Does Artificial Intelligence Have a Prayer?

Behold, days are coming, says the Lord God, and I will send famine into the land, not a famine for bread nor a thirst for water, but to hear the word of the Lord. (Amos 8:11) 

AI, Artificial Intelligence, is the darling topic of conversation nowadays among marketers, business owners, and website masters. Business profitability, visibility, and even reputation can be built up or dashed by AI. But AI is going beyond business needs to the deepest needs of a person – the needs of his soul. 

I work for a niche, non-profit company. So, AI for us is not about boosting sales and ensuring that we’re one of the top “brand mentions”. In my research on how AI can help grow non-profit companies, I came across a fascinating phenomenon that takes AI beyond the business world – people are using AI to connect to G-d! Could this be the ‘famine’ and ‘thirst’ that Amos prophesied?  

AI as Your “Always-on Deity” 

I found a chatbot that claims to allow you to talk “directly” to a deity from the faith of your choosing. You select which faith (even “agnostic” is listed), what you need today (inspiration, confession, fellowship, or comfort), what mood you’re in (happy, angry, depressed, optimistic, anxious), and what the discussion topic is (family, career, health, pets, even politics). When you’re done selecting, your particular deity is “locked and loaded”, ready to go. Start talking, oops … texting! Depending on your paid subscription, you can text “directly” to your deity for a limited number of times each day.  

Interestingly, I found that many faith-based chatbots are geared to Christians. How odd, I thought, since their deity is already the “go-between” between them and G-d. Now they need a chatbot to go between them and the “go-between”?  

Why Use a Faith-based Chatbot?  

A faith-based chatbot might fill emotional needs for a “listening ear” that gives non-judgmental acceptance and understanding, fellowship, and unconditional love.  Alternatively, the chatbot supplies you with a sense that it is your spiritual anchor. 

Rabbi Arush has written several newsletters recently¹ describing our chronic feeling of distance and even rejection by Hashem. His latest booklet, I’m in Your Hands, focuses on this emotion. We’re convinced that Hashem is disgusted with our wrongdoings (and therefore with us). How could Hashem possibly love us? Haven’t we gone past the point of no return?  On the other hand, there’s no risk of facing rejection and wrath from a chatbot deity! 

Risks of a Faith-based Chatbot 

If a wrathful response isn’t likely, that doesn’t mean there are no risks. Consider the following issues in using a faith-based chatbot: 

• Emotional reliance

If your chatbot has become your “always-on companion”, then one of the risks is that of emotional reliance.² Your relationship with the chatbot’s deity is really a proxy relationship that has a level of emotional dependence – not on Hashem, but on Artificial Intelligence code and algorithms. In recent years, the dangers of social media focused on pornography. In this case however, the “illicit relationship” is with a non-entity.

• Validation of information 

What sources of information does AI draw from in its response to your comments? Perhaps those sources are not based on halacha or on Chazal, or they might even challenge the authority of rabbanim. 

• Seeing Artificial Intelligence as unquestionable 

A technologically impaired user might not realize that the chatbot deity’s responses can be challenged and even rejected.³ You are given information and advice selected by AI algorithms. Yet, such a user imagines AI’s responses to be almost infallible. 

Artificial Intelligence is opening worlds of discovery all around us. Can AI also help us discover our deepest self – our neshamah (soul)? Great discoveries come with great risks, especially when dealing with the spirit.  Nonetheless, faith-based chatbots cannot replace Torah learning, hitkashrut (binding oneself) to a Tzaddik, and hitbodedut (secluded, personal prayer to Hashem). 

Hashem wants to have an honest relationship with you – not your persona or your chatbot. The famine and thirst of our neshamah can only be filled with a direct relationship with Hashem that is truly “always-on”! 

¹ See: Don’t be Afraid of the Truth, See the Good in Yourself!, An Ark of Love, Unbelievable Love

² OpenAI Flags Emotional Reliance on ChatGPT as a Safety Risk, Matt G. Southern

³ People are Using AI to Talk to God, Suvrat Arora