I think we all know what AI is, for computer languages. Think of Star Trek, with android robots that could think like humans, and maybe better. It is called Science Fiction, and we may never meet Data. He is a fictional character, but he might be useful with those one thousand piece jigsaw puzzles.

AI is software that thinks more than traditional apps, and can apparently increase the information that it gives us.

Here is a better definition: “Artificial intelligence is a field of science concerned with building computers and machines that can reason, learn, and act in such a way that would normally require human intelligence or that involves data whose scale exceeds what humans can analyze.”

So, are you ready for this? Someone has developed a Jesus app using AI. Now we can talk to Jesus on our computers.

Imagine asking questions about spiritual things, to an image on a computer screen, and believing what the image told us. People followed the actual Jesus after they met Him, and now imagine directing your life with the voice of a computer app.

Really, it was just a matter of time. Computer science has been applied to many parts of our human lives, so why not our spiritual lives?

Probably most people who read this will laugh or make some alarmed sound, and just say “No! I don’t think this new idea will catch on”, but what if we are wrong?

What if future generations get spiritual direction for their lives, through a computer app? There are some questions that we should ask, and some truth that we should return to.

There is an old word for computer programmers, from the early days of computer science “GiGo.” That means “Garbage In – Garbage Out.” The quality of the final product comes directly from the quality of the data and the skilled work of the programmers. Low quality in always produces low quality out.

So, let’s focus on high quality.

1) Why Jesus?

What is it about a carpenter from the east end of the Roman Empire, that captures so much of our attention, two thousand years later? Why is it important to build a complex AI app around the identity of this ancient teacher? Today, more people identify with that man Jesus than any other person in the history of the world.

When some of the first Christians were asked to explain, they risked their lives to say this:

This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. (Acts 4: 11 and 12)

Billions of people living today agree with that. That AI Jesus app has some sales potential.

2) What do the programmers know about that man?

Unless they have a profound knowledge of Jesus, they won’t be able to program Him into our computers. But then, if we don’t know much about him, we might be happy with their work. A poorly designed AI Jesus might make sense to uniformed people.

I recently heard a speaker talk about Jesus, and he referred to a Bible story that I have heard and read many times. When I listened this time, I finally realized something.

We easily get Jesus wrong.

There is a Bible story, which you can find it in Luke 17:11=19. To summarize, ten men with the incurable disease of leprosy begged Jesus to heal them, but He didn’t. Jesus told them to show themselves to the priest, which was the standard practice.

He gave them a direction and a road to travel on, and someone to talk to. They obeyed and they were declared clean and completely healed. One man returned to thank Jesus, but He did not take the credit for what happened. He told the man “Get up and go your way. Your faith has made you well.” (verse 19)

They recovered from that terrible disease when they trusted and obeyed. Jesus did not exercise some amazing magical power, He told the lepers to trust and obey God.

It’s almost as if they healed themselves. There are several places in the Bible where people were told, “Your faith has healed you.”

We could easily make Jesus into an amazing, supernatural guru, who had magic-like powers. In the stories, Jesus was a very humble consultant. He gave us simple directions that would send us to amazing places, and there is no Abracadabra holy man who talked down to us. Instead, there is a humble man who wanted great things for our lives, as we trust and obey. He said we would do more and greater things than He did:

“I tell you the solemn truth, the person who believes in me will perform the miraculous deeds that I am doing, and will perform greater deeds than these.” (John 14: 12)

I think we already have enough information about Jesus in the pages of the Bible. I hope we also have amazing stories in our own lives, as we follow his simple directions.

We don’t need a laptop for that.