{"id":2023,"date":"2026-01-07T22:32:17","date_gmt":"2026-01-07T22:32:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/classicalchristian.org\/classis\/?p=2023"},"modified":"2026-01-07T22:32:17","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T22:32:17","slug":"apple-pie-and-rocket-ships-a-hopeful-vision-of-life-with-artificial-technology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/classicalchristian.org\/classis\/apple-pie-and-rocket-ships-a-hopeful-vision-of-life-with-artificial-technology\/","title":{"rendered":"Apple Pie and Rocket Ships: A Hopeful Vision of Life with Artificial Technology"},"content":{"rendered":"

This article is an adaptation of the final chapter of my forthcoming book, Saint Antony\u2019s Guide to Surviving the AI Apocalypse. What follows was written with parents in mind, but I think it applies to educators\u2014particularly classical educators. I hope you find it useful.<\/em><\/p>\n

Not so long ago, families lived in the future.<\/p>\n

Perhaps the \u201ccampiest\u201d show on television in the 1960s was Lost in Space<\/em>. Okay, maybe not the campiest\u2014Gilligan\u2019s Island<\/em> wins the prize. But Lost in Space<\/em> had castaways too, but they were marooned on a deserted planet instead of a deserted island. And it had a spaceship (the Jupiter 2), a robot, and lots of cool gadgets. It even had a dad, a mom, and kids. I watched it mainly for the gadgets, not the family-friendly storylines. But if I were to watch it today, it would be for the family fun, camp and all.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t the only future-family show back in the day. There was The Jetsons<\/em>\u2014a cartoon on primetime that book-ended The Flintstones<\/em>, a cartoon about a Stone Age family that lived in the town of Bedrock. But what these future families had in common was that they were relatively traditional, even with the space-age tech. Family-centered shows set in the future, past, and even the present disappeared somewhere, and I\u2019m not entirely sure why. My guess is it had to do with the drift of the culture and changing tastes.<\/p>\n

Since then, science fiction has grown steadily grim and despairing. Grim isn\u2019t entirely new\u2014it\u2019s been central to science fiction going all the way back to Frankenstein<\/em>, maybe even the myth of Icarus. But despair is new. In the old stories, a baseline of everyday goodness wins in the end, every time.<\/p>\n

Today, science fiction serves up a heaping helping of dread. Perhaps it\u2019s because we suspect we can\u2019t beat technology and that in the end it will either delete humanity or swallow us whole. The early 70s were a turning point. When it came to films, apes took over the planet, or a virus wiped out the human race, or the human population grew unchecked, and ecological collapse followed. And in each film, the last man standing (and screaming) was Charlton Heston.<\/p>\n

And the nightmares might be coming true. Today, the best technologists offer is a merger with the machine, a post-human life that does more to degrade us than enhance us. And it all gets dressed up in the drag of inevitability. The future will be something like Star Trek<\/em>\u2019s Borg or Blade Runner<\/em> or, heaven forbid, The Matrix<\/em>.<\/p>\n

But is<\/em> it inevitable?<\/p>\n

Of course not. But it will only be prevented by something more powerful than economic forces and the relentless march of technology.<\/p>\n

Christian Humanism<\/h3>\n

I came across a neologism recently: \u201cfundamentalist humanist.\u201d It was in Ray Kurzweil\u2019s book, The Singularity is Nearer<\/em>. I chuckled when I read it. I\u2019m old enough to remember A Secular Humanist Declaration<\/em>, a cranky declamation signed by the likes of Isaac Asimov and B.F. Skinner in 1980. Were they \u201cfundamentalists\u201d too, seeing as they believed in something called \u201chumanism\u201d?<\/p>\n

I doubt it. Secular humanists didn\u2019t really believe in humanity; they just disbelieved in revealed religion, especially Christianity. They were more against that than they were for humanity.<\/p>\n

I, on the other hand, believe in both humanity and Christianity. My guess is Mr. Kurzweil has people like me in mind with his aspersion.<\/p>\n

The book of Daniel predicted that knowledge would increase. And it is, exponentially. At least on that matter, Scripture and Kurzweil agree.<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s knowledge and then there\u2019s the other knowledge\u2014things we have a right to know, and things we don\u2019t. When Daniel says knowledge will increase (Daniel 12:4), I think he means both kinds. We don\u2019t make distinctions like this much anymore, but there was a time when that distinction made the difference between life and death.<\/p>\n

