The Ethics of AI – Living with Wisdom in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

Speaker A00:00:00

We're living in the age of AI but as Christians, the real question is, will we let this technology shape our faith? Or better, will our faith shape how we use technology? That's a tough question, but that's the question we have to ask today.Because the truth is, artificial intelligence isn't just coming. It's already here. It's all around us. There are chat bots out there answering our questions.Algorithms all over the Internet decide what we see, when we see it, and how we see it. We've even got cars that drive themselves. My car drives itself.And I gotta be honest with you, my wife doesn't like that, but I think it's pretty cool. But of course, with all of that new technology, we got struggles, too.I got friends and family members, parents who are saying, you know, I wonder, Ralph, are my kids using AI to cheat on homework? Are they still learning anything? I've got friends and colleagues and workers who fear that a machine is going to replace their job.And I've even got some believers who've reached out to the show and said, ralph, wait a second. Should sermons even be machine written at all? Which leads us to some tough questions. Because the truth is where we are with AI right now.We got to ask this question. If AI can write a sermon, do we still need pastors? And you might be a pastor listening right now, like, whoa, Second, what are you saying, Ralph?Think about this one. If a machine can mimic prayer, is it really prayer anymore? Or is it just data strung together? I bet you never thought of that, have you?Yeah, it hit me like that, too. Because the truth is, in the end, technology promises convenience. Yes, it's super convenient, but does it tempt us to trade our wisdom for shortcuts?We're gonna have a valuable discussion today because we need to talk about this AI and how we balance that with biblical truth. Feeling lost in today's headlines, seeking God's truth for our chaotic culture. Welcome to Truth Unveiled with Ralph.We'll cut through the noise, guiding you to biblical discernment for your faith, your finances, and your life. Now here's Ralph Estep Jr. Thank you for joining me again this week on Truth Unveiled with Ralph. My name is Ralph. I'm an accountant.I'm a business coach. But bigger than all of those things, I'm a follower of Jesus. And I thought, I need to start there because you need to understand where my heart is.And every week I do this show because my goal is to balance culture and biblical truth, because the truth is culture. Throwing so many things at us. And AI is just one of those things. But we have to make sure we're anchored in biblical truth.So let's get into today's struggle together. Now, I usually start with a question, but today I got several questions all about AI, and I thought, let's just add these all together.Let's start with the first question. This is what a listener asked me this week. Said, ralph, I use AI for my business. Am I dishonoring God by depending on it instead of my own skills?I'll talk about that today because it's a really great question, and it's a question I've had to face myself as a business owner. Another one wrote this. If AI gets smarter than us, I don't know if that's possible, but I guess a lot of people think it is.Will it make faith irrelevant? Wow. Now, that's a deep question if you think about it.And one more question that we're going to cover today, and that's how do I know when I'm using technology as a tool versus making it an idol? Now, let me tell you, when I read that question, that gave me goosebumps, because it's such an important question.And it's a slippery slope, isn't it? See, because tech presents some interesting challenges for us. So let's jump right into our contrast. Let's talk about culture.You know, I always like to talk about culture on this show. And here's the contrast we need to start with. Culture is telling us all around us, hey, smarter tech is smarter humanity.It screams at us progress and efficiency and inevitability that these machines are going to be smarter than us. They're going to save our lives. They're going to make our lives so much better. They're going to make our lives so much more hopeful.And the truth is, there are people living in that reality right now. There are people that I've met just recently. The only interactions they have are with AI.They don't even have friends and family members anymore around them. They're just interacting with these AI chat bots.It's funny, my wife said to me the other night, she goes, did you know you can actually have a conversation with your AI chatbot? And I said, yeah, it's pretty interesting. So I grabbed my phone, I clicked up on one of the ones I use as Google Gemini.And I said to Gemini, said, how are you today? And she said, I'm doing well. How about you, Ralph? Now listen, that is an interaction. But is that a valuable interaction? Is it A truth interaction.And that's why I want to talk about God's word. Because here's what the word of Lord says, and this is Proverbs 9, 10. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.So I want to start there because think about wisdom. You know, a lot of people say AI is going to bring us wisdom, but we really have to balance that. But of course, culture also says this.Culture tells us the future is data driven. It's all about data. It's all about, you know, grabbing all this data and consolidating it. And the truth is, AI does a great job with that.I can't argue with that. I was in my doctor's office yesterday for a checkup and I had asked her a question. She said, hold on, let me take a look.And I said, where are you looking? She goes, I've got an AI bot to ask that question of. And it's a great thing for her because it's driving data. The specific question is not.It's important for today's discussion. But it was a particular medication that I'm taking. And I said, what are the interactions for that?Now in the past she would go out and she would have to get a textbook and she would have to read a bunch of studies, but now she's able to go ask AI, this particular medication, what are the interactions? How does it interact with other medication? And here's the benefit to AI, it aggregates all this data from all around us.So culture is right, the future is data driven. But there's a warning there because God is telling us wisdom is revealed by him. It's not manufactured. So we've got to ask this real question.And this is a truly question that I've had to face myself. It's one that I really want to challenge you with right now. Right now, as you're listening to this, is AI good or evil?And that might seem a little stronger like Ralph, wait a minute, are you going down there? Yeah, I'm going there because we have to, we have to understand so that we can understand how we react to it.It, because the next logical question is, is it going to shape us more than scripture does? And that's really the challenge because if it becomes all about that data driven future, then where does scripture land? Where does scripture remain?And I've been doing this accounting work and business consulting work for 30 years now. And I've seen automation transform work. I've seen it transform livelihoods.The truth is, when I first started my practice email was Just kind of coming into being something. The Internet was at its infancy. There was no such thing as AI.So this really challenged believers, and it's challenged business people that I work with every day. It's challenged individuals, how do they react to this? And as a coach, I've coached people every day on this.I've helped believers wrestle with applying those biblical principles to these new technological advances. And we have to do that. We can't just bury our head in the sand and say, well, Raph, you know, it is what it is. No, it's not what it is.And here's a little transparent truth, even in my own business.Just like that, that listener asked today, I've had to ask this question, am I using tech to free my time for kingdom work or just to cram in more busyness? Because the truth of us, all of us can do that. We can find more ways to cram in busyness. But is that advance in the kingdom?And that's what this show is all about. Each week, my goal is to peel back the noise of culture and listen.If you live in culture, the noise is all around you, and AI is generating so much of that now, you don't even have a clue how much content that you're absorbing on a daily basis. That's not even being driven by human beings anymore. It's being driven by machines. As a matter of fact, I'm big into podcasting and creating content.There's actually a content creator right now that is putting out 3,000 episodes a day that are completely generated with AI, audio, video, completely generated, not a person at all. It takes them about two minutes to generate a podcast or a YouTube video. No human interaction at all.So we got to think, if we're getting bombarded with that, if culture is screaming us, we need to understand, how do we react to that. We really need to look at what God's word really says.And I'm going to get into the scripture here in a second because I always want to ground us in scripture, because trying to do this right now in this digital age is not easy. Well, let's get right into the scripture.I've got several Bible verses that I want to share with you today, because one of the things that I want you to always do in this show, because it's important to me, is test the scripture. My grandfather used to say this all the time. He said, seek your own salvation. When you hear somebody speak, go check them, go check the Word.And that's what I'm going to do today. We're going to get right into the word of God because I want to anchor us there.The first one is the book of Proverbs, chapter three, verses five and six. And this is foundational. We have to start here. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.Now, this is a very appropriate verse for AI. It's appropriate verse for us in our lives as well. Because I hear people say all the time, well, my heart tells me this, Ralph.My gut tells me this, well, guess what? If that's the way you live, that's not biblical. I'm sorry, but it's not. Because what is the scripture telling us? Lean not on your own understanding.See, the way that seemeth right to a man leads to destruction. That's in the Bible. So I don't have the exact quote right now, but what is the scripture telling us at the very beginning of this?Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Not a little of your heart, not half of your heart, but with all your heart. And see, here's the problem with AI. AI is built on data and human logic.But there's a problem there, if you think about it, because what's the scripture telling us? Our own understanding isn't complete. So if we are to assume that AI is complete, AI is the all be all. It's going to solve all of our problems.We got a problem there because God's telling us, don't trust your own understanding. And AI is nothing better than your own understanding. It's all of the data that's been collected by what people have said and thought.That's human logic. But see, God's wisdom is so much bigger than that. So if we accept that AI is the end all, be all, then we've got a problem.Because wisdom isn't found in AI. See, we risk this overconfidence. And I see this all the time around me.There's so many people that go to AI, it spit something out and he just push it out there like it's truth. But the truth is, AI hallucinates. That's what us techie guys call it. AI hallucinates every day. It puts stuff out that is absolutely wrong.And if we just lean on that technology. And here's the scary part, if we lean on that technology to make decisions for us, wow. Are we leaning on our own understanding at that point?Well, of course we are. But where does God enter into that equation at that point? And the truth is, as AI becomes more embedded in life.And listen, you're living with your head in the sand. If you don't think it's all around you, it's everywhere. My new iPhone I just got is embedded with AI.Everything around me, the computers are embedded with AI. You go anywhere online now, it's embedded with AI. It is all around you. But remember where that wisdom come from. That wisdom comes from man.So we gotta really take a step back and we gotta anchor our choices in prayer and the wisdom that comes from God, that wisdom that only God has. Because what's the scripture telling us? Lean not on your own understanding. So let me ask you a question. This is a hard one.This is one of those step on your toes questions. Where's your anchor? Where's your anchor? And listen, this is a cautionary terror for all of us.And I'm speaking to me more than I'm speaking to you right now. Where's your anchor? Well, let's get to the next Bible verse. This is from the book of James, chapter one, verse five.We're going to go on a little bit more road of wisdom. It says this. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously. So we start off with the first scripture and.And we accept that we don't know it all. That's great. Now, my wife always says, ralph, you think you know it all. No, clearly I don't. You're probably listening right now.You're like, ralph, I know I don't know it all. So when you don't know it all, what is James telling us? If you lack wisdom, ask God. It's not saying go ask AI.It's not saying, open up your phone and go to ChatGPT or Gemini or any of the other models. Yes, they're valuable. But if you lack wisdom, where's it telling you to go? Ask God. And what's he going to do? He's going to give it to you generously.So we need to understand that information and wisdom are not the same. AI can provide that information. It's good at that. It can aggregate. Listen, AI is an amazing technology.Don't let me undersell this, because there's a ton of value.When I was sitting in my doctor's office yesterday, there's a ton of value that she can use at her fingertips that will save people's lives because it can crunch data, it can find drug interactions, it can find something that. Listen, the truth is she only has so much time to meet with me. And she shared this with me and it's so true.She said, ralph, I would have to read hundreds and hundreds of pages every day of medical journals to stay up with what AI can do for me in 10 seconds. That's information, though. That's not wisdom. And we have to really differentiate that, because only God can give us wisdom.AI can give us information. And that's why, as a Christian, you got to pray for discernment in when and how to use AI. This is so crucial.One of the first things I'm going to tell you today, one of the stress points right now as you're going through this situation with AI, get on your knees and pray about it. Say, God, how do you want me to use this? Help it not to become that idol I mentioned earlier.Because, see, information is great, but, see, godly wisdom helps us see the moral and spiritual consequences of technology, not just the convenience. Listen, it's real easy to live in that convenience. AI does a ton of things for me.If you're watching this show right now, AI does a lot of components to the show. It does our show notes, it drafts blog posts. It does all kinds of things that are great. People are impacted by that.But we have to remember that's a convenience. And AI can't speak to you like I'm speaking to you right now. AI can't pray about what I'm going to talk about today. Listen to this.I truly believe the Holy Spirit speaks through me. Well, guess what? AI can't do that. AI will never be able to do that. All right, let's move on to the next Bible verse.It's the book of Psalms, chapter 20, verse 7. And I love this one because it's really a strong contrast. It's a visual picture that we can see in our own minds.Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. And you're probably thinking, wait a minute, Ralph, we're not driving around in chariots and horses.My Amish clients actually still drive around in horses. And you could. You could argue that their Amish buggy is a chariot.But in ancient times, when the Bible was written, people trusted that military technology they did because that's what they understood. And I'm. I'm so. I'm sorry to tell you this, but today, many people trust digital technology the same way.And in so many ways, AI has become a savior for so many people. Like I said a little while ago, I know people in my own life that the only human interaction they have is. Is not human. It's AI. And that scares me.It's Something we have to be careful of because AI is a tool. I've said it a couple times already to AI is a tool, but it's not your savior.And this verse reminds us of a very important thing, no matter how advanced technology becomes. And