I love science fiction. I have loved it since my dad introduced me to it when I was a kid. I love sci fi movies, books, and TV shows. Right now, it almost feels like we are living in a sci-fi world… or like the “fi” is disappearing, at least in terms of being human. Artificial intelligence and the transhumanist movements are making everyday people ask questions about what it means to be human, when being human starts, when it ends, even if there is any such “thing” in ways that even fifteen years ago was almost entirely the stuff of fiction. For Christians, the chaos of change could be overwhelming. But I’d like to show in this short article that a little good thinking makes Christians with old theology of the image of God capable of handling these strange, new questions.
The Turing Test
In 1950, mathematician Alan Turing proposed a now famous thought experiment to test for artificial intelligence and thinking that became known as the “Turing Test.” In short, he proposed that a machine should be considered to be thinking when a human being cannot, in a blind test, determine whether the respondent is human or not.
Without getting distracted by the huge conversation about whether the Turing test is valid—I’ll assert it isn’t, any more than a perfect mask could make you into Richard Nixon—computers can now pass it. In fact, in one study at the University of California San Diego, GPT 4.5 actually outperformed real humans at seeming human, 73% to 27%. There is something funny about AI being better than humans at being human, but no doubt the results pass the original Turing Test. And with these achievements, you can find people declaring AI agents to be sentient, persons, possessing rights that need to be protected, and even human.
A Human Attempt to Be More Than Human
Meanwhile, there is a movement among actual humans to try to become more than human. While not as ubiquitous as the conversations about AI becoming like us, a little time on the internet reveals a community of people working to become not so like us anymore. Whether it is by mechanical, computational, medical, or even genetic enhancements, the transhumanist looks to evolve beyond the current limits of “human” to become something more: stronger, smarter, longer lived, even uploaded. The most radical viewpoints envision a new, next species (or multiple species) departing from our current limitations.
Machines becoming human. Humans becoming not-human. It truly is a sci (non-) fi world.
Is This a Sci Non-Fi World?
Not as much as it seems. Yes, AI is remarkable. If you have interacted with it in any meaningful way, you have likely found yourself thinking of it as a person. And radically enhanced humanity seems likely, no matter how far it can progress. But does this really affect who or what counts as human?
It depends. Many people today live in a world in which these are serious and difficult questions. Christians do not. They may not realize they do not, but they do not. That is because unlike a secular materialist who must create a definition of “human” out of what is measurable, the Christian definition of “human” begins with what God has done, not what humans can see.
AI and transhumanism highlight a problem that already existed. If “human” is a word defined by traits we can measure, like DNA, or intelligence, or appearance, or emotion, no matter how carefully crafted the definition, it will exclude what we know is human and include “things” that are not human. If it is intelligence, then humanity will start well after birth, often end before death, never appear due to some disabilities, and be lost with some injuries. Set the bar low enough to try to capture every human you want to include, and you will be hard pressed to exclude famously intelligent creatures like chimpanzees, dolphins, and now, AI. And good luck getting an embryo or a late-stage dementia patient to fit any meaningful, measurable definition even on the broadest measurable terms.
Being Human, for the Christian
But the Christian says to be human is to be made in God’s image. The church continues to argue about what exactly that means, but let us say that it captures both real, measurable aspects of our created design as well as spiritual realities that cannot be touched, tasted, or seen. To be made in God’s image is to be physically, spiritually, and emotionally like him enough that he could take on human flesh and become like us. It is to represent him, on earth, in his authority so that we could be tasked with taking on elements of his role as creator and lord of creation. And it is to be in special, covenantal relationship with him that is designed for mutual love, accountability, and eternal life.
No matter how intelligent AI becomes, no matter what it can achieve, it will not be God’s direct creation, his image bearer, or the bearer of real moral accountability to the God of the universe. (Although its human creators do carry enormous moral responsibility for their electronic inventions.) And no matter how enhanced a person becomes, no matter how altered from God’s original design, they will not cease to be God’s creation, an image bearer needing his salvation.
Radical Newness: Simply a Mask
Radical newness is disconcerting, and today’s world is full of radical newness. But radical newness is often just a mask for the same old issues in a new form. “Who is human,” is an old question, often answered terribly in history. Whether it was humanity by age, race, strength, gender, tribe, nationality, caste, property, or some other measure, humans have struggled to properly include all of God’s image bearers for a long, long time. This new world just presents that old challenge in another new way.
Humans are God’s special creation. AI may seem more human than humans, and humans may become unrecognizable, but the truth of God’s creation and covenantal relationship will remain a firm foundation differentiating those who are human from the things that are not.
