Don’t outsource your discernment
Artificial Intelligence is no doubt one of — if not the — defining technological advancement of our generation.
In the past 100 years, humanity has gone from inventing airplanes to landing on the moon, and from creating the internet to building machines capable of generating essays, writing code, answering questions, and carrying on conversations that sound remarkably human.
It’s incredible to think about
In some ways, it makes the technology of science fiction seem a little less fictional. Those of us who grew up watching Star Trek remember the ship’s computer instantly answering questions and providing information to the crew. Star Wars gave us droids that could communicate, translate languages, and help solve problems.
As a kid, that technology seemed impossibly far away. Today many of us carry something in our pocket that would have looked like science fiction just a few decades ago.
That’s why AI captures so much attention. It is a genuinely remarkable achievement.
But every powerful technology comes with risks
Because we live in a fallen world, every tool humanity creates can be used for good or for harm. The same fire that cooks food can burn down a house. The same internet that allows missionaries to reach people around the globe can also distribute sin and deception at an unprecedented scale.
Artificial intelligence is no different.
To be clear, I am not among those predicting that AI is going to become self-aware and launch some sort of robot uprising. I don’t lie awake worrying about AI becoming Skynet. Frankly, I’m more worried about humans turning themselves into the passengers from WALL-E than I am about a robot takeover.
I’m much more concerned about something far more likely …
Humans might stop thinking
The greatest threat of AI is not that machines become smarter than people. The greatest threat is that people become increasingly dependent on machines and gradually surrender skills they were created to use.
Many science fiction stories imagine computers taking over because they become more powerful than humanity. What if reality is much simpler? What if technology takes over because we become unwilling to think for ourselves?
That possibility should concern us.
To be clear, I am pro-technology. My entire career has been built around technology. I love new tools. I enjoy innovation. I use AI almost every day. I have seen it save time, improve productivity, and help people accomplish tasks that would have taken significantly longer otherwise.
What I’m not willing to do is surrender my God-given ability to think, reason and discern simply because a machine can generate an answer more quickly than I can.
Technology should amplify human capability, not replace human responsibility.
Consider something as simple as navigation.
In the latter part of the last century, we didn’t have GPS. When I would travel to another city, I often carried a road atlas. Before leaving the office, I would study the map and try to memorize the route to my destination. I wanted to understand the major roads, the general layout of the city, and the direction I needed to travel.
If I couldn’t remember every turn, I would write down key directions. But I still wanted to know where I was and where I was going because if there was an accident, construction or a missed turn, I could still navigate.
Then came GPS.
What a game-changer.
Suddenly I no longer needed to study maps. I didn’t need to memorize routes. I simply entered an address and followed the instructions. GPS made travel easier, faster, and far less stressful.
I was an early adopter and loved every minute of it, but I still wanted to know my bearings and understand where I was going.
We’ve all heard stories about people blindly following GPS instructions and ending up somewhere they clearly should not have gone. Sometimes the GPS says “turn right” and there happens to be a lake in that direction.
At some point, common sense has to enter the equation.
Cars don’t float.
Sometimes the GPS is wrong. More accurately, the humans who built it are wrong.
Either way, blindly following directions without any situational awareness can lead to problems. That’s the danger I see with AI…
AI is rapidly becoming the GPS for thinking
The challenge is that AI appears to reason. Unlike a calculator, it explains itself and presents convincing arguments, sometimes so convincingly that people stop questioning it.
If you use a calculator too much, eventually your mental math skills begin to weaken. If you rely entirely on GPS, your sense of direction may deteriorate. In the same way, if you continually outsource your reasoning to AI, your ability to think critically and exercise discernment can slowly fade.
The change happens gradually.
At first, you trust AI because you want to.
Eventually, you trust AI because you have to.
That shift should concern us.
One way to recognize unhealthy dependence is to ask a simple question: What happens when the technology stops working?
