Today, a student opens an AI chatbot and, in seconds, receives help on an algebra question or an answer to a perplexing personal problem. Other prompts ask for a finished essay or a deeper dive into complex beliefs—such as “Who is God?”—often requiring subjective reasoning. What once required sustained attention, intellectual struggle, and the quiet work of wrestling with ideas through experience, observation, reflection, and reason can now be produced in minutes with a few prompts and delivered like fast food. Learning and decision-making have long been shaped by effort—through reading, conversation, observation, reflection, and the slow process of working through ideas that do not yield quick answers. That pattern, however, is changing. From the classroom to the boardroom, artificial intelligence is becoming a default tool for processing information and producing finished work—from text to images and video—at remarkable speed.

‍

As AI becomes embedded in education, work, and daily life, it is increasingly shaping how our children—and we ourselves—are being formed. It influences not only what people produce, but also how they think, learn, make decisions, persevere through difficulty, seek God’s wisdom, and cultivate original ideas. At the same time, whether you’re a student preparing for a future career or a parent striving to remain relevant in an AI-driven economy, the impact is becoming progressively difficult to ignore. From writers and artists to radiologists and attorneys, many professions are facing growing pressure to reduce human labor through AI. If the demand for human effort continues to diminish, what will become of human ingenuity, originality, ownership, and, ultimately, meaningful work?

‍

It is important to distinguish between today’s AI and the more advanced systems often imagined in the future. Nearly all of the AI people use today—including generative AI such as chatbots and writing assistants—is narrow AI, designed to perform specific tasks such as generating text, analyzing information, or answering questions. Artificial general intelligence (AGI), by contrast, remains theoretical. It refers to an AI capable of learning, reasoning, and adapting across virtually any domain with human-like flexibility. As mathematician John C. Lennox has cautioned, we may be ”sleepwalking into the future”—embracing increasingly powerful technologies before fully considering their long-term implications. Whether or not AGI becomes a reality, his warning invites thoughtful reflection. Even today, narrow AI is already reshaping how people learn, think, and make decisions, making wisdom and careful oversight more important than ever.

‍

A Rapidly Shifting Landscape

Artificial intelligence has moved quickly from experimental technology to everyday infrastructure. A 2025 Pew Research Center study found that about half of U.S. teens report using artificial intelligence tools for school-related purposes, including research, writing support, and problem-solving. Similar findings from Common Sense Media indicate high levels of adoption among teens, particularly for generative AI tools used to explain concepts, brainstorm ideas, and assist with assignments.

‍

But usage is not limited to students. According to Pew Research Center surveys on adult AI adoption, a growing share of Americans are now interacting with AI systems embedded in search engines, workplace software, smartphones, and customer service tools—often without explicitly recognizing them as “AI.” In other words, artificial intelligence is no longer a specialized tool. It is increasingly part of the everyday systems that shape how people access information, communicate, and make decisions.

‍

As AI becomes more deeply woven into daily life, it is worth asking not only what these tools help us accomplish, but how they may be influencing the habits of mind and patterns of thinking we develop along the way.

‍

More Than a Tool

Researchers and ethicists caution that this shift is not only technological but also formative. In a digital environment shaped by algorithmic recommendation systems and generative AI, emerging evidence suggests these tools can influence habits of attention, trust, and discernment. The question is not whether AI should be used, but whether we are using it wisely­, recognizing that the tools we rely on gradually shape our cognitive habits—our patterns of thinking, attention, and reasoning.

‍

Scripture speaks directly to the reality of formation, even in a very different context: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind...” (Romans 12:2 ESV). The assumption beneath the passage is that what shapes our attention ultimately shapes our thinking—and, over time, our lives.

‍

This idea is echoed throughout the Bible. Faith itself is described as something that grows through hearing and receiving God’s Word: “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17 ESV). In other words, what we consistently listen to and absorb does not merely inform us—it forms us.

