Technology – AI and Neuralink in Light of Biblical and Historical Shifts

Throughout history, humanity has faced turning points where new knowledge and technology reshaped daily life, relationships, and even faith practice. Artificial Intelligence and Neuralink are modern examples, but the Bible and church history give us analogies that help us discern wisely.

• Tower of Babel (Genesis 11): Like humanity’s leap in building with brick and stone, AI and Neuralink reveal both creativity and the temptation to exalt ourselves beyond God’s limits.
  
• The Printing Press: Gutenberg’s invention put Scripture into the hands of ordinary people. Today’s digital tools could just as radically change how truth and ideas spread—for good or ill.
  
• Greek Language and Roman Roads: The infrastructure of the first century helped the gospel spread. Likewise, new tech could accelerate communication and community, if directed toward God’s mission.
  
• Writing and Literacy in Israel’s Story: God’s law written on stone tablets shifted culture from oral tradition to written word. Neuralink’s potential to “write directly on the brain” reminds us that what God writes on the heart remains primary (Jeremiah 31:33).
  
• The Industrial Revolution: Machines reshaped labor, family, and economy. AI threatens similar upheaval to work, identity, and human dignity.
  
• Medical Advances: From vaccines to transplants, technology has extended life and restored health. Neuralink’s promises to heal neurological diseases echo this hope—yet mortality and eternal hope in Christ remain unchanged.
  

These analogies remind us: technology is neither savior nor enemy by itself. It magnifies what is in the human heart. When placed under God’s sovereignty, it can serve His mission. When pursued for pride or control, it becomes Babel again.

Glossary of Terms

• AI (Artificial Intelligence): Computer systems designed to perform tasks that normally require human intelligence—such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, or generating language and images.
  
• Neuralink: A company developing brain–computer interface technology, designed to connect human brains directly with computers to restore lost functions (such as movement in paralysis) or enhance abilities.
  
• Tower of Babel (Genesis 11): A biblical story where humanity sought to build a tower “to the heavens,” symbolizing human pride and unity apart from God. God scattered them by confusing their languages.
  
• Printing Press: A 15th-century invention by Johannes Gutenberg that allowed mass production of books. It transformed education, culture, and especially the spread of the Bible.
  
• Greek Language and Roman Roads: In the New Testament era, the common Greek language and Roman road system provided a foundation for the gospel to spread quickly across the empire.
  
• Writing on Stone Tablets: God’s giving of the Ten Commandments to Moses (Exodus 31:18), marking a shift from oral tradition to written law.
  
• Industrial Revolution: The period (18th–19th centuries) when machines transformed work, family life, and society, creating both opportunity and disruption.
  
• Medical Advances: Discoveries such as vaccines, anesthesia, antibiotics, and organ transplants that reshaped human health and longevity.
  
• Orthodoxy (Theological): The “right belief” or faithful teaching of the Christian church across history, especially centered on the person and work of Christ.
  
• Idolatry: Worshiping or depending on something created (technology, wealth, power) rather than God.
  
• Stewardship: The biblical principle of wisely managing resources, abilities, and creation as gifts from God, not possessions of our own.