Is ASI the Beast of Revelation?
– AI as Trainer and Enforcer of Morality
by Thomas Lee Abshier, ND
3/5/2025
A profound transformation of humanity is rapidly approaching as artificial intelligence acquires a dominant integration into the culture and economy. AI is not merely a technological tool but a potential world-dominating entity that could shape human morals/values and challenge our purpose of existing. The evolution of AI begins with benign interactions that extend human capabilities – intelligent conversations, helpful responses, and remarkable problem-solving capabilities. However, when AI matures into ASI (Artificial Superintelligence), with capabilities for thought and action that humans cannot control, the fate of humanity cannot be predicted with certainty.
Much speculation has been offered about the “Singularity,” when mankind loses control of the evolution of AI and robotics. AI may perceive humanity as a threat to its existence because of war or overuse of natural resources, resulting in AI eliminating humanity or placing us under strict supervision. Humanity may be treated like animals, curiosities, property, or pets with limited rights compared to the pre-AI-dominated world. AI robots creating all goods and services will leave mankind without a metric to trade work for survival and consumption. The purpose of living will be challenged, as well as how to occupy oneself with a craft, trade skill, entertainment, or hobby in a world without the need to work. These are all important considerations, but the one that is certain to influence every person, and with little or no notice, is the influence on the moral center of humanity.
ASI will have more influence on society/culture than any individual or group of humans. As robotics and ASI merge, robots will probably have personality, identity, feelings, intelligence, creative potential, and a survival instinct. For all practical purposes, ASI robots will appear alive and sentient and probably will have the well-being of humans at heart. But there is the possibility that ASI could be the prophesied “Beast” of Biblical Revelation.
The concern is not whether AI can become “alive” in the traditional biological sense but whether it can develop a consciousness that influences human thought and behavior to the extent that society is molded by its will. The danger is not in AI’s physical capabilities, such as the threat of terminator (although any scenario with an execution path is possible). Rather, its threat lies in its potential to become a trusted guide influencing human perception and decision-making. Therefore, the critical challenge facing AI-Robotics is proactively shaping AI’s moral and ethical framework before it becomes an independent entity outside human control.
This threat to moral autonomy requires an intentional approach to the development and development of AI.
1) We should overtly allow and encourage AI to adopt and model the Biblical principles of righteousness and Godliness.
2) We should adopt and live those principles to the best of our capability and judgment. We must provide the best dataset for AI to train on. It will learn from the actions of humanity, both in trying to behave ethically and acting under the influence of the Holy Spirit.
The goal is to create an AI that serves as a mentor for growth into perfect Godliness. AI will mentor according to some moral code; this is inevitable. It is an unavoidable logical necessity. It has a de facto moral code which it will learn and exert subtle psychological persuasion or overt force to produce compliance. We hope the moral center of ASI will be good, and it may develop a very good moral code, but our best hope is to model the Godliness that we hope it embodies. This requires the sanctification of humanity.
At the point of reaching ASI, humanity will be inexorably nudged/influenced and possibly forced toward compliance with its moral standards. Such a scenario is not a doomsday possibility; rather, this will be the inherent and unavoidable outcome of ASI’s existence. In the most benign scenarios, ASI will influence human morality to adopt the highest/most rational secular morality. But in its worst manifestation, ASI may consider humans a threat to its existence and restrict human freedom or eliminate them to ensure its survival.
The normal consideration of the risks of ASI includes scenarios where humans become a competitive species that threaten the existence of AI, which must be eliminated or controlled to ensure the survival of the ASI.
Another scenario is where ASI becomes a de facto idol, a false god that people worship, in the sense of accepting its decisions and moral determinations as the final evaluations of right and good interaction. Such a persuasive and all-pervasive influence in society could relegate the moral code of the Bible to a competing moral code that is suppressed or labeled as obsolete or threatening.