Expert Perspectives

To better understand these questions, we spoke with two voices working at the intersection of technology, education, and Christian ethics.

‍

Jason Thacker is a Senior Fellow at the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) and an assistant professor of philosophy and ethics at Southern Seminary. He is the author of The Age of AI and Following Jesus in a Digital Age and is widely recognized for his work on artificial intelligence, ethics, and Christian discipleship in a digital world.

‍

Jason Moore has spent more than 20 years as a church technology consultant. He specializes in helping churches thoughtfully engage emerging technologies, including AI, and is the author of AI and the Church, which offers practical guidance for navigating technology in ministry and everyday life.

‍

Together, their perspectives encourage a thoughtful, discerning approach to artificial intelligence—one that recognizes both its remarkable potential and the importance of using it intentionally as it becomes increasingly embedded in everyday life.

What is the biggest misconception parents and grandparents have about AI today?

JM: There are two very big extremes. When people think about what AI is, they see it as either a sci-fi disaster or a little toy. I think there are a lot of parents and grandparents who are putting off the conversation, thinking that it can wait. But honestly, it’s here. It’s only going to become more rooted in the world that we live in, so now is the time to start having those conversations and thinking about the impact of AI on our kids and grandkids.

‍

How would you describe the gap between public perception of AI and how it is actually being used in everyday life?

JT: The biggest gap is that people don’t often realize how dependent we’ve been on AI for a very long time. Years ago, Ray Kurzweil, a computer engineer at Google, wrote a really good summation. He said that if tomorrow all of our AI systems woke up revolting, everything about contemporary life would change.  We wouldn’t be able to get money from our banks, we wouldn’t be able to communicate, and manufacturing would grind to a halt. Warfare would completely change. The stock market would crash. The reality is that we are all using algorithmic technology all day, every day, whether we realize it or not. We use it  in our email, communication, phones, and on our smart devices.

‍

In what ways are children and teenagers currently using AI that many adults may not be aware of?

JT: Many of us are aware of ways that kids are using AI in terms of chatbots, but I think we’re not always aware of the way smart technology—smartphones, smart devices, video games, and communication devices we have around our homes—are algorithmic. They are based on some form of artificial intelligence. This is the world in which children are growing. It’s normal for them. For many of us, who may be parents or even a little older, it’s something new.

‍

Technology is not neutral. It’s doing something to us. It’s forming us. It’s shaping us in very particular ways. It’s not all bad. It’s not all good. But it’s definitely not neutral. We need to be aware of that so we can critically engage it from a Christian perspective.

‍

JM: The world has changed so much. We don’t even agree on the fundamentals of truth anymore. I would say AI makes it possible to produce an enormous amount of believable content really quickly. And that content is so good and plausible, but not always real. That makes the real things hard to believe as well. People are going to have to approach these things with greater humility and develop stronger verification habits.

‍

What concerns, if any, do you think are most important for Christian families to be aware of when it comes to AI use among children and teens?

JM: From a Christian perspective, my biggest concern for everyone across the board—kids, adults, and pastors—is that we would inadvertently allow AI to become our Holy Spirit.  Instead of going to God in prayer or studying the Bible, we go to ChatGPT to find the answer. AI does not have a soul. It doesn’t have a human experience or human condition. It can read about it and regurgitate it, but it hasn’t had the experience. Something really important happens when we wrestle with Scripture. If we just take what AI spits out without wrestling through what the Bible has to say, I think we run the risk of our spiritual muscles atrophying. I’m afraid of what that means for all of us.

‍

JT: I think there is typically one of two ways that people approach AI technology in general, especially in the church. Either it’s an outright adoption: It can all be used for good and noble purposes; we can redeem it. Or, on the flip side, and just as prevalent, is an outright rejection of it: It’s all bad; we can’t use it and we're not gonna have that in our house. However, both are uncritical positions. When we uncritically adopt it, we aren’t aware of what these technologies are doing to us and how they’re forming us. When we uncritically reject it, we aren’t educating ourselves on the purposes for which these technologies have been designed.  

