Are Christian Creators in Danger of Being Replaced By A.I.?

It seems like A.I. is taking over - from music, to video and writing - there seems to be no end to the impact. How should Christian creators respond? 

In recent news, the music industry was rocked by the revelation that A.I. generated songs are at the top of the iTunes charts - which includes the Christian category, with an A.I. generated artist named Solomon Ray. 

In this hard-hitting episode, we get real about the possible affects of A.I. on the Christian creative's career, while giving much needed spiritual perspective on this technological tidal wave. Should Christian creators be concerned, or should we acknowledge that this form of creation - if we can call it that - is here to stay? 

This episode was recorded in part during our Creator Checkup livestream, which airs every Friday on YouTube. 

Transcript

Speaker: 0:06

It seems like it was only a matter of time after AI has entered every single facet of our society. Now it has entered into the Christian music and art space where a AI generated song and artist quote unquote artist is on the top of the charts and iTunes and Christians artists and songwriters and musicians are questioning what now? And it's so interesting that just before this happened, we recorded a live stream on the God and Gigs Creator Checkup on the impact of AI-generated music and whether or not Christian artists should be afraid, should we be concerned, or should we see God in even this incredible change in the landscape of how we create our art. So we're going to take you back to that recording where we discussed at length Are Christian artists in danger of being replaced? Should God be at the center of an AI generated song and can he use it to promote the gospel, to change hearts? Or is this a slippery slope that is actually going to take us down a far more dangerous path? We discussed it all in this episode of the God in Gigs show and this recording from our Creator Checkup. So we're going to take you right into that so you can make up your own mind and decide for yourself. what we should do as Christian artists, creators, and entrepreneurs. All right, this is the big discussion for today, the hot topic y'all. So let's be very, very, very upfront. I don't have an answer for this yet. I want to know what your thoughts are. I would love to know what you think about AI and artists because This is where I feel like we are at a crossroads as artists, as creatives. The whole definition of what constitutes art is starting to become basically the question of the day. I don't think we've ever had a point where we said, oh there might've been computer simulations and programs and things that we said, okay, well, here's what makes it art. Here's what makes this moving. Here's what makes this connect with people. Here's why, you know, even in terms of spiritually, here's why the spiritually has relevance or impact. But I don't think, I don't think we've ever gotten to the point where we've actually questioned is something art when there was no human involved or there was only remnants of what humans would. have done or have done, it's all been kind of cut, you know, pasted, cut and pasted together by a computer and said, this is actually art. And more importantly is this spiritually motivated and impactful art. So I really want to know your conversations and your thoughts about this. And let's, let's create this as the question first and let's go for the big elephant in the room and let's just discuss it. can AI art be spiritually either impactful or motivating? Can the Holy Spirit work through a AI uh generated song? Cause here's why I think this is so important for Christian artists. If the answer is no, AI cannot motivate or create Christian content that will motivate and that will Holy Spirit will move through, then I don't think whatever be replaced in terms of that's where God works. God works inside the people and shares things through people and that's the way he gets his word out. when we are supplying Christian content, it can only come from Christian people, right? That actually have a Holy Spirit connection with God. But if the answer is no, now we have to seriously question, then what is it that we share that's special? What is it that we do as Christian creators and artists that God uses that he would never use a computer for? Because if he can use a computer to share his word and his work and his greatness and his glory, in that case, I think we have to be very honest with ourselves. We have to define what is it that we do as creators, Christian artists that can't be replicated by an AI simulation or so on. So this is from Pastor Fury. Man, AI is slowly eating away at everything. It may take several years, but the AI is getting more more creative quote unquote, and is getting scary for real, for real. I agree. And that the word that I love you put creative in quotes. Cause I think my mindset has always been A AI generated song is basically a very, smart monkey with a typewriter. If you guys don't remember this dates me a lot, but they've always been like this conversation about this analogy. If you put a thousand monkeys with a bunch of typewriters and they started typing all at once, could you eventually come out