Imagine your workflow for creating reports, writing content, developing software, or solving business problems is completely dependent on AI. Then the service becomes unavailable. Can you still perform the task?
Or does your productivity come to a standstill?
Dependence often reveals itself when the tool disappears.
I freely admit that I use AI to help me write. I write far more today than I ever expected when I was younger, and I sometimes wish I had paid more attention in those English classes I thought I would never need.
The key is that I use AI as a teacher and editor, not a substitute for thinking. Whether it is improving a paragraph or suggesting code, I try to understand why it works. My goal is not simply to produce more output. My goal is to become better at the craft.
If I stop learning and start copying, AI is no longer helping me improve. It is simply doing the work for me. Instead of becoming a better writer or programmer, I become a spectator.
Unfortunately, many people approach AI with exactly that mindset.
Rather than asking, “How can this help me improve?” they ask, “How can this do the work for me?”
Those are very different questions.
Ironically, many of the people most worried about AI replacing workers are actively training themselves to become replaceable. They use AI not to become better at their jobs, but to avoid doing them altogether.
That is a dangerous path.
This concern becomes even more significant in the church.
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AI can summarize theology, but it cannot replace the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
• AI can gather commentaries, but it cannot provide wisdom.
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AI can generate a sermon outline, but it cannot cultivate a pastor’s walk with God.
• AI can produce answers, but it cannot exercise biblical discernment.
God did not design believers to outsource spiritual maturity to a machine. Prayer, obedience, wisdom and discernment cannot be automated.
As Christians, we should be excited about tools that help us serve more effectively. We should use technology to expand our reach, increase efficiency, and remove barriers from ministry. But we must never confuse information with wisdom.
The internet contains information.
AI can process information.
Wisdom comes from God.
That distinction matters.
My goal is not to discourage the use of AI. Quite the opposite.
I believe AI will become one of the most powerful productivity tools ever created. The question is whether it will make us stronger or weaker.
Think of AI as a coach, not a chauffeur.
A coach helps you improve your abilities. A chauffeur does the driving while you sit in the back seat.
If AI is driving and you are simply along for the ride, eventually you lose the ability to navigate.
Here are five practical ways to keep AI in the role of coach rather than chauffeur:
1. Think before you prompt
Before rushing to AI, spend a few minutes forming your own answer. Develop an opinion. Create an outline. Think through the problem. Then ask AI for feedback. Use AI to improve your thinking, not replace it.
2. Ask AI to critique, not create
Instead of saying, “Write this for me,” try saying, “Review this and tell me what I missed.” Ask AI to challenge assumptions, identify weaknesses, and highlight blind spots. The more you learn from AI, the less dependent you become on it.
3. Keep using your brain
The brain works much like a muscle. If you stop using it, it weakens. Continue solving problems, writing content, learning skills, and thinking critically. Let AI check your work rather than do all the work.
4. Verify, then trust
AI can be remarkably accurate. It can also be remarkably wrong. Verify important facts, citations and conclusions. Blind trust is never a substitute for discernment.
5. Measure learning, not productivity
Ask yourself a simple question: Am I getting better at this skill? If months pass and AI is doing more while you are learning less, you might be moving in the wrong direction.
My simple rule is this:
Think first. Prompt second. Verify third.
AI might become one of the most powerful tools humanity has ever created. Like every tool, it can either strengthen us or weaken us.
The difference depends on whether we use it to learn or use it to escape the responsibility of learning.
Let AI help you think better, write better, serve better, and reach more people for Christ. Just don’t surrender the God-given abilities of reason, wisdom, discernment, and critical thinking that He entrusted to you.
Think first.
Prompt second.
Verify third.
And remember: the goal is not to build smarter machines while becoming weaker humans. The goal is to use smarter tools while remaining faithful stewards of the minds God gave us.
Jonathan Smith is the president of MBS and the Chief Technology Officer at Faith Ministries in Lafayette, Ind. He is an author and frequent conference speaker. Follow him on X @JonathanESmith