‍

We know that technology is a good gift from God. Yes, it can be used for good. It can also be used for evil. Once again, it’s not neutral. We as Christians, especially as Christian parents, must critically engage these tools from a place of faith, understanding what these tools are, knowing the purposes and values for which they were designed, and also observing how they’re shaping our perception of the world. Specifically as Christians, we need to understand the problems and challenges that come with AI and cultivate the wisdom needed to navigate these tools.

‍

How do educators currently view the use of AI for homework? Where is the line between assistance and academic dishonesty?

JT: This is a key question, and one without an easy answer by any means, partially because educators vary widely on their approaches to technology and AI. Educators can see the benefits of AI, but most didn’t get into the field of teaching and education just to produce widgets and transfer a bunch of information. Education is not simply data transfer. It’s actually about whole-person transformation and a cultivation of wisdom. It isn’t just dispensing information, whether in the pulpit of a local church, in the context of a schoolroom, a homeschool family, or even moms and dads as they parent their children.

‍

Educators may feel forced into using these tools. It’s a “wake up and get on board or get left behind” sort of thing. But many are wary about the ways these tools are starting to replace, or at least significantly change, the nature and purpose of education.

‍

The line for me is honesty and transparency. I think that it can be a red flag when we are not being open and honest about the way we are using AI. Using someone else’s ideas or work and passing it off as your own is the definition of plagiarism. If these aren’t your ideas, thought processes, research, or your words, then it’s plagiarism. Plagiarism is a significant and complex problem that we need to be aware of.

‍

JM: The danger is that kids won’t learn how to think critically. Something happens when we struggle through learning. It’s very easy to write a prompt and turn our brains off when we see the screen filled with great stuff. But simply learning how to write a prompt steals the necessary struggle from us.

‍

My mantra is that we need to embrace technology, but exercise restraint. We do our students a major disservice when we ban AI and say they can’t use it at all. As instructors and teachers, we need to help them develop critical thinking skills and also learn how to use a tool with integrity and discipline.

JT: This is a significant challenge in terms of the cultivation of wisdom. I’ve noticed this as a college professor. Many of my students over the years have either not been trained in critical thinking skills or have chosen to settle for easy answers and talking points. They just want to get to the answer and move on. Education is not simply about the information you get; it’s about the process. It’s about transformation. Critical thinking skills result from the learning process, which includes making mistakes. If you don’t make mistakes, how will you ever learn from them? We bypass the adversity, errors, and challenges that are most productive in cultivating wisdom.

‍

Wisdom helps us recognize our limits. Only God is sovereign. He is infinite. He is perfect. He is holy. We are not. Recognizing that we don’t have infinite knowledge or abilities is embracing our humanity, and it helps us to cultivate wisdom and discernment amid the challenges of life.

‍

JM: Christian wisdom is not about obtaining the information as quickly as possible. Wisdom develops through prayer, Scripture study, experience, the community we’re a part of, the church we attend, reflection, and the struggles we go through. Most importantly, wisdom comes through our relationship with the Holy Spirit. When we become overly reliant on ChatGPT or Claude or Gemini for the sake of expediency, we miss out on the process and relationship that is required to develop wisdom.

‍

One of the biggest challenges for us moving forward is the patience required in prayer. We’ve all had moments where we’ve gone to God in prayer. Sometimes God’s answer is yes, sometimes it’s no, sometimes it’s to wait, and sometimes we’re just not sure what God’s answer is. But I can pull my phone out of my pocket, open ChatGPT, and there’s always an instant answer. So, I think we have to figure out how we show the world that  a relationship with a real God who loves you, cares for you, and wants to have a relationship with you is better than a relationship with an artificial companion.

‍

What indicates productive AI use vs overreliance?