with Shakespeare? Would all the randomness of a whole bunch of people who don't know anything, putting a bunch of random words together. would you eventually somehow, when all the chaos come up with something organized and beautiful? And I always thought that was a silly argument, but the whole point was like random enough random stuff, eventually something cool comes out. And how can you say that's not like cool just because of the creator was not that it was random. And obviously AI is not random, but the creative process itself, I think is what we're talking about because Is the computer creating or is it just like people? We do do do this obviously, but spiritually speaking, are those ideas inspired? because there's creative work and then there's what inspires the creative work. And so I think we're going to get into this, this real weird gray area of what is inspired and inspired is the little word, right? For God's breathing in Spiro, the breath, the life, the actual life of a song or the actual life of a piece of work coming from the life. of somebody else. And I think what the computers are getting so much so good at is simulating life, simulating emotion, simulating what art is, but it is still at the core of it, a simulation, whatever that R and B song that is top of the charts, even if someone prompted it is still a simulation of their experience. Um, that is really where I feel like that's the key of a Christian artist or a Christian musician or a Christian who has an actual experience with God versus a computer program, which is only simulating or trying to assimilate what it might feel like to be saved, what it might feel like to be loved, what it might feel like. It can not actually feel the emotions no matter how much we try to one and zero into existence. And so that's where I'm at with that. I think many people will get replaced says produced by pastor. I think many people will get replaced, but the uniquely truly uniquely gifted will not. I think this will actually call artists to dive deeper into what art truly is and take greater chances with their art and, not just do what sells. That is my hope. Um, I really do hope that I've thought about it this way. Like I've actually been considering doing, um, an album or some type of like series on H I human intelligence. And I believe at some point, especially let's go back to the topic of Christian artists. There will be a backlash and there will be number one. We talked about this at the producer at the podcast room meet up yesterday. And then in terms of a Christian song, will people be told, hey, I admit this was made with AI. And I believe the Holy Spirit prompted me to prompt this, right? Like, is there going to be a label on Christian music that says, or Christian art or Christian movies that says, this part was not a human being, but a human being was behind it that did this and did that and did this, right? The process. Because I'm going to stand by this when I'm going to die on this hill, that God can use creators can use, I should say this, God can use technology to do whatever he wants. He can use anything he wants to transmit his message. That's just, we agree. We agree on that. Do you believe that God can use anything? Yes, I believe God can use anything. So will it be disclosed what this is actually coming from? Is AI going to be disclosed as the source? And then if it is, I've literally faced this problem literally in the last five, like day dealing with a podcast episode that I was tempted to do an AI clone of a voice just to fix one word. But you know why I stopped? Cause again, it's a slippery slope. Once I say, hey, clone this person's voice, Now, honestly, I don't think this is like Tower of Babel stuff. I don't think God wanted us to have the amount of power or thought that we would be, it would be wise for us to wield. That's why I say building a tower is at heaven. It's like, why? You're just worshiping yourself. So I believe there is a line where something that we can do doesn't mean that we should do it, right? Just because we can do something doesn't mean we should. And Christian artists, as you start to become more and more motivated by, everybody's using AI, everybody's using this, just make sure you keep in the back of your mind that just like God doesn't necessarily, God can work through AI, sure. But is he telling you? Is he telling you to use it? If we become more more seduced by the idea that this should be easier, that art should be easier, that I can't think of this myself, that the all creative God needs a, a, a another, needs some help. Is AI, y'all gonna get me out, y'all gonna get on me for this. Is AI the Ishmael of art? I'm just gonna let that sit. Is AI the Ishmael of art? Is this God saying, okay, y'all want to use, y'all want to go your own way, go ahead. But you're going to create a whole nother nation of problems. You, you, he did not stop Abraham from taking matters into his own hands when he didn't think that this was working fast enough. Yes. A hundred percent. We want the shortcut. And again, I am, I have used, I'm using AI prompts for things. I am using it for other stuff. We are talking about, you know, Charles Spurgeon said that discernment is not the difference between right and wrong. Discernment