Today, curiosity is a virtue\u2014even an unqualified good. But we should remind ourselves that there was once a saying about cats. And we had stories about boxes that shouldn\u2019t be opened, and fruit that shouldn\u2019t be eaten\u2014because sometimes knowledge can kill you.<\/p>\n

The worst-named movement in human history made those stories seem benighted, but it was the Enlightenment that was in the dark. Some things can\u2019t be known, and other things shouldn\u2019t be. Getting back to the dead cat, what killed it was curiosity.<\/p>\n

James tells us that wisdom has two sources\u2014one from above, and that wisdom is pure, and spiritual, and another from below, and it is carnal and demonic.1<\/a><\/sup> It\u2019s the second kind that will kill you.<\/p>\n

This distinction is even evident outside Scripture. Plato said there are things we shouldn\u2019t know, not because knowledge is evil, but because we are. The story he tells to make his point is about the \u201cRing of Gyges\u201d in The<\/em> Republic<\/em>. In it, a farmer finds a magic ring that makes the wearer invisible (sound familiar?), and according to Plato, the man who found the ring was corrupted by it. Actually, it would be fairer to say that he was already bad, but the ring made it possible for him to get away with bad things. In the end, he killed a man, stole his possessions, took his wife, and made himself king. He used the ring to learn secret things, and then he used what he learned to his advantage. His knowledge was asymmetric\u2013he knew without being known. (This reminds me of the titans of the \u201cinformation economy\u201d who know all about us while remaining hidden.)<\/p>\n

But it is the story of Pandora that is the most apropos for our moment. In that<\/em> story, Pandora knows that many evil and terrible things are locked in the infamous box given to her husband by the gods. But curiosity was the itch that she just had to scratch. And like her, we know that there will be a host of evils that leap out once we fully open the AI box, but it doesn\u2019t matter. If we don\u2019t, the Chinese Communist Party will.<\/p>\n

Even so, someone needs to speak up for limits. I suppose it will have to be me.<\/p>\n

Limits That Liberate, Freedom that Enslaves<\/h3>\n

While it is true that limits can be annoying and even stupid, the Libertarian fantasy of a world without limits would inevitably produce something far worse than unnecessary laws; it would lead to chaos and, ironically, slavery.<\/p>\n

Booker T. Washington, in his book, Up from Slavery,<\/em> had something surprising to say about slavery.<\/p>\n

Among some African Americans, he\u2019s controversial because he made a case for bottom-up development, beginning with trade skills and manual competence, and only then moving on to professions with social prestige. W. E. B. Du Bois famously promoted a more ambitious approach, aspiring to the heights of social status right from the start. As you might tell from my tone, I favor Washington\u2019s approach, not just for ethnic minorities, but for everyone. And the reason is something Washington observed.<\/p>\n

Washington noted that over time, slave owners grew incompetent when it came to managing their own affairs, becoming slavishly dependent on their slaves. While it is true that slavery degrades people, according to Washington, it does that to everyone associated with the institution\u2014even slave owners. In the end, they couldn\u2019t do the simplest things\u2014cook food, mend clothes, or paint fences. They\u2019d lost the ability to care for themselves.<\/p>\n

Will we fare any better when we rely on omnicompetent machines to do everything for us? Will it even occur to us that something is wrong, that we are actually doing violence to human nature by depending on machines to do things we ought to do for ourselves?<\/p>\n

Saul Alinsky, in his Rules of Radicals,<\/em> called it the \u201cIron Rule.\u201d \u201cNever, ever do something for someone that he should do for himself.\u201d <\/em>Alinsky\u2014for all his faults\u2014had this one thing right: doing things for people that they should do for themselves undermines self-reliance and makes them dependent. There is no shortcut to competence. You learn to write by writing, you learn to think by thinking\u2014not by having people or machines do those things for you. It\u2019s as old as Aristotle because we\u2019re talking about human nature\u2014and there\u2019s no hack for getting around it. We\u2019re on the cusp of Idiocracy, a generation of pasty-slugs who can\u2019t \u201cadult,\u201d let alone command respect, because we\u2019re about to give over our agency to machines.<\/p>\n