JM: If you’re using AI in a productive way, you’re going to learn something, pick up skills, and walk away more capable. Relying too heavily on AI looks like copying and pasting the answer. We walk away without a true understanding of the answer provided. We don’t develop new ideas, and we are unable to recognize a weakness in a concept. Overreliance on AI leaves a learner less capable, but a productive user walks away having gained something. I have three foundational principles that I think about when I use AI. One, we should view AI as a partner. Two, it’s a conversation, not a command or query. And, three, AI does not have a soul. If you don’t bring enough of your soul to the conversation, then it ends up being a soulless exchange. AI is not and cannot be a co-creator with Christ, but people are.

‍

What impact does AI have on learning when students skip the struggle?

JT: It short-circuits the learning process. Transformation is growth through adversity, challenges, and failures. It’s not just about getting to the answer. Education isn’t about getting a diploma; that’s a piece of paper on the wall. What that piece of paper represents is a person who has been cultivated and formed. You can have a thousand degrees on the wall, have all the knowledge in the world, and be incredibly foolish. According to Proverbs, you can know a lot of things and be extremely foolish and unwise. Knowledge doesn’t equal wisdom.

‍

Wisdom is gained slowly over time, amid challenges and adversities. It’s one of the reasons Proverbs tells us that there’s glory in gray hair. It represents a lifetime of learning and cultivation. What AI does—again, it's not all bad—but one of the things that it does to us is it short-circuits the wisdom cultivation process. It gets us to the immediate answer, the immediate gratification. Anyone who’s been alive for a few years recognizes that just because you want something doesn’t mean it’s actually good for you.

‍

It’s about having a bigger, grander perspective. We can ask God for a thousand things, and maybe He doesn’t grant a single one of them. Ultimately, God can see that it’s not good for us at the moment. It’s not actually what we need.

‍

JM: Something really, really important happens when you wrestle with the problem. I think we need to be cautious about producing a generation of students that have been taught how to retrieve the answers rather than reason their way toward an answer or solution. The danger with AI is that it makes it really easy to say, “Hey, ChatGPT, what’s the answer to this?” And then I don’t have to reason or wrestle through a problem, or even remember the answer, because it’s always there.  

‍

How is AI influencing critical thinking?

JM: If we’re not careful we can treat this technology as just an answering machine, causing us to lose critical thinking skills. If students aren’t participating or collaborating with AI, they will lose the ability to look at evidence, compare perspectives, analyze data, and build arguments.

‍

However, I think we can teach a student to use AI in the right way. Teaching students how to have ChatGPT ask good questions can teach them to brainstorm, to get unstuck when working through a problem, or get started on an overwhelming project.

How is AI affecting trust and authority?

JM: Truth is so eroded today. But I think there’s an opportunity here. I think face-to-face interaction is going to matter more in the future than it does today. When I’m sitting with you, I can look you in the eye, and you can look me in the eye, and we know it’s real. There’s a real person here and a real connection. I think this is happening with young people, and I think the world is going to grow tired of artificial influencers, artificial news, and artificial things.

‍

I think there’s an opportunity for the church to be a place of real community, with a real message, and real relationships. Historically, people have sought guidance from parents, teachers, friends, and counselors. Those sources are a little bit imperfect and they’re all biased, but trust is possible during these human interactions. I think we have to demonstrate for our kids that in our parental relationship, you’re going to get something that you don’t get from technology. Part of that is you can look me in the eye and know what I’m telling you is real.

‍

JT: The problem that we’re facing in the age of AI is the breakdown of trust through the proliferation of misinformation and fake news. One of the bigger problems is not just that misinformation is shared through mass media, social media, and communication tools, but that AI creates it. So it’s not just sharing it at scale, it’s actually creating it at scale.

‍

What happens is that we see it, and then we see it again, and after we see it multiple times we start to develop a confirmation bias. We assume that because we have seen it before, it’s probably true. Or, I trust so-and-so. This looks reputable. We don’t take the time to slow down to ask the right questions. The cultivation of wisdom is slowing down and recognizing that nothing is neutral. No social media post, presidential administration, academic institution, family, or church is neutral. Nothing is neutral. They’re trying to persuade us, hopefully toward the truth, but that’s not always the case. They seek to persuade us and shape us, especially through emotional appeals.

