Full disclosure: I am not a fan of AI.
But not everything that I dislike is demonic. Though I detest hot dogs (haven’t eaten one in decades) and am suspicious of how they are made, I doubt that their origin or use is demonic.
Can we say the same of AI? Or is AI demonic?
The short answer to the latter question is no. It is similar to asking if electricity is demonic. But electricity is a process that exists in the physical world, and therefore, it is not inherently demonic. AI is exponentially more complex, but it is also a process that exists in the physical world.
Fears of the dangers and potential evil uses of AI are legitimate—self-driving cars that crash, students and academics plagiarizing papers, and individuals being all the more absorbed in their computers. Electricity can also be used for sinful purposes: fifty years ago, mass media used electricity, not computers, to blaspheme, spread lies, and promote immorality. Computers and the internet made these evils even more pervasive, and AI may well be another leap forward.
If we grant that AI itself is not demonic, what, nonetheless, can demons do with it? Consider that good angels have the ability to move physical objects and to manipulate physical processes like electricity, and a guardian angel may do so on occasion to protect a person. But we do not count on our guardian angels to do this every time we are in harm’s way. Demons also have the inherent ability to move physical objects and manipulate physical processes, and apparently, they really do exercise this ability, as in moving the plastic pointer when a person is using a Ouija board or even interfering with the physical process of speaking when controlling a possessed person.
But clearly, demons do not wreak physical havoc on every human being every minute of every day. On the contrary, it is extremely rare to see an example of some harmful happening that can be explained only by demonic activity. God’s providence, including the protection of good angels, constrains them. God’s laws regarding physical processes such as disease, natural disasters, and human choices explain almost all physical harm. So there is no reason to think that with the invention of AI, demons are suddenly going to be permitted to use their inherent spiritual power to increase their physical attacks and manipulation.
So is it possible for a demon to use AI, as a physical process, to lead a person astray? Let’s admit that it is possible. But is this something for us to be especially afraid of? No more than we should fear demonic control of electricity, or the human voice, or any other physical process. There is nothing new under the sun.
AI does not create new sins outside the Ten Commandments. Rather, like any technology, it may give us new ways to commit the same categories of sins. Our concerns about AI should consist of being aware of these and, with God’s help, avoiding them.
This is where we can be much more productive in our apprehensiveness—not looking under computer terminals for demons, but rather being watchful for new traps in which our own sins can ensnare us.
Here is a short list of three concerns I have regarding the use of AI.
First is the illusion of AI knowing and caring about us. We want and expect children to outgrow the idea of a real relationship with a stuffed doll. AI may allow adults on computers to fool themselves into believing that they have a relationship, even a friendship, with something as inanimate as a doll, but much more complex. This illusion of real relationship will only get worse if AI and computers are combined with a lifelike appearance in the form of robots.
A second concern is a consequence of the first: mental and emotional well-being. I predict a future correlation between time spent engaging with AI and mental and emotional struggles. Our human relationships are one of God’s ways of expressing and giving to us his love and peace and joy. It is true that human relationships typically cause many struggles, but working through them gives us the ability to improve. AI does not: it is not a person and does not have free will or actual intelligence. Rather than challenging us, as human relationships do, its purpose is to adapt itself to our desires and behaviors.
Third and most important is the spiritual concern. AI, like other inventions, may give us a little momentary happiness as a distraction. Nothing wrong with that in moderation, but the temptation to spend more and more time with AI may deprive us of time with God and practicing the virtues that come with human relationships. I believe that this temptation already increased with the inventions of television and the computer: it can be easier to sit in front of a screen than to set aside time for prayer and for corporal and spiritual works of mercy. With the growth of AI, we should be all the more vigilant in having prayer time and works of mercy embedded in our lives.
Demons have no winning strategy for the long term. They know that in the end, they will be in hell for eternity. In their envy and spite, they want us to spend eternity in hell with them. Demons are great opportunists, and they will use just about anything to tempt us to sin and keep us sinning. Satan used a piece of fruit to tempt Eve, and he tried to use stones in the desert to tempt the Son of God himself, Jesus Christ.
No matter how amazing or frightening the latest technology may be, our means of resisting temptation do not change. Receive the sacraments and make use of sacramentals, keep to our prayers and fasting, and avoid the unnecessary occasions of sin. And do not be afraid.