listen, I think about what my grandfather saw in technology. He didn't have TVs when he was born. They didn't have cars when he was born.And you think about what you've seen in your own life. The technological advances are amazing. I remember as a kid, we had a television. It was a black and white television. And I'm not that old.I had to physically get up and walk across the room to turn it on. I had to physically get up and walk across the room to turn the dial. I can get that same access on my Apple smartwatch. Now, that's technology.That's great. But no matter how advanced technology becomes, our ultimate source of true safety and success needs to be rooted in the Lord.So if you hear nothing else I've said today, yes, technology is great, but our true safety and success needs to be rooted in the Lord. Well, let's look at my favorite book of the Bible, the Book of Romans, chapter 12, verse 2.Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. And I added this one today because if you think about AI, this verse nails it. Because the pattern of this world is saying, Trust AI.Ralph, AI's got all the answers. AI is going to make your life simpler. AI is going to make your life more convenient. AI is going to make everything beautiful.I'm going to have AI technology in my refrigerator. It's going to tell me when I need milk. It's going to tell me when I'm running short on eggs. It's going to tell me all these beautif things.That's fantastic. But that's the pattern of this world. And what is the book of Romans telling us but be transformed by the renewing of your mind?Let me just tell you something right now. People use the word brain rot when it comes to AI. And I've experienced this. It's a true statement. I do a lot of content.And I found myself just a couple weeks ago relying on AI. Man. I was writing scripts, I was leaning into AI. And the Lord just subtly spoke to me and said, ralph, wait a second. AI isn't the answer. I am.See, culture is going to pressure you to adopt AI uncritically. Just, oh, AI is great. Just accept it. It's truth. It's wisdom. It's all those things. But Scripture calls us to something a lot different.See, Scripture calls us to pause right at this very moment and discern. Now, discern is a big Christian word. What does discern really mean? Test it. Ask God to explain this to you.And I talked about in the beginning, the questions were, you know, AI can change jobs. It's true. AI is changing jobs. People are going to lose jobs because of AI. It's a truth. It's changing industries all around us.The technology industry is changing because of AI. And we got to be honest with ourselves. It's also changing habits. AI is changing people's habits in good ways and bad ways.But here's the thing I want you to hear, and I want you to hear this. I want you to write this on your heart. Only Christ can change hearts and minds. AI will never be able to do that.And that's why I felt so compelled to do today's show. See, Christians can use technology in ways that reflect transformation by God, but not conformity to culture. Here's the cool thing about AI.AI is going to allow the message of Jesus Christ to be spread far and wide better than anything else has before. But there's an admonition and a warning there. AI doesn't understand the heart. AI understands information. So we have to be really careful of that.I could go down a whole rant about the Antichrist and all kinds of talks about that, because think about this.How easy would it be for these machines to drive a lie in Scripture and just say, oh, the Scripture says this, and they put it out for everybody, and people say, oh, well, it's coming from AI. It must be true. We gotta be careful of that. Well, let's move on to the next verse that I have for today.And it's Colossians, chapter two, verse eight. And we're gonna get right into that philosophy of deceit right here.It says, see to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit in your mind. Here's what I want you to see. Flashing yellow lights. They're in front of us. Be careful. Because here's the thing about AI.It can open up doors, it can do a lot of things, but it can also spread the lies of Satan. Now, that's a hard thing to say. A lot of people say, whoa, wait a minute, Raph, you're gonna start talking about the devil?Yes, I am, because we got to nail this right now. Because AI has the capacity for good, and AI has the capacity to corrupt. Because Satan can use it against us.And I just said that just a few minutes ago. AI can be used to spread false narratives.Listen, open up TikTok, open up Facebook, open up all the things and you will see a ton of lies, half truths, stuff that just doesn't make a sense.The truth is there are AI tools out there right now that can take my face and take my voice and put a video out there that says I'm saying things that are completely against scripture. It has the capacity to do that. You don't think Satan's going to use that to his benefit? Of course he is. AI can do that.AI can spread false narratives, it can spread shallow promises. And here's a really sinister part, it can share anti Christian values. And it's already doing it.My YouTube channel right now is being attacked because of this. I try to promote my videos, I try to pay YouTube to promote my videos. And guess what?Because I mentioned the word Christ, because I talk about faith, they throttle how many people will see this video. That is a true statement. It even says it on the platform now, limited next to that. Why?Because I'm speaking truth and see culture and machines and AI don't want to hear truth because it battles