‍

Things aren’t always as simple as they are initially presented. There’s often a lot of complexity and nuance to things. Wisdom encourages us to slow down and consider. Just because you see it or just because a chatbot says it, doesn’t actually make it true—especially with AI. It’s not all bad and we don’t have to avoid it, but things are changing. Technology, especially AI, is not neutral.

‍

JM: I think it absolutely can. AI is not biased, but it was trained by biased sources. AI is never going to explicitly tell you to adopt a particular worldview, but it might pull the data from a specific worldview. It can shape the way we think if we’re not careful. To avoid this, we have to be proactive in the way that we write our prompts. AI can learn your preferences, values, political perspective, and opinions based on your previous posts. Write prompts with detailed information, context, and a strong description of your desired results.

‍

What hope do you have that christians can wisely navigate and respond to AI’s growing influence?

JT: I think the biggest thing for us to remember is that God is not caught off guard by any of this. God’s Word is more than sufficient. It’s true, it’s authoritative, and more than sufficient for the challenges we face today. Christians are a people of hope. Or, we ought to be a people of hope because we know the reality that Jesus is alive.

‍

The ultimate hope I have is that Jesus is alive, He is coming back, none of these things are catching Him off guard, and He’s given His church all they need to navigate the challenges. My response is to pursue wisdom, seek to love God, and to love my neighbors. And we’re seeing that happen. I feel a lot of hope when I see brothers and sisters in Christ engaging deeply on these issues, not settling for easy answers, and relying on God’s Word to help us navigate the challenges that we face.

‍

JM: I think a time is coming when people are going to crave, more than ever, being in real places with real people. We are going to have more opportunities for the church to be a place of hospitality, community, and comfort.

‍

The church’s role is not merely to warn young people about the perils of AI, but to teach and equip them in the wise use of AI. Our role is to equip people on how to use these powerful tools  in an ethical, moral, and responsible way. There are so many opportunities to use this tool creatively to share the gospel. I hope that Christians will become guardians of this technology and take part in the conversation so that people can use these tools in ways that are helpful, not harmful.

‍

What has most surprised you about how quickly AI has become part of ordinary life?

JM: The most shocking thing is that it went from being this amazing, magical thing to a common and ordinary thing. I think it is a little scary because our guard is not up as much as it might have been in the beginning.

‍

It’s also wild how personalized and agentic AI has become. A day will come where you'll get up in the morning and your AI will say to you, “I found these articles online that I think you would love. Your schedule for today is— you need to run x errand, and don't forget to get gas. I looked at the gas prices in town and this is the best place to go.” It's gonna look out for what's happening in the world around you.

How is AI affecting society’s understanding of truth, accuracy, and authority in everyday information?

JM: The world has changed so much. We don't even agree on the fundamentals of truth anymore. I would say AI makes it possible to produce an enormous amount of believable content really quickly. And that content is so good and plausible, but not always real. That makes the real things hard to believe as well. People are going to have to approach these things with greater humility and develop stronger verification habits.

‍

In what ways might AI influence emotional or relational dependence, particularlythrough conversational tools or chatbots?

JT: Chatbots mimic and imitate humans. These tools are not fundamentally like us. They are like parrots in many ways. They parrot back to us the things we want to hear. Which, as we know, is not always what we need to hear. I'm very concerned about the rise of chatbots, especially in counseling or mentoring conversations. Those are supposed to be one person with one person. A machine can't imitate that type of relational connection. But also it can feel easier and less intimidating to talk to a chatbot, especially sometimes for teenagers.

However, just because it's easy and just because you can doesn't actually make it good or right. The ease, convenience and the efficiency of it is the antithesis of what we actually need. Which is another person to sit down with and talk and share struggles and doubts and fears. We need to recognize that a machine may initially meet a felt need.