The studies are confirming it: AI makes you dumber. One published in the social science journal Societies,<\/em> titled \u201cAI Tools in Society: Impacts on Cognitive Offloading and the Future of Critical Thinking\u201d2<\/a><\/sup> by Michael Gerlich, documents an enervation of critical thinking when people \u201coffload\u201d difficult mental work to artificial intelligence. The old saying, \u201cUse it or lose it,\u201d applies to everything, even intelligence.<\/p>\n

While it is true that ever since the calamity in the garden, there has been no end to the making of laws, let\u2019s remember that the reason there was a calamity in the first place is because people were not content to live with just one simple law. Adam and Eve believed it kept them from being \u201ceverything they could be.\u201d But the original law kept them human, and that was a good thing.<\/p>\n

To remain human, we will have to establish limits for ourselves and for our machines. And those limits must be as inviolable as the command not to eat of the tree. They should read something like: \u201cHumanity is the image of God. You shall not replace him, nor do anything for him that he should do for himself.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

It won\u2019t be easy. Applying limits to Artificial Intelligence will call for intelligence, imagination, and discipline. And don\u2019t expect Silicon Valley or Washington, DC to do it for you.<\/p>\n

Apple Pie and Rocketships<\/h3>\n

How should we apply limits to our machines (and ourselves!) if the prophets of artificial intelligence have it right? Here\u2019s my recipe. I call it \u201cApple Pie and Rocket Ships.\u201d There are a couple of ways to cook it up. I call the first, \u201cNeo-Amish World with an AI Twist,\u201d and the other I call, \u201cButlerian Jihad-Lite.\u201d3<\/a><\/sup> Consider the short openings to two unfinished stories are written in the spirit of Ray Bradbury, the author who I believe best exemplifies my ideal of Apple Pie and Rocket Ships.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how the first story begins.<\/p>\n

– – –<\/p>\n

Neo-Amish World with an AI Twist<\/h4>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s time to tell Johnny,\u201d Dad said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know, I\u2019m not sure he\u2019s ready. Remember what happened to Sammy when the Millers told him too soon,\u201d Mom said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOr when the Gills waited too long. Their boy is lost to them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI wish we didn\u2019t have to tell children anything. Why can\u2019t we just live the old way?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know,\u201d he said, looking out the kitchen window.<\/p>\n

It was a beautiful morning. A field of wheat stretched behind the house to the horizon. Mist rose as the last of the summer sun burned away the dew. Their son, Johnny, was in the fenced area between the house and the wheat, bringing the eggs in from the coop. Their black Lab, Maestro, walked beside him. They seemed to be in conversation. Johnny looked to be about 9 years old.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll tell him today,\u201d Dad said.<\/p>\n

Mom wasn\u2019t pleased, but she didn\u2019t say anything.<\/p>\n

The conversation with Dad changed Johnny\u2019s life.<\/p>\n

He learned he\u2019d be going to school in the coming year, and he\u2019d meet some new kids, and he was a little apprehensive about that. Until his talk with Dad, he\u2019d been homeschooled, mostly by Mom. Although Dad did take him out to the shop to help with things, mainly sharpening plows or oiling the old tools and machines. There were other things he did with Dad, like math. He liked it and had a knack for it. Mom taught him reading and penmanship. She\u2019d have him make long, loopy letters, being careful to stay between the lines. It was important for him to practice. \u201cFine motor skills develop in childhood,\u201d she\u2019d said. That\u2019s also why he practiced piano every day, even though he wasn\u2019t very good at it. She wanted him to read music and to learn to sing. He did enjoy singing, especially with the kids at church. They were even learning parts.<\/p>\n

But by far Johnny\u2019s favorite subject was science, and again, mostly Dad helped with that. And the conversation had been about that\u2014that, and the back of the shop, the part that stayed locked.<\/p>\n

Labor Day finally arrived, and baseball season was in its final stretch. They\u2019d gone to see the Mud Hens the night before as a special treat. And on Tuesday, after his chores were done, he had breakfast with Dad, Mom, and his two kid-brothers. Mom made waffles, but she looked sad, and everyone could tell something wasn\u2019t right. His brothers usually fought over the last waffle, but they let him have it this time without any fuss. Mom and Dad didn\u2019t look at each other much. Finally, Dad glanced at the clock; it was getting close to 9:00. He got up and said, \u201cLet\u2019s get going.\u201d Johnny looked at his mom, but she was looking down, and he thought he heard her sniffle. Then she got up and left the kitchen.<\/p>\n

