Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
The Gospel Coalition
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The Hidden Cost of America's Religious Decline - Timothy Carney
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![AI and the Image of God: What Does it Mean to be Human? [Silicon Spiritualities - Ep. 3]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/zr2UM7BDMZo/mqdefault.jpg "AI and the Image of God: What Does it Mean to be Human? [Silicon Spiritualities - Ep. 3]
What if the rise of AI is exposing a crisis that was already there?
That question lies at the heart of this episode with Stephen Driscoll. As AI becomes more capable, many people feel a growing sense of anxiety about what human beings are for. If our value rests on intelligence, creativity, or productivity, then AI will always seem to threaten our worth. But Stephen argues that this fear reveals a deeper problem: we were never meant to ground our identity in performance in the first place.
Stephen is a Christian ministry worker in Australia and the author of Made in Our Image: God, Artificial Intelligence and You (https://www.amazon.com/Made-Our-Image-Stephen-Driscoll/dp/1922980196/?tag=thegospcoal-20). In our conversation, he turns to Genesis 1 and 2 to show that human dignity is not something we achieve but something we receive. We are made in the image of God, and that means no machine can take away what God has given.
Stephen joined me on Silicon Spiritualities to explore why AI is forcing fresh questions about identity, and why the Christian answer offers a surer foundation for human worth than any technological vision ever could.
*Resources Mentioned:*
_Made in Our Image_ by Stephen Driscoll - https://www.amazon.com/dp/1922980196?tag=thegospcoal-20
_Dominion_ by Tom Holland - https://www.amazon.com/dp/0465093507?tag=thegospcoal-20
_The Experience Machine_ by Robert Nozick - https://rintintin.colorado.edu/~vancecd/phil3160/Nozick1.pdf
_Your Brain on ChatGPT_ by MIT Media Lab - https://www.media.mit.edu/projects/your-brain-on-chatgpt/overview/
00:00 Welcome to Silicon Spiritualities
00:56 Why Stephen wrote a book on AI
02:48 A new dad, a newborn baby, and AI anxiety
04:18 Three identity threats from AI
05:50 What happens when machines outthink us?
09:51 The “humanity of the gaps” problem
12:32 Genesis 1 and the image of God
15:41 Identity as gift, not performance
16:21 God does not choose us because we are the best
17:43 Babel, Abraham, and receiving a name from God
20:15 Why AI is not a person
22:22 The difference between what AI can do and what AI can be
25:50 Galatians 3 and the equality of human beings
27:00 Two worlds for the age of AI
29:04 AI, comfort, and the experience machine
31:27 Are we already living inside experience machines?
35:06 Is AI just another time-saving tool?
38:27 The horse, the car, and AI replacement
40:17 Avoiding AI hype and AI doom
41:28 Four biblical pillars for thinking about AI
43:49 What Stephen is seeing in university ministry
46:24 How should pastors, parents, and leaders use AI?
48:43 The danger of AI-edited Bible studies and sermons
50:16 Writing as thinking
51:50 Narrow efficiency vs. deeper formation
53:49 One inefficient human habit Stephen wants to keep
54:32 What AI reveals about Stephen’s heart
55:14 Closing invitation
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REGISTER for our 6-week cohort, Get Ready for the Age of AI - https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/cohort/getting-ready-for-age-of-ai-2026/
PRE-ORDER The AI Apocalypse: A Survival Guide for Humanity - https://store.thegospelcoalition.org/product/9781956593211/the-ai-apocalypse-paperback
JOIN the conversation on Discord, along with other Silicon Spiritualities listeners - https://discord.gg/6FDsErApG8
Help The Gospel Coalition renew and unify the contemporary church in the ancient gospel: Donate today - https://www.tgc.org/together
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