against that whole information, wisdom thing. Right? So I'm gonna charge you right now if this show is impacting you.And I usually don't do a call to action right now, but if this show is impacting you, it's being throttled. Share it with other people directly. Send them a link to this episode, send them a YouTube link, get them to listen to what I'm saying.Because, listen, there's a time coming, and I truly believe this, when people like me are going to struggle to be able to have our message heard. And we've got to guard against being captured by this hype and this deception that AI tells us is this is the end all win all.It's going to do it evil. It's a lie. And the evil one's going to use it to corrupt the message of Christ. And I know that's a strong thing to say, but I've already seen them.I've already seen it. This is the time to stay rooted in Christ.Because that root, that anchor, is the only thing that's going to protect you when you don't know what to believe. The Bible talks about this. Look all around you. You will see deceitful people, you will see people lying.You'll see people saying they're coming in his name. AI is ushering that in. And don't get the wrong idea. I'm not saying that AI is from the devil.I'm not saying that AI is this evil thing, but it can be. Now, I want to tell you a little about my story.And my story is a tough one with the AI because like I said a few minutes ago, I love the role of helping people, but it's a challenge. And like I shared with you a few minutes ago, I've used tech to save time in my business time and time again.I use it every single day because it does that. It saves time. Now, what I do in my accounting practice isn't faith. Let me clear about that. You have to understand, what are you doing?But I've had to ask myself, even in those things, and I alluded to this at the beginning, and this is a tough question to ask yourself. Am I saving time for kingdom work or just to squeeze in more busyness?Because as AI evolves and it can help me to answer questions, it can help me draft letters, it can help me do all the things that are valuable to my clients. It's freeing up time, right? That's a great thing about AI it frees up time. But what am I doing with that time? Because think about it like this.And I just thought about this as I was recording right now. What if God is using AI to give you more time? Where are you using the time? Are you spending that time with your loved ones?Are you spending that time with your children? Are you spending that time with your wife, your loved ones, the people around you? Are you giving more to your church? Are you volunteering?What are you doing with the time that God is giving you? Because we could say AI is great. It's saving us time. It's making us more efficient, Ralph. Great. What am I going to do at that time?Are you going to get on the Death scroll and do more tick tocking? I hope not, because I've had to ask myself this very same question.Like I said, I'm moving away from AI Even working on my shows, I've had to say to myself, yeah, AI is okay. It gives us mediocre information, but it doesn't give us wisdom.And one of the things that I want to always bring to you every week when I do this show, I can give you information. I've got 30 years of information. But guess what? Information's all over.But what you're really striving for, and I hope what you're coming here for is wisdom. Because only God can give you wisdom. When God Speaks through me, through the Holy Spirit. There's wisdom in that. And think about history.This is where I'm going to take a little sidetrack here. The printing press in the early 1500s terrified people like, oh, we, we can't have a printing press. How are we going to use that, the printing press?We're not going to be able to talk anymore. Everything's going to be printed. Nobody's going to have conversations anymore. That's what people thought.People actually thought when that printing press came out. That was the devil printed on paper. The devil is speaking. But think about what the printing press has done. It spread the gospel worldwide.There are people that are listening to my voice right now who would have never the opportunity to hear the word of Christ had it not been for the printing press. So just think about that for a second.So there is value in technology today, AI is winning competitions, but it's sparking debate on what creativity even means. See, that's the thing. We gotta bounce. That's the balancing point to this. There are values to AI And I love what John Piper said.John Piper warned against tools like this. And he famously said this. He said they numb our dependency on God. Think about that one for a second. If you can go to AI to answer all your questions.Do you pray anymore? Oh, Ralph, I don't need to pray. I go to AI it tells me the answer. Wow, that scares me. Because trust me, fleshly, I feel that same thing too.I'm struggling with something. Well, let me see. What AI it's funny. The other night, my wife and I were having this conversation about my AI bot.And I said to my AI bot, I said, I'm not sleeping well at night. What should I do? And she rattled off 15 things that are fantastic ideas.But not one time did she say, well, Ralph, why don't you pray and ask God to help you sleep better at night? Because it must be something bothering you. AI gave me a ton of scientific ways to get more sleep.You know, turn the lights out before bedtime, have a wind down period, turn your telephone off. Because I'm one of these guys, I'm looking at phone stuff till I go to bed at night. Gave me all those things. Great.But