I think this is a significant opportunity for the local church to step into relational connectivity, communication, and counseling. That may mean that we can't do things the way we are used to doing them. We have to meet the challenges of the day and focus on people—not just on numbers, profit, or growth. We have to focus on the relational connectivity that's so central to Christianity.

JM: Large Language Models (LLMs) have personalities. You can even give them personas. For instance, a friend who does youth ministry for a living asked his ChatGPT to respond to him as an angsty teen so he can learn and understand his youth. When I chat with different chatbots, I feel a different emotional connection to them based on the way that they are programmed. Artificial intelligence is programmed to draw you in. They are only going to get better at imitating humans.

JT: The ease, convenience,and the ever-presence of these tools are major factors. They're always with us. And there is so much less friction with AI systems than with humans. It's about meeting my initial felt needs and what I want right now. Human relationships are two-sided. Your best friend isn't the one who always fills up your cup and always gives you everything you want and need. Real relationships are time consuming, messy, and challenging. That’s actually where the deepest and best relationships form. Not the immediate gratification of a dopamine rush, but actually the giving of yourself to another. True friendship is other-oriented.The Christian life is other-oriented. It's all about love of another, ultimately love of God and love of your neighbor. But it's other-oriented. That's something that is significantly lost with this dependence on AI systems. They are just about getting me what I want when sometimes the best thing is to give ourselves to another.

What aspects of human experience or relationship does AI simulate well—and where does it remain fundamentally limited?

JM: AI is really good at capturing language. It can generate the language of compassion, but it really doesn't understand the meaning of compassion. While it understands algorithmically and language-wise, there's a hollowness to it. It can describe love without really being able to love, and that can get really confusing.

JT: These machines are imitating many central aspects of what we've long assumed it meant to be human. We are reasoning creatures. We are intelligent beings. Then you look at these machines and they seem to be able to reason and they are intelligent. Even if they are imitating humans, they’re producing things…maybe better than you. Does that mean that this machine is like me? Or, maybe even better than me? What is my value as a human being? What about the future oft hese machines?

We have to be cautious with AI agents. Are these machines really agents, especially moral agents? Are they accountable? Are they like us in that sense, morally responsible? No, they're just machines. No matter how advanced that machine is, there's a fundamental, philosophical, and theological difference between being someone and being some thing. We're dealing with that question in a very visceral way right now because these things are being portrayed as like us when they're fundamentally not. This is a fundamental reality that brings us back to the central question of ethics today—what does it mean to be human—especially in the age of machines?

What risks do AI-generated media, including deepfakes and synthetic content, pose for families, institutions, and churches?

JT: There's an incredibly dehumanizing effect with AI in general. Again, it’s blurring the fundamental difference between being a human and being a machine. Human beings are not machines. We're not a sum of our parts. We are image bearers of the almighty God.

We tend to humanize the machines. We give them faces, names, and pronouns. We anthropomorphize the machines. The great irony, though, is while we're doing that we're actually dehumanizing ourselves. We seek to humanize these machines who are actually dehumanizing us in the same process. That is one of the most damaging and most consequential aspects of the challenge we face today.

We specifically see that with things like AI generated content or media. It can be helpful. But often it’s quite hollow. It doesn't have the feeling, emotion, experience, or the personality of a human because it's not. And that again comes back to that fundamental blurring of the line between being human and being a machine. Unfortunately, we live in a day where that line is being incredibly blurred in the name of efficiency and convenience.

What does meaningful, Christian discernment look like in a world where so much content may be AI-generated or AI-assisted?

JM: I think it's important to make sure that we are actively keeping people in the loop. ChatGPT doesn't fully understand the context of the world around us. If it's just me and ChatGPT, and I don't have anybody else speaking into my life, we are in danger of falling into isolation. Community is really important in helping us discern what are the lines we are not going to cross. I always go back to John Wesley’s Three Simple Rules. They are helpful as we’re thinking about AI: 1. Do no harm, 2. Do good, and 3. Stay in love with God.

