Hardwired for God: Why faith isnt a roadblock to AI innovation

The chatbot will see you now? A new Stanford study suggests artificial intelligence is outperforming human doctors in diagnosing illnesses and making complex medical decisions.Meanwhile, drone warfare and cyborg defense experiments are advancing.

Is society on the brink of losing its humanity?In 2020, when Ross Douthat called society “decadent,” our scariest threats were drag-queen story hour, corporate virtue signaling and a medieval plague.We were late Rome before its fall.Five years later, the world is anything but stagnant.

Acceleration has replaced decadence, leaving some to wonder if humanity is at risk of obsolescence.In this brave new world, faith isn’t just a relic or consolation — it’s an urgent framework for confronting deeper questions about intelligence, morality and purpose.Enter “Believe,” Douthat’s latest book, which argues that religious faith is intellectually superior to its alternatives — and not a moment too soon.If an algorithm can mimic creativity, interact, generate art, and compose music, what does that say about the human soul? Or about God? Douthat reminds us that people had similar fears about Darwinism.

When Charles Darwin upended traditional beliefs about creation, it sparked a crisis of faith, suggesting a world driven by accident, not divine design.It made it “possible at last to be an intellectually fulfilled atheist,” as Richard Dawkins gloated.

Yet faith persisted.Why?Because the deeper science dove, the more it found structure and order — a universe too fine-tuned to be random.

Darwinism didn’t kill faith; it sharpened it.AI could follow the same path.Some argue it’s a new kind of god — an intelligence so vast it makes human reasoning look primitive.

AI researcher Dan Fagella calls advanced models a “sand god,” an evolutionary force pushing beyond human supremacy.But here’s the thing: AI isn’t conscious.It processes and synthesizes but doesn’t understand.

It lacks the human spark....