He wanted to follow her, but Dad was waiting. His face was set, and Johnny knew the look. He\u2019d better not ask.<\/p>\n

As they walked to the shop, they went around the barn, which was mostly empty since he\u2019d let the animals out earlier to graze. Things were so quiet that the crunch of their boots on the gravel path seemed louder than it should.<\/p>\n

When Dad flipped the switch in the shop, fluorescent tubes buzzed on, spilling blue light over everything: old benches and old tools strewn everywhere. It smelled of wood and greased metal. They wound their way to the back and came to a door.<\/p>\n

Johnny had never been on the other side of it. When he saw light coming from under it, he knew Dad was working on something behind it, but he\u2019d never actually seen him go in or out. That\u2019s why the electronic lock surprised him a little. It lit up when Dad put his thumb on it. Then the latch clicked, and the door swung inward. Light came on, not like the fluorescent lights; the room itself seemed to radiate. Then Dad stepped through, and Johnny followed. And they were greeted by voices Johnny never dreamed of hearing. What he saw when his eyes adjusted made him catch his breath.<\/p>\n

– – –<\/p>\n

Notice the buildup. What does<\/em> Johnny see, and where does the story go from here? I\u2019ll let your imagination work on that.<\/p>\n

But before you do, let\u2019s see how I\u2019ve front-loaded the story.<\/p>\n

This is a story about the future, even though it seems to be set in the past. It reflects my belief that in significant ways, we\u2019re going to have to preserve the past if we expect to remain human in a future filled with artificial intelligence. More about that in a minute.<\/p>\n

Does Johnny\u2019s family live this way because they\u2019re weird? There are hints that they\u2019re not alone. Other families are referred to who presumably face the same choices Johnny\u2019s family does. They belong to a church and they attend a baseball game. So, in some sense, there must be a larger community that shares their way of life. They\u2019re not off-grid, utterly on their own.<\/p>\n

So, why do they live this way?<\/p>\n

Is it merely because they like<\/em> living in the past, or is it based on an informed<\/em> choice? Evidence seems to indicate that a relatively low-tech way of life makes for the best outcomes when it comes to raising children. That\u2019s because human beings were made for the analog world, not a digital one. Smartphones, for instance, have proven harmful to the psychological and social well-being of young people.4<\/a><\/sup> This is why analog is the Apple Pie we must keep making for ourselves if the future is going to remain human.<\/p>\n

Still, AI looms in the background of the story. And sacrifices must be made to it. The brightest and the best are tithed to serve as gatekeepers and watchdogs so that Apple Pie, the symbol of a human world, remains undisturbed. But why keep AI at all? I can imagine many reasons: healthcare for one, or military defense, or banking, or scientific research. AI serves as a sort of envelope helping to preserve an intentionally analog way of life\u2014but with modern, ever-improving digital technology in the background, ready to intervene when necessary. But the biggest reason AI is still around is that they can\u2019t turn it off even if they wanted to. It won\u2019t let them. In some sense, there is an uneasy apartheid in this imagined future.<\/p>\n

I admit this is far-fetched, but it\u2019s intended to be a thought experiment based on two convictions I\u2019ve already pointed out: first, analog lifestyles are healthier than their digital alternatives, and second, artificial intelligence is here to stay, but we will need to limit it somehow if we\u2019re going to live with it and not be co-opted by it.<\/p>\n

So, my first story separates AI from daily life, but is there another way to approach it? Yes, but it might seem even more far-fetched because it calls for discipline\u2014discipline by people, and discipline by artificial intelligence\u2014and discipline even by the people behind it.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s return to Johnny and his family. Here\u2019s another way the story could go.<\/p>\n

– – –<\/p>\n

Butlerian Jihad-Lite<\/h4>\n

It was just before the time he\u2019d have to get up. He was in an old-fashioned bed, not the kind that suspended you in water, like amniotic fluid (Cybers used those). That\u2019s why he\u2019d never see one. \u201cIt\u2019d make you as soft as a Cyber\u2019s head,\u201d Dad said when he asked about them.<\/p>\n

