Kerby Anderson

Perhaps you have seen that OpenAI is now offering a chatbot known as “Shepherd” that is a “Christ-like shepherd offering an empathetic ear and compassionate guidance.” In case you are wondering, the guidance comes from input provided by Reddit. In the past, I have reminded you of the phrase “garbage in, garbage out.” It is hard to take seriously an AI chatbot that learned about the world from Reddit.

Alex McFarland has been a guest on my radio program many times. As you might imagine, he has a few things to say about this AI chatbot. “The mind of Jesus derives from the historical record of the New Testament, not Reddit. Artificial intelligence may seem like an amazing cost saver to cash-strapped ministries, and an instantly available counselor for those desperate for answers, but it can’t replace a human counselor guided by the Holy Spirit.”

I think it should be obvious to most people that an AI counselor, even if trained by solid biblical content, would never be as effective as a private session with a counselor who can provide biblical principles and guidance face-to-face. At a time when so many Americans are dealing with anxiety and loneliness, what we don’t need is more screen time with an AI counselor.

A few months ago, I talked about how AI has influenced the church. One survey found that a majority of pastors use AI to prepare sermons. At one end of the spectrum are AI tools that help you polish something you are writing. On the other side is the reality that AI wrote the sermon.

We shouldn’t be surprised that AI has moved into the counseling field. It is one thing to use a search engine to see what the Bible and even prominent Christians teach about mental and spiritual issues. It is quite another to make AI your shepherd.