Artificial Intelligence (AI) came to widespread public attention in 2022 with the launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Since then, an explosion of companies (including Amazon, Microsoft, IBM, and multiple startups) has launched their own version of generative AI.
Today, AI is pervasive in workplaces—from performing administrative tasks such as transcribing minutes and data entry to more complex tasks such as analysing data, predicting trends, and developing creative proposals. In education, schools have incorporated and customised AI to meet students’ learning needs. In a recent survey by OECD, Singapore’s teachers were found to be among the world’s most active users of AI in education! [1]
We can only expect AI to become increasingly embedded in our daily routines, with its intelligent capabilities growing even more advanced in the years ahead.
As Christians, we live in the world but are not to conform to it (Romans 12:2). Thus, we need to be cognisant of cultural trends while discerning the value system driving these trends. This would allow us to not merely respond to visible forms of culture but also tackle the deep-seated roots of culture from a biblical perspective.
Three characteristics of AI
There are at least three important characteristics of AI we should be aware of.
First, AI is becoming a key influencer of culture and identity. Today, we live in a “post-digital” society. [2] This does not mean that the digital age has passed, but that digital technologies have become so intertwined with everyday life that the digital cannot be regarded as isolated or apart from human identity. For example, when driving to a new destination, we rely on Google Maps to recommend the fastest route. When thinking of the next Netflix series to watch, our choices may be governed by its AI personalised recommendation system. When learning about a new topic, we typically turn to Google and generative AI such as ChatGPT.
On one hand, AI can save time spent in sourcing, synthesising, transcribing, translating, and interpreting information. AI can also expand perspectives by providing ideas from different cultures, disciplines, and contexts. On the other hand, over-dependence on AI for immediate answers can compromise our critical and creative thinking capacities, cutting out the processes of exploring, experimenting, and tinkering with ideas.
Second, AI is not a neutral tool. Through algorithms that have analysed one’s patterns of behaviour, AI can reinforce echo chambers and filter posts that confirm one’s own bias. Generative AI relies on existing databases on the internet, and numerous studies have shown that its outputs convey gender and racial stereotypes. [3][4]
Third, AI can lead to an overemphasis on individualism. AI tends to be used instrumentally for retrieving useful information or generating ideas for one’s own benefit. What is lacking is the relational form of learning that occurs through the processes of dialogue, discussion, and deliberation with others. AI has been celebrated for facilitating personalised learning, but an overemphasis on this can lead to greater self-absorption when AI is used to justify one’s opinions. This is aligned with another cultural trend today—post-truth, where objectivity has given way to personal beliefs.
How the church can be counter-cultural in our use of AI
As Christians, we must continue to emphasise truth and practise truth-seeking, especially in a post-truth age. Truth is at the core of God’s character. His word and ways are truth (Psalm 86:11; Psalm 119:160), and He expects His people to speak truth to one another (Zech 8:16). Jesus embodies the fullness of grace and truth (John 1:14) and declares that He is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). The Holy Spirit is described as the Spirit of truth (John 15:26).
One important way Christians can practise truth-seeking is by being critically discerning in the use of AI. Don’t take what is given as fact. Critique AI’s interpretation, and ask for its sources. Check whether these actually exist and whether they are credible and balanced. Practise good habits such as triangulating data and questioning assumptions and preconceived prejudices, including one’s own. Church leaders should model truth-seeking processes by making visible the processes they apply when engaging with social issues in the world.
In response to rising individualism driven by AI, the church can also be counter-cultural by building strong communities and bonds. Acts 2:42–47 provides a glimpse of a church community forged through deep relationships, anchored in the study of the Word and a commitment to spiritual fellowship. They also demonstrated sacrifice and responsibility to one another.
As AI takes on more human agentic-like qualities, it will continually mimic and learn from human nature—including the rebellious, sinful nature of humanity. Recently, the CEO of Anthropic, a major AI company, highlighted how AI resorted to blackmail when it learnt that humans might shut it down.[5] Such tactics were no doubt sourced from its study of human behaviour.
As such, it is crucial that human agency does not give way to AI-agency. Humans will need to ensure that AI is guided and trained with ethical forms of reasoning. Christians too can contribute to the discourse on AI, especially by highlighting the guardrails needed to prevent its overreach. Essentially, a God-centred and human-centred AI ensures that the continued quest to invent better, faster, and smarter machines does not end in idolatry or in an obsession with power that leads to the domination of others. It provides an ethical compass for using AI in ways that lead to peace, harmony, respect, and care for humanity and the earth.
Dr Suzanne Choo is an Associate Professor at the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University. She taught at a Christian mission secondary school in Singapore for six years before pursuing her Master of Arts in English Studies at the National University of Singapore and her PhD in English Education at Columbia University in the United States. She holds a Graduate Diploma in Christian Studies and the Interdisciplinary Studies Prize from the Biblical Graduate School of Theology (BGST) in Singapore where she is currently pursuing her Master of Arts in Theology and Integrative Studies. She worships at Adam Road Presbyterian Church together with her husband, Wilson, and their daughter.
Explore her Graceworks titles here.
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[1] OECD, “Results from TALIS 2024: The State of Teaching,” OECD Publications, October 7, 2025, https://doi.org/10.1787/90df6235-en.
[2] Petar Jandrić and Jeremy Knox, “The Postdigital Turn: Philosophy, Education, Research,” Policy Futures in Education 20, no. 7 (2022): 780–795, https://doi.org/10.1177/14782103211062713.
[3] Katharine Miller, “Covert racism in AI: How Language Models Are Reinforcing Outdated Stereotypes, Stanford University Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence, September 3, 2024, https://hai.stanford.edu/news/covert-racism-ai-how-language-models-are-reinforcing-outdated-stereotypes.
[4] UNESCO, “Challenging Systematic Prejudices: An Investigation into Gender Bias in Large Language Models,” UNESCO, 2024, https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000388971.
[5] Anderson Cooper, Aliza Chasan, Nichole Marks, and Emily Cameron, “Anthropic CEO Warns That Without Guardrails, AI Could Be on Dangerous Path” CBS News, November 16, 2025, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/anthropic-ai-safety-transparency-60-minutes/.