Suddenly, the lights came on, not like a slow sunrise, like in some homes\u2013instead, one moment of darkness, the next, light, like the first Day of Creation. He squeezed his eyes tight. He knew what would come next.<\/p>\n

There were padded plastic footsteps on the carpet.<\/p>\n

\u201cTime to get up, Master Johnny,\u201d Teddy said.<\/p>\n

He pulled his sheet down and glared at the plastic and metal man. It was his robot, but he wasn\u2019t supposed to call him Teddy. His proper name was TDX-5, not that he ever used it when Dad and Mom weren\u2019t around. They were careful about such things. No emotional connection with machines was allowed in their home.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want to get up,\u201d Johnny said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut you must, Master Johnny. Your mother said so.\u201d<\/p>\n

Johnny rolled away from the robot; he didn\u2019t expect what came next. Suddenly, his covers were gone, and a blast of cool air swept over him.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey!\u201d he said, sitting up quickly.<\/p>\n

His covers were in one of the robot\u2019s mechanical hands.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour mother says I\u2019ve been too easy on you. She\u2019s given me permission to be more proactive in your discipline.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOkay! Okay! You slave driver, I\u2019m up! Cybers make friends with their robots, but you\u2019ll never be my friend!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the idea, Master Johnny. Now, out of bed. Breakfast is in 13 minutes and 17 seconds. You just have time to get there when waffles are served.\u201d<\/p>\n

That got Johnny moving.<\/p>\n

When he got to the kitchen table, his kid brothers were working on their penmanship. It was cursive today\u2014they made long, loopy letters, being careful to stay within the lines that ran like railroad tracks across the real paper pages. No tablet and stylus for them\u2014old-fashioned pencils and old-fashioned paper. Mom insisted.<\/p>\n

The smell of waffles filled the air. Mom was at the counter with the waffle iron and a big bowl of batter.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlright, clear that away and set the table,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The boy\u2019s personal robots sat still against the wall. There\u2019d be no help. They knew to leave this sort of thing to the boys. Paper and pencils were quickly replaced with plates and utensils. Johnny made sure to get the maple syrup\u2014the real stuff, not goop from a food printer. That was the way it was in their house; they raised some of their own food, and what they didn\u2019t raise, they got from the church\u2019s farm.<\/p>\n

Dad walked in.<\/p>\n

\u201cWaffles? What\u2019s the occasion?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cJohnny\u2019s piano recital this afternoon,\u201d Mom said.<\/p>\n

Johnny felt his stomach turn. He\u2019d forgotten. He looked at Dad for sympathy.<\/p>\n

\u201cOkay,\u201d Dad said. \u201cAnd after that, we\u2019ll go see the Mud Hens. I hear they\u2019ll be in the postseason if they win tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Johnny\u2019s mood brightened, and he shoved a sticky wad of waffle into his mouth.<\/p>\n

Just then, the lights dimmed, and the robots all hummed louder than usual.<\/p>\n

\u201cAI attack,\u201d Dad said, mostly to himself as he looked at the light over the table.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a pretty strong one,\u201d Mom said.<\/p>\n

Then the lights brightened, and the robots went back to their regular hum.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we\u2019re okay,\u201d Dad said.<\/p>\n

Mom\u2019s robot gave a happy beep. Dad\u2019s bot was in the shop, and beeps were all Mom let her robot say.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood,\u201d Dad said. \u201cI\u2019m glad I upgraded the AI.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat did the bad AI want?\u201d Timmy, one of Johnny\u2019s brothers, asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho knows, there\u2019s always something.\u201d<\/p>\n

– – –<\/p>\n

Okay, story over. That\u2019s enough to work with. Let\u2019s look at what I\u2019ve packed into the beginning of this story.<\/p>\n

Here, society has split into two ways of living with AI\u2014full adopters, those who have themselves become \u201cCybers\u201d; and partial adopters, those who remain Apple Pie humanists, as we see with Johnny\u2019s family. My guess is that even the most reluctant people will be forced to adapt to life with AI, if for no other reason than making a living will require it. AI will be everywhere, as ubiquitous as smartphones are today. I suspect the days of the smartphone are numbered\u2014they\u2019ll be replaced by personal robots, as seen in the story, or with mobile gadgets that keep people physically plugged in nonstop.<\/p>\n