not once did it say, ralph, pray about it. And I love what Reverend Billy Graham said. One of my true role models in my life, he said, man has made rapid strides in technological knowledge.But even Billy Graham saw this. But the greatest need is still for wisdom. And see that truth is more relevant than ever right now.Today so now you're asking the most obvious question, Ralph. How do we live wisely with AI? Because, listen, I said at the beginning, it's here. There's no more hiding from it.You could say, well, I'm not gonna let AI affect my life. Guess what? AI is affecting your life right now. As you listen to this.Chances are you're seeing this video if you're not a subscriber, because AI put it in your feed. It's already affecting you. So I came up with what I call five truths.And these are how I think we need to live wisely with AI so I'm gonna share these truths. Truth 1. This is the thing you've absolutely got to anchor yourself in. Wisdom comes from God, not from machines. Start there.AI can give us data, beautiful data, number crunching data that can help you make decisions, make better decisions. I would even argue that. But it can't give you truth. Only truth comes from God. That's the first truth.Truth number two, the tools that you use reveal the heart. Now, that seems a little harsh, doesn't it?But if I use AI to cut corners, the person that wrote me about their kids cutting corners by using AI for homework, am I stewarding or am I cheating myself? Am I cheating the system? That one steps on some toes there. So that's my second truth. Let's move on to the third truth.You're probably gonna be surprised by this one. I talk on my show, my daily show, especially about stewardship.Oh, by the way, if you want to check out the Daily show, it's a daily Christian faith and finance show. It's@financiallyconfidentchristian.com. i encourage you to check it out. It's just about 10 minutes a day, but it really impacts you financially.So I talk about stewardship on that show all the time. Not so much on this show, because this is more in the depth of culture and Bible. But truth number three, stewardship includes technology.You're probably surprised by that. You're like, wait a minute, Raph, you're talking about how bad AI is. Yes, but stewardship includes technology, just like money. Money, It's a servant.AI is a servant. Think about that. AI works for you. AI is your employee, for lack of a better term. But it better never become your master.For so many people that I deal with on my daily show, money has become the master tooth them, and they're serving it. Well, that's my worry with AI. Does AI become something you serve? And listen, I've felt that in my own Life. You might be feeling that right now.You're like, ralph, that's a good question. Every time I think of something, I go ask AI that scares me. It should scare you, too. Don't let AI don't let technology in general become your master.Let's talk about truth 4. And this is something that AI will never be able to replicate. And that's human dignity is unique. See, AI can replicate words.It's great at putting words together. It can tie sentences together. I'm gonna tell you right now, I could write some stuff in AI and you'd be like, wow, that's fantastic, Ralph.Who wrote that? I have no idea. Some machine wrote that. It can do that, but it can't replicate a soul. It can't replicate hurt. It can't replicate pain.It can't replicate. You know, I lost my mother 2 1/2 years ago to a brain tumor. And I could go to AI and I could say, oh, tell me about a glioblast tumor. Tumor, Ralph.Or AI Tell me about that. But it can't replicate what it was like to hold her hand when she passed on. It can't replicate the loss. It can't. So don't forget about that.Human dignity is unique. Let's not lose that. It makes me emotional right now because that's the thing I see with AI it's taking away that human connection.People have AI boyfriends and girlfriends now. Do you hear me on this? This is a true thing. People right now have AI bots that are their only human connection.That's their boyfriend, that's their girlfriend. I feel bad for those folks. There's no humanness to that. Let's move on to my fifth truth, and this is one we all have to embrace. Boundaries matter.One of the truths of the Bible, and I think the Bible speaks eloquently about this. The question isn't just can we? The question is, should we? And that's my fifth truth. Boundaries do matter.We have to constantly ask ourselves this question. Yes, we can. AI is there. You can use it. But should we use it? And it brought me to this poem, one of my favorite poems.And I don't often quote poems, it's not scripture. But I felt this was so important to read on the show today. It's called the Road Not Taken by Robert Frost.And I just want to read it and talk about a little bit today because it nails exactly what we're talking about today. So here's the poem. Two roads diverged in a yellow wood. And.Sorry, I Could not travel both and be one traveler long I stood and looked down one as far as I could to where it bent any undergrowth Then took the others just as fair and having perhaps the better claim because it was grassy and wanted wear Though as for that the passing there had worn them really about the same and both that morning equally lay and leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day yet knowing how lead on to way I doubt if I'd ever should come back. I shall be telling you this with a sigh.Somewhere, ages and ages hence Two roads diverged in a wood and I I took the one less traveled by and that's made all the difference. And I want