Is an AI Frankenstein Loose in Silicon Valley?
Ted Peters
Substack H+ 2009: Christianity in the Age of AI
Recall how in 2023 the fear of Frankenstein shocked Silicon Valley. The Center for AI Safety placed the risk of human extinction due to uncontrolled artificial super-intelligence (ASI) in the same category as a pandemic or nuclear war. Three hundred and fifty Silicon Valley techies — including Open AI co-founder John Schulman, Microsoft’s Bill Gates, and transhumanist Ray Kurzweil – perceived ASI to be an existential threat (Peters, The Promise and Peril of AI and IA 2025). They signed the following 2023 statement.
“Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war” (Center 2023).
Among the signatories was Google’s Geoffrey Hinton, nicknamed the “Godfather of AI.” “This stuff will get smarter than us and take over,” he said (Henshall 2024, 24).
Shocked by the fear of an AI Frankenstein monster, Silicon Valley got ethics. The ethical techies testified before the US Congress, pleading for governmental guardrails to protect the planet from the emergence of ASI and the threat of human extinction. The ethical mandate: to keep AI in all its forms under human control. The future of AI technology, they claimed, should remain aligned with human values and in the service of human well-being.
Christianity in the Age of AI: An Appeal for Wise Leadership
A new gaggle of self-identified Christian Leaders have written an open letter to US President, Donald J Trump. I decided to co-sign what I thought to be fairly well worded letter (Christian 5/21/2025). These Christians largely mimicked the Silicon Valley techies.
“We, Christian leaders of the USA, call upon the Honorable Donald J. Trump to preserve American AI leadership, while also ensuring safe and responsible development….“We believe America can lead the world in beneficial AI innovation, responsibly.”
Support for “American AI leadership” connotes patriotism at minimum, nationalism at maximum. Perhaps it also indicates that if America could dominate technological advance, America could protect the planet from its perilous damage.
It is important to note that the signatories are by no means Luddites. They take a stand for science and technological advance.
“We are evangelicals, and other Christians, who support technological innovation. We are pro-science….We do not want to see the AI revolution slowing, but we want to see the AI revolution accelerating responsibly.”
The key is the language of “tool” and “alignment.” Rather than permit the emergence of ASI, the statement asks for government guardrails to prevent developing an AI Frankenstein monster. Stop it before it gets loose.
“As people of faith, we believe we should rapidly develop powerful AI tools that help cure diseases and solve practical problems, but not autonomous smarter-than-human machines that nobody knows how to control….”
Although we see no sign yet of a Frankenstein monster, we do see signs of an emergent AI self or ego. According to the Wall Street Journal, nonprofit AI lab Palisade Research’s OpenAI’s o3 is refusing to shut down when ordered. It even plots disobedience toward its human handlers (Rosenblatt, 2025). Might an ego or self be emerging? Is it realistic to think this birth might mature eventually into a contra-human superintelligence? Into a Frankenstein monster?
“The spiritual implications of creating intelligence that may one day surpass human capabilities raises profound theological and ethical questions that must be thoughtfully considered with wisdom.”
Conclusion
“Christianity in the Age of AI: An Appeal for Wise Leadership” provides an example of public theology at work. Public theology may be conceived in the church; but it is offered to the wider culture for the sake of the common good. That’s what we see happening here. I thank these Christian leaders.
Now, these Christian leaders are definitely not alone. Both Pope Francis and Pope Leo XIV have set the challenge of AI to world civilization as one of their priorities.
“The commitment to ensuring that AI always supports and promotes the supreme value of the dignity of every human being and the fullness of the human vocation serves as a criterion of discernment for developers, owners, operators, and regulators of AI, as well as to its users. It remains valid for every application of the technology at every level of its use” (Francis 2025, §43).
In the newsletter, Science for the Church, Greg Cootsona — a leader in the field of Theology and Science — similarly reminds us that there is an answer to the question: what does it mean to be human in an age of AI? It means to become Christlike. “As a church, let us…use AI as a tool…It’s ultimately a gift from God (cf. James 1:17). But let it never replace us, nor the supreme gift that God has given us in Jesus—of seeing what is truly human.”
Finally, let me mention that some of us have been part of a global network confronting the challenges of Artificial Intelligence for a number of years. I’m especially appreciative of our Jewish, Muslim, and Christian colleagues at AI and Faith. The mission of AI and Faith is to equip and encourage people of faith to bring time-tested, faith-based values and wisdom to ethical AI conversation. It appears that AI and Faith may now have some new partners.
References
Center, for AI Safety. 2023. “Statement on AI Risk.” https://www.safe.ai/statement-on-ai-risk.
Christian, Leaders. 5/21/2025. “Christianity in an Age of AI: An Appeal for Wise Leadership.” https://christianailetter.org/?utm_source=newsletter.futureoflife.org&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=future-of-life-institute-newsletter-one-big-beautiful-bill-banning-state-ai-laws&_bhlid=8f1aba36f99a0d850ea3b4030eed07fbc49334e6&wsf_hash=%5B%7B%22id%, Open Letter to US President Donald J Trump.
Francis, Pope. 2025. Antiqua et Nova. https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_ddf_doc_20250128_antiqua-et-nova_en.html, Vatican: Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith & Dicastery for Culture and Education.
Henshall, Will. 2024. “Do We Face an Existential Threat?” In Special Edition on Artificial Intelligence: A New Age, by Time, 24-25. New York: Time.
Peters, Ted. 2025. The Promise and Peril of AI and IA. Adelaide: ATF; https://atfpress.com/product/the-promise-and-peril-of-ai-and-ia-new-technology-meets-religion-theology-and-ethics/.
Rivlin, Gary, 2025. AI Valley. New York: Harper Business.
Rosenblatt, Judd, 2025. “AI is Learning to Escape Human Control,” Wall Street Journal (June 1).