Beware AI — We are human beings, not robots (June 2026)
“But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, to redeem those under the law,
that we might receive the full rights of sons.” (Galatians 4: 45,
NIV)
Attending a recent webinar offered by the Global Leadership
Summit, I was informed that a recent survey of teens revealed the
following:
- nearly 1 in 5 teens (or 19 percent) reported that they or a
friend have had a romantic relationship with AI
- nearly half (42 percent) had used AI as a “friend”, for mental health support, or to escape real life
- more than 1 in 3 said it was “easier to talk to AI than to their parents”.
These statistics were quoted by a Christian leader in support of the need for the church, and especially
church leaders, to take seriously the challenges and the dangers of allowing AI to shape and disciple new
and future generations.
What the statistics point to is the deep hunger and longing for intimacy, meaning, and purpose that is real
for all people, especially those in the early years of life as adults.
No matter how insulated or isolated people may appear to be, especially in the aftermath of the COVID19
pandemic, all of us yearn for relationships that answer the cry of the human heart: to belong.
Reflecting on the sad reality of those seeking meaning in machines, I am drawn to the centre of God’s
plan and action in redeeming, reclaiming, and restoring a people designed to live in a wonderful,
inspiring, and wholly satisfying relationship with God: God chose to become human! Jesus Christ
became a human being! “When the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman …”
God initiated a new relationship with people who were estranged from Him, Who created us, but from
Whom we had rebelled and gone our own way. Rather than turn us over to ourselves, or worse — rather
than sending a robot to chase us and capture us — God lowered Himself to our level, becoming human.
Jesus was born of a woman, born as a baby, and grew as a man. Jesus lived fully a human life — eating,
drinking, sleeping, walking, speaking, listening, suffering, and dying. He knew what it was to be insulted,
mocked, ridiculed. He experienced betrayal and abandonment. All of this was part of God’s design to
demonstrate His love for us, to draw us by the magnet of His love back to a meaningful and permanent
relationship with God. He is the Father Who adopts us as His sons and daughters and for whom He has
designed a satisfying and everlasting future.
Let us grasp the significance that God did not send a machine, or a robot, or a disembodied spirit to us:
“God sent His Son, born of a woman …”
All people, including Christians, have and will reap some benefits from advances in artificial
intelligence, but AI is not and cannot be the redemption of humanity. God has a far better plan: He
created us in the first instance in His own image? He has come in the person of Jesus to reclaim us for
Himself? and He continues through the presence of the Holy Spirit to transform us into His likeness.
Let us pursue the personal relationship He longs to have with each of us.
Your pastor, a person in relationship with a real Person,
James T. Hurd