you to just lean into that, because right now we're faced with a question. We're faced with a choice.AI Presents a cultural fork in the road. I want you to vision that in your head, because it is truly a fork in the road. Do we trust in human made systems or do we trust in God?That's the choice you have to make. See, like Robert Frost, traveler, we can't walk both roads at once. We gotta make a choice. What's your choice?See, technology is a tool, but it better never become your compass. And see, that AI route might seem easier. That other road seemed easier. AI is easier. Yeah, we've all fallen into that trap. I fell into myself.It was easy to write show content using AI I could spit it out, put it in my teleprompter and bang, here I am delivering it to you. That's the broad route. Think about the broad route from scripture. What's scripture tell us? The broad route leads to death and destruction.That broad route, letting culture, letting algorithms, letting the convenience drive our decisions. It looks attractive. It looks very efficient. Yeah, Ralph, everybody's on this. Dude, you're missing out. Fear of missing out.Ralph, if you don't get on this AI bandwagon, you're a fool. But what does Proverbs 14:12 warn us? This one will turn your skin. Proverbs 14:12.There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end is the way to death. Now, that's harsh. What does it go back to what I talked about earlier? Can we trust our flesh? We can't. Scripture tells us that.So we got to pick the load. The road less traveled. That narrow path, that path of faith, that path of prayer, that path of discernment, that obedience to God's word.But it requires a few things. It requires intentional choice. It requires discipline and it requires a trust in the Lord, not in technology, not in machines.Because what did Romans 12:2 say to us? Don't conform to the world, but renew your mind. This is a time to trust, and this is a time to believe in wisdom over information.See, AI can give us information. What does James 1:5 says, but God gives us the only wisdom.Proverbs, chapter 3, verses 5 and 6 causes to not lean on our own understanding or on technology's understanding. And see, the true guidance comes when we acknowledge him in all of our ways. The difference. What did the poem say? The difference.It shook me up when I read it. Frost says, the choice, your choice that you're gonna make today and tomorrow and the next day made all the difference.See, for Christians, we make a choice. And maybe you're not a Christian. TABLE I'm gonna tell you how you can become a Christian today, just in a few minutes.But for Christians, choosing Christ's way makes an eternal difference. You got to remember that it's eternal. It's not just some temporary decision. It's not some temporary choice. But remember what Psalm 20, verse 7 said.Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. And I'm going to reiterate what Colossians 2:8 said. Don't be taken captive by world philosophies, even technological ones.Don't let AI take you captive. Which reads me right back to AI. See, AI can help us. It truly can. I see a ton of value for AI, but it can't define us.Let me ask you, does AI define you? Yes. It can process words. It can do great jobs of crunching data, but it cannot replace the word of God.And see, our call, our Christian call, is to walk the road less traveled, the road that's rooted in Christ, guided in scripture. Let's get back to the contrast. Because culture says progress is speed and efficiency. This is fantastic stuff.But scripture says something about progress that's totally different. Faithfulness and holiness and culture says, AI makes life easier. Must be good. If your life is easier, that's good.Let me just tell you a little secret. Scripture says easy isn't always holy. Tough pill to swallow there, isn't it? Easy seems right to you, right? But is it what God wants for you?God calls us to the narrow road. So what does it look like, practically? I've given you a ton. We've gone for a while today. But what does this look like practically?Here's some practical things that I think you can take Away from today. If you're a pastor, if you're a person that's doing content in a Christian way, don't use an AI for sermon prep or for personal devotions.Just don't do that. You want to let AI give you verses of the Bible to go read? Fine. Get your Bible out and go read them. Don't trust what AI is giving you.Keep that spirit led. Yes, AI can give you information, but not wisdom. And it all comes back to prayer. Before adopting any new tool, ask the Lord this.Lord, will this serve you or distract me? Because here's the problem with AI it's distracting a lot of people. It's taking them away from what the Lord has for them.And listen, if you're a parent, evaluate your family technological use and ask yourself this question. Is AI replacing real conversations at the dinner table? I had a client in last week.They told me at dinner, now we all sit around and we ask AI questions. It broke my heart to hear that. Because that's never going to give you that belief in family.It's not going to give you that belief in what's important in somebody else's life. It can't replace that human dignity. We talked about that. Sure. Use AI for tests. It's great for that. Use AI for schedules.Use AI to look at your email to give you summaries all the great reminders. Fantastic uses for AI. Fantastic uses. Look, don't ever let AI become your identity. Look for prayer for that. Look for purpose, look for your calling.So here's three steps that you can take right now, this week to help you battle