The Unknown God

For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.

Acts 17:23 (English Standard Version)

This past week, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang made a curious statement. In defence of AI, and its impact on society, he said “We need to create new social norms”. Simultaneously, the G7 Summit took place in Evian, France. World Leaders and AI CEOs met to discuss how AI will be governed globally, who will have access to these models, and the impact it will have on society at large. For a cabal of AI Executives to share the same table as the most powerful leaders in the world says a lot about how these nations view this emerging technology. What’s even more interesting in all of this, is that they all seem to be grasping at straws, searching for something they cannot name.

If the major world leaders and some of the wealthiest individuals in the world are all searching for something, it is perhaps wise for us to pause and at least consider what they’re attempting to find. Very plainly, they are searching for truth to ground the way our societies will interact with a technology that seems poised to replace large portions of what we do. This is a powerful force that the secular world has no meaningful frame of reference for controlling. Humanist philosophy requires us to seek only the improvement of our species. Our value is found in our utility or our potential for evolutionary advantage. Our value is not found in anything other than what we can see and touch. This of course falls woefully short as we consider the governance of AI. What, really, is in the best interest of our evolution, and who gets to make that decision?

In Acts 17, a passage I have previously explored for other reasons, Paul is preaching in the Areopagus in Athens. Throughout his journey through the city, Paul saw all sorts of altars to all sorts of deities. The enlightened Greeks believed it wise to attempt to appease every deity they came across lest one of them become angry and curse them with some horrible plague or drought. Plainly put, they were searching for safety, security, and stability for their society from forces they could not fully control or understand.

We find ourselves in nearly an identical situation 2000 years removed from Paul. Our leaders are searching for governance frameworks and social norms, like mandated public ownership of AI companies or international AI access treaties, to protect us from something we seem to be incapable of fully controlling. Like the Athenians, our society and our leaders are also searching for something they cannot name. When Jensen Huang says that we must create new social norms, he echoes the method of the Athenians Paul is speaking to in this passage. They too created new social norms, in the form of sacrifices, in an attempt to protect themselves. If the Athenians were doing the same thing, where did Paul point them?

This question is somewhat rhetorical. Paul pointed the Athenians to God. His immediate next sentence in verse 24 tells the audience what he is proclaiming “The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth” (Acts 17:24). Paul continues, telling them that not only is the God they seek the creator and sustainer of all, He desires that man seek after him. Paul says:

…he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us

Acts 17:26-27 (English Standard Version)

The Athenians, in their idolatry and blindness, had meaningfully “felt their way” towards God. They had not found him, but they had reached in His general direction. Paul tells them as much here. They recognized that there must be something out there, and even though they did not express it properly, they had really felt that need.

We find ourselves in the same situation now. Those who have reached for any opportunity at controlling a force we don’t fully understand, have “felt their way” towards the Most High. The responsibility falls on us who know Him to play the role of Paul in Athens. Acknowledge the grasping, and provide the Truth to them so that they may repent and truly know Him. The decision for how we operate our society in relation to our neighbors should not come from ourselves, but should come from the God we know and they are reaching for.

The results of Paul’s ministry in Athens were not resounding by human standards. There was no revival in Athens, nor is there an “Epistle to the Athenians” in our Scripture. Luke does record for us that there were some who listened, returned to hear Paul again, and he even names two specific individuals who came to salvation through this ministry. We are called to the ministry, not necessarily to revival.

If you found this essay valuable, you might also find the first reflection in this series, on whether people of faith should pay attention to AI helpful. Additionally, I have written a basic primer on AI that might be helpful as well. God bless!