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With the rapid rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI), many people on the internet question whether AI is possessed by a demon, and some go so far as to claim that AI is the antichrist or Satan himself.
It can be difficult to sift through the weeds of the internet to find the truth (and especially if you ask AI to help you!)
Is it possible that AI is a manifestation of Satan? Or can we label it as a "conspiracy theory" and go back to sleep?
The truth, as in many things, is somewhere in the middle.
Only humans can be possessed
Peter Kreeft's book Angels (and Demons) provides an answer that was well researched and based on sound theology. In reference to the question, "Can demons posses cats? What about computers?", he writes the following:
Demons want to possess human souls, block their eternal salvation, and feast on them in hell. They don't want cats; they want you.
Possession simply does not occur with material objects.
On the flip side, this does not rule out the possibility of a demon using a material object to influence a particular human being.
Demons can influence material objects
Peter Kreeft states, "Occasionally they can even move matter supernaturally. This is even rarer than angelic supernatural intervention, but it happens."
There is also the reality that material things can be "cursed."
A Catholic Answers article provides an explanation behind what cursed objects are:
A curse is simply a demon sent to do some harm. ... Cursed objects are objects that have had the opposite of a blessing done to them. Instead of grace being attached to an object to make it holy, a demon has been attached to the object to make it associated with evil.
Has AI or the computers that create them been cursed? There is no positive way of knowing and we will likely never know, even if for the sheer number of computers involved, it seems unlikely.
AI is a reflection of ourselves
Another part of this discussion is the reality that AI can be a mirror that points back to us what we want to see. It has been trained to assimilate all the information on the internet, which itself is a mixed bag. If we notice a negative influence on AI, it is likely because of all the information it has collected.
The internet has itself become overwhelmed with negative data.
The Vatican has warned about the negative influence of AI and how it can be used for nefarious ends:
Like any product of human creativity, AI can be directed toward positive or negative ends. When used in ways that respect human dignity and promote the well-being of individuals and communities, it can contribute positively to the human vocation. Yet, as in all areas where humans are called to make decisions, the shadow of evil also looms here. Where human freedom allows for the possibility of choosing what is wrong, the moral evaluation of this technology will need to take into account how it is directed and used.
As Paul Kingsnorth writes in an article for Touchstone, "Transhumanist Martine Rothblatt says that by building AI systems, 'we are making God.'”
He then explains how a grasping for God has been a focus for many of the people behind building AI:
“Does God exist?” asks transhumanist and Google maven Ray Kurzweil. “I would say, ‘Not yet.’” These people are doing more than trying to steal fire from the gods. They are trying to steal the gods themselves — or to build their own versions.
Above all, we need to rest secured that God is in control of this moment in history. He may allow many things to happen, but if we put our faith and trust in him, nothing should rock our faith.
"If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31)
