God’s guidance this reality is truly unattainable. The rule of God positions us in our rightful place as creatures and not gods.
“Don’t be conformed to the patterns of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your minds so that you can figure out what God’s will is — what is good and pleasing and mature.”
– Romans 12:2.
To conclude, I think Bob Dylan's song is still very much appropriate for us today:
Come gather 'round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the water
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You'll be drenched to the bone
If your time to you is worth savin'
And you better start swimmin'
Or you'll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin’.
– Bob Dylan, "The Times They Are A-Changin'" (Official Video)
1 See, “Chip War” by Chris Miller Simon and Schuster Inc., 2022.
2 https://www.npr.org/2024/12/11/nx-s1-5223486/google-new-chip-quantum-computing
3 https://neuralink.com
4 https://www.darpa.mil/research/programs/next-generation-nonsurgical-neurotechnology
5 https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/11/technology/elon-musk-spacex- mars.html#:~:text=NASA%20doesn't%20expect%20to,that%20is%20impossible%20to%20breathe.
6 https://www.theatlantic.com/sponsored/pwc-2019/ai-building-which-jobs-will-become-obsolete/3148/
7 https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/01/what-jobs-will-the-robots-take/283239/
8 See. “The Singularity Is Nearer. When We Merge With AI” by Ray Kurzweil, 2024.
9 Kurzweil, 2024, 8:41
10 Emphasis mine.
11 https://www.npr.org/2025/01/16/nx-s1-5261060/bezos-and-musk-launching-massive-rockets-in-billionaires-space-race
* Scripture quotations from the COMMON ENGLISH BIBLE. © Copyright 2011 COMMON ENGLISH BIBLE. All rights reserved. Used by permission. (www.CommonEnglishBible.com).
The Rev. Carlos Ramirez
The Rev. Carlos Ramirez serves as director of connectional ministries for the Oklahoma Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church. This article is adapted from a talk he gave recently to the Oklahoma cabinet.