this. First thing I'm encourage you to do is journal. I've talked about this on the show all the time. I really believe and I'm starting to do this myself.Journaling. And now I'm talking about typing into AI or speaking. I'm talking writing with your hand, writing your journal this week.When am I leaning on tech instead of God? That's another tough question. But ask yourself that really tough question. Where am I leaning on tech instead of God? And challenge yourself with that.And I want you to do that. Choose one intentional tech fast. Something you can just stop doing any kind of tech for a week. Maybe replace AI with prayer or scripture for a week.So instead of when you think, well, how does this impact me? Don't go to AI. Go to the Savior. Go, God, I'm bothered by something. This is what I should have done the other night. God, I can't sleep well at night.What's the Answer. He just spoken to me. AI gave me some great ideas from a scientific standpoint. But man, there was no human dignity in that.And share these things with a friend. Ask a friend, how is technology shaping your faith? Is it good for you or is it causing harm? Those are my things for this week.I think they can really be impactful journal be intentional, share it with a friend. And I shared earlier friend that AI can mimic words, does a great job of that.But it can't forgive sins, it cannot redeem souls, and it cannot give you eternal life. See, true wisdom is not found in machines. It's only found in one person. That person is Jesus Christ.And maybe you've been trusting your own intelligence, you've been leaning on your own understanding. Well, we're out the way. I believe it is the way. It makes sense. You've been leaning on technology to guide you.But I'm going to tell you right now, and this is going to pierce some people, only Christ can give life. And if you're ready to move on and accept Christ as your savior, you can do that right now, right at this moment, I want you to pray this with me.Lord Jesus, your word says that if I confess with my mouth that you are Lord, and I truly believe in my heart that God raised you from the dead, I will be saved. So today, Lord, I confess you as my Lord and Savior. And right now, at this very moment, Lord, I believe you died for my sins and you rose again.And I turn from my old ways, Lord, and I invite you into my heart and my life. I ask you to be my Savior. I ask you to be my salvation. I promise to serve you from this day forward, Lord. Thank you for forgiving me.Thank you for saving me and thank you for giving me eternal life. And I ask this in Jesus name, Amen. Let me just tell you something right now. If you prayed that prayer, I want to welcome you to a family.You are now a member of the family of God. Heaven is rejoicing about that decision. They say when another person comes to know Jesus, heaven rejoices. I can just picture the celebrations.I would love to help you on that. First thing I will tell you to do is find somebody who's a Christian person and surround yourself with good people. Find a good God believing church.I can help you with that too. And I'm going to encourage you right now if you've made that decision. I'd love to hear your story.I'd love to hear about what brought you to that and I'd love To pray with you, just go to truthunveilwithralph.com decision. I would love to hear your story and help you along that way. Listen, I'm just a vessel. The Holy Spirit speaks through me.But let me hear from you again. Truth unveiled with Ralph.com decision. So let's recap for a minute today. I know we went a little bit long today, but this was an important topic.Remember this, only God gives wisdom. Technology must remain a servant. Stewardship and discernment are essential, but as I said, human dignity can never be automated.Now, next week, I'm going to talk about the blessing of boundaries. I want to really dig into boundaries. Talked a little bit about that.We're going to talk about protecting your time, your money, and your spirit because so many people are not understanding boundaries. And next week, I really want to get into that. But right now, I want to ask you to do something for me.I told you how algorithms are throttling the amount of people that see us. I would really encourage you to support the show.The more support we can get for this show, maybe by sharing it with somebody, help them see that AI is a powerful tool. Yes, I'm not going to deny that. But wisdom is found only in Christ. All you got to do is just send them a link to our website.That's truth unveiled with Ralph.com. just say to them, Listen, Ralph gave a great talk about AI today. Share that with them. Well, how about we pray together as we close?Lord, we just thank you for technology that is impacting our lives. It's helping us, Lord. It's saving lives. Yes, but Lord, help us to remember it can't become our master. It's just got to remain a tool, Lord.So right now we ask for discernment. We ask for wisdom in this struggle. Lord, help us to anchor our faith in you, our rock, our savior.Lord, to not trust in technology, not trust in AI, Lord, but to trust in you alone. And I ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen. Well, I just want to thank you for joining me today. And I apologize, I got a little emotional today.But listen, that's my heart speaking. And if nothing else, you can say, well, Rob's got heart. So I just want to bless you today. I bless you on your journey.I want to encourage you right now to walk in faith, live in confidence. God loves you, he truly does, and he wants the best for all of us. You have a great day today.