Is AI made in the image of God?

from the old testament

• When God created men and women, He said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth” (Genesis 1:26). This is distinct from the rest of creation. Humans were placed over all of God’s creation and set apart as somehow unique.
• Indeed, unlike the rest of creation, God personally formed man and woman (Genesis 2:7, 21–22). Being in God’s image means more than being the highest created being. It means moral agency, freedom, and so forth. Even angels, who are more intelligent and more powerful than we are (Psalm 103:20; cf. 2 Peter 2:11), were not made image bearers. Thus, being an image bearer is not simply based on intelligence. That designation is personal and specific to humans.
• Because being an image bearer is inherent to being human, even after the fall, we remained image bearers. For example, in Genesis 9:6, after God judges the world with the flood, He defined the death penalty as the natural implication of humans being in His image: “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.”
• Nothing else in creation shares image-bearing status. David marveled at this, saying, “What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas” (Psalm 8:4–8).

from the new testament

• Being in God’s image means that all humans are to be treated with respect. James commented on the danger and wickedness of our speech, saying, “with it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God” (James 3:9).
• Because we are all sinful (Romans 3:23), everything we do and make is also tainted by our sin. Since men and women create AI, at best, we can say that it is made in humanity’s sinful image.
• Jesus is the only perfect human, the only one who perfectly images God (Colossians 1:15). Believers are sinners who have been saved by grace and whom the Holy Spirit is slowly changing into Jesus’ image (Romans 8:29; 2 Corinthians 3:18).
• AI is only a machine. Even as technology advances, the best it will be is an advanced machine. It will never be human, and thus never image God. It will also never be saved as Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection are only for humans (Hebrews 2:14–17).

implications for today

AI is like any other tool that men and women have created since the beginning of history. While it resembles human thought, that resemblance is superficial. AI isn’t a sentient being, creating new thoughts. Rather, it’s code that emulates and repeats the data on which it’s been trained. However, even if technology advances to the point that AI's thinking process becomes indistinguishable from our own, AI will still not be in the image of God.

You are in God’s image, not because of your intellect or knowledge, but because He specifically chose humanity to reflect His attributes to the rest of creation. While scholars debate what image-bearing means, it’s clear that it’s a gift given only to humans. AI, as code and machine, is not human and can never obtain that status. We can create approximations of ourselves, but only God can create humans.

What does this mean then for how we understand AI? First, we can appreciate the technology where it is helpful. Second, we must remain restrained in how highly we elevate it in our thinking or society. It should never be considered a rival to humanity or deserving of rights as a person. Third, we need to use it cautiously as it is trained on sinful human thoughts and beliefs and gladly affirms what we want to hear, even if it’s not the truth. Fourth, God has revealed truth to us, and we must never allow AI to be our source of eternal truth.

In the end, AI appears to be a useful tool in society, but as with every tool before, that’s all it is. Use it wisely, check its output, and don’t forget that you, not it, are in the image of God.