In recent months, major media outlets have noted a revival of Christian interest in Silicon Valley. According to The Times, the race to develop “God-like” artificial intelligence has provoked tech workers and entrepreneurs to wrestle with existential questions about faith and the human soul, according to The Times.
Denise Lee Yohn, co-founder of the Bay Area Center for Faith, Work & Tech, described this movement as being prompted “in large part” by the questions raised by AI. She told The Times: “I think that people are asking themselves and each other: What does it mean to be human, if we can be gods? Should we be gods?”
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For Catholics, this way of thinking is spiritually perilous. The temptation to “be like gods” (Genesis 3:5) was at the very heart of humanity’s fall. The Catholic faith teaches that God alone is the Creator and Lord of history. Any attempt to elevate human power—whether through science, politics, or technology—into a divine status risks repeating the sin of pride that has plagued humanity since Eden.
The Tech Elite and Faith
Some of Silicon Valley’s most powerful voices are now speaking openly about Christianity. The Times reports that Peter Thiel, billionaire co-founder of PayPal and Palantir, is preparing a series of lectures on the biblical Antichrist. Thiel has warned against the rise of a “one-world totalitarian state” that could exploit fears of AI to enforce global control. In an interview cited by The Times, he told The New York Times: “I fear the political solution to AI risks would be a push for a one-world government to control all the computers, log every single keystroke, to make sure people don’t programme a dangerous AI.”
On the surface, raising these theological questions in the public square might seem like a positive development. Indeed, prominent Christian leaders in business have inspired others. Epic Church in San Francisco, which hosts some of these events, has grown since the pandemic from 300 to more than 800 members (The Times). Yohn notes that figures like Thiel have “helped to ‘normalise’ Christianity in the area,” making some tech workers more open to considering Christ.
But Catholic wisdom requires discernment. Faith cannot be reduced to a cultural movement or a tool of influence. When technology leaders embrace Christian imagery while simultaneously building systems that mimic divine attributes—omniscience, omnipresence, or even the power over life and death—we risk confusing authentic faith with a dangerous form of idolatry.
The Church’s Response
As Catholics, we must remind ourselves and others that no matter how advanced technology becomes, no machine or human achievement can make us gods. The Catechism warns against the idolatry of power: “Idolatry consists in divinizing what is not God. Man commits idolatry whenever he honors and reveres a creature in place of God” (CCC 2113).
The Church does not reject technology; it can and should serve the common good. But technology must always be subordinated to moral truth and to God’s will. When AI tempts us to see ourselves as divine creators, we must answer firmly: there is only one true God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
A Call to Clarity
The questions raised in Silicon Valley are not new. From Babel to modernity, humanity has struggled with the temptation to reach Heaven on its own terms. AI is only the latest version of that old story.
As Yohn observed, many tech workers are asking what it means to be human in an age when machines might seem capable of replacing us. The Catholic answer is clear: to be human is to be made in the image of God, created for communion with Him, and redeemed by Christ. No algorithm, no matter how complex, can rival the infinite dignity of a single human soul.
In this moment, Catholics are called to witness clearly: We cannot be gods. There is only one God, and He alone holds the future of humanity.
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