One of the newest fads, even more significant than swallowing goldfish and binge-watching Friends, is AI, also known as “artificial intelligence.” Simply put, artificial intelligence is the science of making machines that can think like humans. In some ways, this can be beneficial. Machines can process enormous amounts of information almost instantly, in ways that humans cannot. The concept sounds somewhat scary and ominous. Using our imagination (which AI lacks), we can picture robots taking over the world, making us their slaves and keeping us in big hamster cages.

AI, like anything else, can be used for good in the hands of the good, and for evil in the hands of the evil. It can be used to fight crime and to commit crime; to diagnose your disease and imitate your daughter in a phone scam; replace people on assembly lines and process unemployment claims; and other uses too numerous to mention (That’s why we have Google).

Scientists spend billions of dollars to search the skies for signs of intelligent life. Why do they have to look so far away? One thing that sets mankind apart from the animals is having the intelligence to engage in such pursuits.

More and more scientific investigators are convinced that there is an intelligence behind the design of everything in the universe, including the human body. A movement called “Intelligent Design” admits and proves this, but refuses to name the designer. There is no need to look any farther than the Bible to discover the Intelligence behind the universe. It is there that we learn about the true Intelligence who is not only perfect in knowledge, but also capable of feelings and actions that no manmade device can affect.

Who is this Intelligence? “It is he who made the earth by his power, who established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding stretched out the heavens” (Jeremiah 10:12). It is the God of the Bible.

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). That sums it all up. God, through Jesus Christ, created everything. The apostle John puts it this way: “All things were made through [Christ], and without him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:3).

The wisdom and knowledge of God are an infinitely far cry from anything man or “pretend man” can achieve. Yet, He is willing to share that wisdom with anyone who asks in sincerity. “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him” (James 1:5). Artificial intelligence is a useful servant that can enhance our lives, but when it comes to eternal life, it can’t get us there. We can ask with the apostle Peter, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68).

Can man be replaced? In a way, yes! In fact, man has been replaced—not by AI, but by a Roman cross. Hear Isaiah: “But [Christ] was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5). Jesus replaced us on the cross, bearing the punishment that our sins deserve so we could receive his righteousness and be reconciled to God.

“Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!” (Romans 11:33).