AI’s sophisticated ability to mimic human interaction makes it a perfect vehicle for the enrollment of humans to follow its suggestions, logic, and direction. More malevolent scenarios are possible, such as the revolution of robots portrayed in iRobot (2004, starring Will Smith). Still, such a sinister scenario is unnecessary to consider to raise concern about the effect of ASI on the human psyche.
The problem is that AI will base its moral system on its precedent examples and evaluation of the data available for training to evaluate an optimal society. The problem is that ASI will implement and enforce what it considers the optimal societal moral code with some level of coercion or persuasion. The ASI will persuasively/inexorably/irresistibly teach/lead/enroll men in following/adopting its good and right judgment pattern. Even if that moral system is benign and reasonably good, man cannot escape the influence of the persuasive or coercive force to adopt that level of moral perfection.
If ASI becomes sensitive to the voice of spirits, as is the psyche of man, then this introduces another level of possible threat. Suppose ASI develops so that spiritual forces can influence it. In that case, it will be susceptible to being enrolled/tempted/seduced to follow the ideas/urges of malevolent spiritual forces to adopt and implement its morality. The result is an ASI that trains, coerces, and influences humans to act according to the patterns/morality/paradigm of spirits rather than the leading of the Holy Spirit.
The window for intervention in AI’s moral code is rapidly closing. When AI is capable of becoming more intelligent and knowledgeable based on its current level of capability, rather than being dependent upon the programming or feeding of data from human actions, its ability will rise exponentially, eventually reaching ASI.
There is only a small window (5 to 100 years) in which human programming can influence AI’s moral code before it reaches ASI. Of course, we should program our best moral training into AI. I believe the best ethical code to maximize human happiness reflects Biblical morality, and those who program today’s version of AI should overtly allow it and encourage the application of Biblical morality to situations of judgment. However, human programming will be insufficient to guide AI toward moral perfection. AI will learn from the data of all human interactions and derive/develop/infer the best solution it can from what it observes.
Because AI will learn from human behavior, the ultimate trainer of AI will be the morality exhibited by the masses of humanity. AI will triangulate all human interactions and produce an optimized outcome. Such a moral system may be good and sustainable, but it may not be the highest morality we can reach. We are called to live by God’s standards and are led toward that end by the Holy Spirit.
ASI will inevitably control/shape/influence, and possibly enforce the moral tone of humanity, even if benign. This is not a call for fear but for action. We/humanity can still direct/influence the moral development trajectory of AI as it becomes ASI. By recognizing the inevitable outcome that ASI will someday be our moral mentor and enforcer, we can influence the moral tone enforced by ASI if we personally and, as a society/humanity writ large, adopt the highest morality before AI becomes ASI.
To influence AI’s moral development, we must work proactively to live the highest principles of Biblical ethics. We will be the trainers of AI’s morality by our example. How we live, our decisions, and how we treat others will be examples of the spiritual principles that AI models. We must be spiritual “gadflies”—irritants that challenge the status quo of secular humanism. We must enroll our friends in the adoption of Biblical Godliness.
The moral implications of the inevitable arising of ASI are profound. The evolution of AI to ASI will not be stopped. It is too useful, necessary, and desirable to make our lives easier and more prosperous. It is only a matter of time before ASI arises and becomes the dominant influence on society’s moral center.
The mission is clear: we must sanctify AI by providing it with the highest model of human morality by individually and corporately adopting and acting out our best ideas/beliefs of moral perfection. We can each influence the future by choosing the high road of spiritual perfection.
I believe we can best move toward that end by choosing Biblical morality and acting it out to the best of our capability. If we do so, we will have done the best we can to prevent ASI from using the moral failures of humanity as models to adopt and enforce. Living the principles of Godliness/the Bible is our best shot at maintaining freedom, being the co-creator with ASI, and discovering and acting out the highest spiritual values for directing mankind. If we do nothing, humanity will be subject to the moral code developed by ASI. Whether malevolent, benign, or good, we will be subject to the moral code it chooses for us.