Genuine Connection or Simulated Emotion? The Idolatrous Allure of Large Language Models (Robb Ludwick, Dutch L'Abri)

Certain forms of AI are increasingly being experienced as personal contact. In a time of growing anxiety and loneliness, more and more people are turning to LLMs for easy and convincing companionship and advice. What will help me more? Something that mimics personality, sycophantically made in my image? Or someone truly ‘Other’, in whose image I am made, offering true sympathy and the challenge of healing and growth? In the Bible this very contrast is literally the difference between an idol and the true Creator and Redeemer. What might that mean for us today? The Copyright for all material on the podcast is held by L'Abri Fellowship. We ask that you respect this by not publishing the material in full or in part in any format or post it on a website without seeking prior permission from L'Abri Fellowship. Also, note that not all views expressed in the lectures or in the discussion time necessarily represent the views of L'Abri Fellowship. © Canadian L'Abri 2020