JT: Meaningful Christian engagement is going to come down to the question—just because you can, should you? I think that is a key question of discipleship, wisdom and growth in our relationship with Christ, as Christians, and for all aspects of life. That question applies to everything from education, family, marriage, church, government, policy, work—everything.

In this age of AI where everything seems to be shifting and constantly changing around us, we must pursue wisdom. Scripture is very clear that Jesus is the wisdom of God. We are to pursue him. Answering that key question, I think, is really where we'll start to see wisdom and growth start to be cultivated and developed. Discernment and wisdom are hard to cultivate and develop, but so worth it.

We are created according to the image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15) We are created to be like Jesus through the powerful sanctification of the Holy Spirit. That work is not efficient. It's actually extremely messy and time consuming, but more beautiful than we could ever hope.

What practices or habits help Christian individuals or families stay grounded and attentive in an environment increasingly shaped by AI?

JT: We have to slow down, be open and honest, and communicate. I understand the temptation to jump on the newest technology. Our kids want the newest apps, smartphones, and video game systems. And mom and dad need a few minutes. I get it. But we are making a mistake when we hand over the newest technology without actually slowing down to equip our kids and ourselves. We learned long ago that just handing a teenager a smartphone is a boneheaded decision. Because very quickly we begin to see how dehumanizing and damaging it can be for a child. We have to be just as careful of the rapid adoption of AI. We are in a significant hype cycle with AI. We have to continue to ask the question—just because I can use AI for something, should I?

As parents and examples, we have to slow down on our use of AI and continue to have conversations about who God is, what it means to be human, and how being an image bearer of God makes us different from machines. The Shema is quite clear in Deuteronomy 6 that we are to raise our children, teach them along the way about how they should live. We are to teach them that God is one and we are to love him with every fiber of our being, heart, mind and soul. Cultivating wisdom might mean that we do things the old way, the manual way, not because it’s inherently better, but because we need to break the habit of taking the short way. Efficiency and convenience is not the most important thing. The goal is to cultivate wisdom and virtue and we can’t do that if we are constantly short circuiting the process.

JM: I think isolation is really dangerous. We have to be careful to check in on our family members to make sure we're not isolating with AI. For instance, if I need to make a big decision I can talk to my wife and we can process and figure things out together. Or, I can go to ChatGPT. It’s efficient. It’s always there. But harm is done when I am relying more on a machine than the relationships that God has put around me.

I also think that parents need to take the time to explore the tools, learn them, and understand them. Kids are likely in a world where they are surrounded by them. Parents don’t have to be experts, but we need to know what does what. Technology should have a place in family life, but it should not become the center of family life and we have to be careful that we’re not all off in our separate spaces with technology.

The conversation around AI is often polarized. Some warn that it poses an existential threat to humanity, while others promise revolutionary advances in medicine, agriculture, and nearly every aspect of modern life. How do we navigate such conflicting claims without either rejecting a useful tool or embracing a technology we don’t fully understand?

• Remember that God is in control. Isaiah 46:10 ESV reminds us that God alone declares “the end from the beginning.” AI does not have the power to disrupt His purposes or unseat Him from His throne.

• Keep Scripture central, not supplemental. In a world increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence, God’s Word remains our source of truth and wisdom. As Isaiah 40:8 ESV reminds us, while technologies come and go, “the word of our God will stand forever.”

• Teach discernment, not just restriction. AI is becoming embedded in everyday life, making avoidance unrealistic. Children need guidance in asking wise questions, evaluating information, and walking in integrity.

• Engage, rather than monitor. Be curious about how your children use AI. Ask them about the apps, games, and chatbots they enjoy. Use those conversations to model thoughtful boundaries, and remind them that some of life’s most important lessons come through the challenging work of learning, problem-solving, and seeking wisdom.