I think smart families, like Johnny\u2019s, will discipline themselves, and they\u2019ll even use robots to help with that. A nonnegotiable tenet of Apple Pie humanism will be a clear line between humans and machines. The boundary will be based on some form of law, but a law that isn\u2019t necessarily enforced by civil authorities.5<\/a><\/sup> In my story, it\u2019s Mom who is the most concerned with obeying that law and keeping the machines out of family life as much as possible.<\/p>\n

Will it happen in the way described above? Who knows? But I am certain that something along this line will be called for if we\u2019re going to preserve apple pie humanism in a world filled with intrusive machines.<\/p>\n

Rocket Ships<\/h3>\n

We\u2019re already enjoying the benefits of the technology, and we have been for a while. If you\u2019ve got a smartphone, you\u2019re using AI whether you realize it or not.<\/p>\n

Here are just a few things that we\u2019re already seeing artificial intelligence help us with that would be impossible without it:<\/p>\n

1. Analyzing and summarizing vast reams of data<\/em>. When 85,000 pages of documentation about JFK\u2019s assassination were finally made public, within hours, it was summarized, and some of the juicier parts came to light. But how? Artificial Intelligence, of course. It is a particularly useful technology when it comes to finding needles in haystacks. But not only is it helpful when you know the needle you\u2019re looking for, AI can help you find needles you never thought to look for. That\u2019s because it sees patterns in things, and it can, in a manner of speaking, \u201cguess\u201d what you\u2019d find interesting to know.<\/p>\n

2. Sticking with its ability to envision patterns, even patterns of things that don\u2019t even exist\u2014or at least we don\u2019t have any direct experience with\u2014AI can imagine new possibilities<\/em>. Take the AI known as Alphafold. It accomplished the herculean task of identifying the 200 million ways proteins can fold, and it did it in a year, not decades. This is important for life sciences and biotechnology generally, and who knows what may come from this, what drugs and what therapies might be developed as a result? Your life might be saved someday because of Alphafold.<\/p>\n

3. The material sciences are on the verge of a revolution that will change the very fabric of the things we live with and use every day because of artificial intelligence<\/em>. New materials are being developed that have properties that will improve everything from air travel to underwear. For example, what if you could make a material that is as light as foam yet stronger than steel? You don\u2019t need to because AI already has. And it didn\u2019t find it in nature. Instead, it was made\u2014built at the molecular level. And who knows what else is in store, perhaps self-mending clothing, or even automobiles\u2014AI is already working on them.<\/p>\n

Up to this point, I\u2019ve described things that either already exist or might exist very soon, and while they\u2019re impressive, we are still not in the realm of the knowable. We have not yet touched on the mind-blowing sci-fi stuff that AI might make possible\u2014time to move on to a couple of those.<\/p>\n

4. Robots!<\/em> AI is helping to make Robbie the Robot a reality, and it\u2019s even given new life to Isaac Asimov\u2019s rules for robots.6<\/a><\/sup> In my last story, I focused on the use of robots in the home and in the education of children, but the real significance of robots will be industrial in nature. We\u2019ve had single-application industrial robots for a while, but they\u2019re in the same category as the mechanical loom. They have narrow ranges of application. What we\u2019re about to see is humanoid robots like \u201cTeddy\u201d in my story. And they\u2019ll be everywhere. People will lose jobs to them, of course, but the best use of the robots will be for jobs no human could possibly perform. Since childhood, I\u2019ve dreamed about space travel. And like Elon Musk, I\u2019ve envisioned a colony on Mars. As a practical matter, that is nearly an impossible task for human beings to pull off. Living on Mars while the shelters go up seems suicidal and prohibitively expensive. Now, imagine robots of every sort, from single-function robots that use Martian soil to fabricate domed shelters, to humanoid robots that can communicate with and even repair and maintain them, and the impossible becomes feasible. Essentially, mechanical men would go where no man has gone before to prepare the way for us, whether we\u2019re talking about outer space, the ocean\u2019s depths, or even inner space, with nanobots moving through our bloodstreams. When it comes to nanobots, doctors could operate on patients remotely through those tiny machines\u2014or perhaps AI would perform those operations autonomously, seeing that such a fine level of precision is simply impossible for humans to manage. Imagine swarms of nanobots targeting only individual cancer cells, unlike chemotherapy. Just put them in a syringe and shoot them into the bloodstream.<\/p>\n

And this is just the tech made possible by AI\u2014we\u2019re also on the verge of breakthroughs in energy production and biotechnology.7<\/a><\/sup> Combine AI with these developments, and we might see a world of hyper-abundance and rapid change. But such a change would require a lot of wisdom and self-discipline for Apple Pie humanists to embrace.<\/p>\n

Now for a final bit of good news and bad news. I need to end with this note of realism.<\/p>\n

5. AI is transforming military hardware and force projection in surprising ways.<\/em> Imagine drone swarms coordinated by it. If a thousand tiny drones attacked an aircraft carrier, how would it possibly survive? Scale things up just a little, and hundreds of militarized AI-coordinated drones could wipe out entire armies. Naturally, militaries will adapt, but they will all have to use AI to do so. In such a world, the cost of fielding a fighting force might fall dramatically. Force projection is changing, and small states will be able to compete with large ones like never before. In such a world, what advantage do large states retain? Perhaps a new fragmentation of the world will follow, and a world of city-states is the result\u2014each dedicated to its own philosophy of the good life and existing alongside cities with diametrically opposed visions.<\/p>\n

This little foray of the imagination has had the modest goal of showing how a general-purpose technology that simulates intelligence could occasion a transformation of the world in many unexpected and (perhaps) delightful ways. But the most significant developments lie beyond the reach of any human imagination because the ability to envision them will depend on developments that have yet to be realized.<\/p>\n

The End<\/h3>\n

Eschatology is a fascinating subject, which explains why so many people are obsessed with it. And in Protestantism, particularly conservative evangelicalism, people tend to belong to particular camps, or interpretations of \u201clast things.\u201d As you\u2019ve read this article, you may have wondered about me and which camp I\u2019m in.<\/p>\n

Before I say, allow me to state that people tend to squeeze the daily news or social trends into their preferred eschatological rubric, whether there\u2019s a good fit or not. Even Jonathan Edwards did that. He had an optimistic eschatology, which meant he thought things were improving for humanity due to the spread of Christianity (particularly Protestantism) and the sovereign superintendency of God over everything from the weather to wars.<\/p>\n

And this is why he was optimistic about science and its application to relieve human suffering and toil. He was even something of an amateur scientist who loved the natural world, particularly spiders, believe it or not. Sadly, it was his faith in the scientific enterprise that contributed to his early death.<\/p>\n

Not long after he\u2019d arrived in New Jersey to serve as the president for the college that we now call Princeton, Edwards volunteered to be vaccinated for smallpox because of an outbreak of the deadly disease. The science of vaccination was still in its infancy, and sadly, the great theologian contracted smallpox and died.<\/p>\n

With this in mind, I\u2019m ready to tell you which school of eschatology I subscribe to.<\/p>\n

I am a post-millennialist.<\/p>\n

But I am a post-millennialist who believes that bad things can even happen to people with an optimistic eschatology. I believe science and technology can harm us, even though, generally speaking, they\u2019ve made the world a better place to live.<\/p>\n

When I\u2019m in a sour mood, usually after I\u2019ve heard some Pollyanna wax on how the world is getting better and better in every way, I wonder if there were any post-millennialists in St. Petersburg in 1917, and if they had any intimation of the 70-year nightmare that was about to begin?<\/p>\n

Just because you\u2019re a post-millennialist doesn\u2019t mean progress is steady or predictable. History doesn\u2019t flow; it jerks, and it is full of sad endings, sudden reversals, and apocalyptic moments, as when something unexpected appears. And that\u2019s what an apocalypse is, by the way: a sudden appearing, a revelation.<\/p>\n

The story of the world will end happily because in the end, its creator and redeemer will appear. It will be a revelation, an apocalypse. And everything will change, all of a sudden, and unexpectedly.8<\/a><\/sup> \u201cAnd we will be like him, because we will see him as he is.\u201d9<\/a><\/sup> And there will be a new heaven and a new earth, \u201c\u2026for the first heaven and the first earth (will pass) away,\u2026\u201d10<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

In the meantime, bad things continue to happen to optimists, even to those who believe in the sovereignty of God. And that\u2019s why it\u2019s good to prepare for anything: bad, good, or indifferent. William Cowper, the brilliant poet who believed in the sovereignty of God, often struggled with mental illness and despair. He even spent time in an asylum and considered suicide. This has something to do with the depth and power of his famous hymn:<\/p>\n

God moves in a mysterious way his wonders to perform; he plants his footsteps in the sea, and rides upon the storm.<\/em><\/p>\n

Deep in unfathomable mines of never-failing skill, he treasures up his bright designs and works his sovereign will.<\/em><\/p>\n

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take; the clouds ye so much dread are big with mercy, and shall break in blessings on your head.<\/em><\/p>\n

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, but trust him for his grace; behind a frowning providence, he hides a smiling face.<\/em><\/p>\n

His purposes will ripen fast, unfolding every hour; the bud may have a bitter taste, but sweet will be the flow\u2019r.<\/em><\/p>\n

Blind unbelief is sure to error, and scan his work in vain; God is his own interpreter, and he will make it plain.<\/em><\/p>\n

Classical educators, in the AI future we\u2019re entering, we will need people who still know how to bake up apple pie humanism. Your work will only grow more essential with time. You shouldn\u2019t fear obsolescence. We will need your help to keep us human.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Notes<\/h2>\n
\n
\n
    \n
  1. James 3:13-17\u00a0\u21a9<\/a><\/li>\n
  2. Michael Gerlich, \u201cAI Tools in Society: Impacts on Cognitive Offloading and the Future of Critical Thinking,\u201d Societies<\/em> 15, no. 1 (January 3, 2025,): 6, https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/soc15010006<\/a>.\u00a0\u21a9<\/a><\/li>\n
  3. This is a tongue-in-cheek reference to Frank Herbert\u2019s novel, Dune,<\/em> and its backstory about a war between humanity and artificial intelligence known as, The Butlerian Jihad.\u00a0\u21a9<\/a><\/li>\n
  4. The Tech Exit: A Practical Guide to Freeing Kids and Teens from Smartphones, Clare Morell, 2025, and Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness, Jonathan Haidt, 2024.\u00a0\u21a9<\/a><\/li>\n
  5. I\u2019m not opposed to laws of this kind; but it\u2019s wise to prepare for a world in which we get very little help from governing authorities.\u00a0\u21a9<\/a><\/li>\n
  6. Asimov\u2019s three rules: 1) A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. 2) A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. 3) A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.\u00a0\u21a9<\/a><\/li>\n
  7. The very word speaks of a merge of man and machine. \u00a0\u21a9<\/a><\/li>\n
  8. 1 Thessalonians 5:2\u00a0\u21a9<\/a><\/li>\n
  9. 1 John 3:2\u00a0\u21a9<\/a><\/li>\n
  10. Revelation 21:1\u00a0\u21a9<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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Wiley","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/classicalchristian.org\/classis\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/classicalchristian.org\/classis\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/WkOYDuCS_400x400-96x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/classicalchristian.org\/classis\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/WkOYDuCS_400x400-96x96.jpg","caption":"C.R. Wiley"},"description":"C. R. Wiley is a Presbyterian minister living in the Pacific Northwest. He has written for Touchstone Magazine, Modern Reformation, Sacred Architecture, The Imaginative Conservative, Front Porch Republic, National Review Online, and First Things, among others. His short fiction has appeared in The Mythic Circle, and he has published young adult fiction. He is also the author of In the House of Tom Bombadil, The Household and the War for the Cosmos: Recovering a Christian Vision for the Family, and Man of the House: A Handbook for Building a Shelter That will Last in a World That is Falling Apart. He is one of the hosts of The Theology Pugcast, and he has been a commercial real estate investor and a building contractor. He also taught philosophy to undergraduates for a time. He is the Vice President of the Academy of Philosophy and Letters, and a board member of New Saint Andrews College.","url":"https:\/\/classicalchristian.org\/classis\/author\/crwiley\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/classicalchristian.org\/classis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2023","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/classicalchristian.org\/classis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/classicalchristian.org\/classis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/classicalchristian.org\/classis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/48"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/classicalchristian.org\/classis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2023"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/classicalchristian.org\/classis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2023\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2049,"href":"https:\/\/classicalchristian.org\/classis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2023\/revisions\/2049"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/classicalchristian.org\/classis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2026"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/classicalchristian.org\/classis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2023"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/classicalchristian.org\/classis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2023"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/classicalchristian.org\/classis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2023"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}