is the difference between right and almost right. So we are not saying that AI is the devil. We're saying that just like God can use AI. So can the enemy. And he's going to choose whichever path will get us less and less reliant on the Holy Spirit and more and more reliant on our own faculties and our own abilities. And if the flip changes from this is a tool to this is my, my, my only source, we've just flipped our, our needs as artists. And let's go back to the conversation at the beginning. Thank you all for hanging out me a little later. Cause I know it went long with some of other stuff. Um, let's also talk and be honest about again, whether we would be consumers of this art. If your next worship service includes something generated by AI and it's not disclosed and you find out later, do you discount it? Do you say God couldn't have worked in that? Do you say that God could not have been a part of it? And again, I think this is where discernment comes in is is still a human interaction that we're talking about. What was the human interaction? Because salvation is a human act. I mean, a divine act with a human subject, right? Salvation can only be experienced by humans. We've already kind of figured out, we know that dogs and cats and that kind of stuff, no matter what you think, they ain't getting saved. God made people, okay? And he gave us the living word and he gave us the breath of life. So we are the only ones that have that connection with the Holy Spirit. non-animals and not inanimate objects. So no matter how much we try to deify the actual work as if it is Holy Spirit inspired, the actual work cannot be Holy Spirit inspired absent of a person that is either receiving or created it because the Holy Spirit moves through people. And whether it was moved through a person and then had a computer engaged somehow involved, The only way that the transmission of this spirit can move is through the act of soul to soul, spirit to spirit, like to like. I know I'm kind of going preachy right now. I apologize. Let me put this up. Thank you, man, for staying involved in this conversation. I finished a song months ago. I have been stalling on releasing it. There's an AI vocal on my hook and I think that's why I haven't released it. I believe God wants one of his own, one of his on the hook. I... look, that's exactly why I feel that this tension is going to hit home with so many artists. That tension is How much of my, what you call, TikTok thinks I am a machine now. It's gonna tick me off. Sorry, I gotta do this with TikTok, because TikTok only goes for an hour. So how much of my creative license and authority have I given up to this particular thing that does a shortcut? And again, I'm not hating on technology. I just want us to be honest with ourselves. And I hope if you're watching on replay that you will respond as well in the comments. Okay. This is not a final conversation. This is only our first conversation in a while. did do a podcast. Let me quickly look it up on AI. And I said, there are three things that AI cannot do. It cannot initiate, right? It has to be prompted at least for now. It has to be prompted. So episode two 17. I share that AI is not the end of art and that was done two years ago. I still feel like AI is not the end of art, but I do feel like. Christians, need to brace ourselves for that first AI song that is on the top of the Christian charts. And how are we going to respond to that? That's the console. It is not a done deal. This is where we continue to discuss this. We continue to share what are your thoughts? How are you preparing yourself for that as an artist to lean more into H.I. than AI? And then I really should say D.I., divine intelligence, right? So H-I and D-I, human intelligence, divine intelligence, artificial intelligence. So are you leaning into D-I or are you leaning into H-I or are you leaning into A-I? Which one are you leaning into? I'm gonna try to lean into D-I. I said this a little earlier and I know I'm going over. I am trying to fall back in love with the blank page. A-I fills the page for me and then I kind of pick and choose my best ideas. But I want to fall back in love with the blank page with the... I don't have anything to start with Holy Spirit. Give me inspiration. Give me motivation. Where should I go with this first? So the blank page is where I think God does his best work. And again, it doesn't mean he can't use technology. The question is, is he asking you to use it? I love how produced by pastor just said that, like that's how, if that's what's causing you to stall, if you're thought, your thought process, like, is this really God? That's the warning sign. So that's what I think. Yeah, man. I think that's what I think. That's what we've lost. We have lost the beauty of the blank page. because again, by starting with something that is already formatted, whether or not eventually first you start with a tool. And we formed the tool, but then the tool forms us. Everything we do is different now because of the technology we use. So first we formed the technology, then the technology forms us. And so if we are being formed by the technology, now creators are forgetting how to start with the blank page. And that has to be reinstated. I believe it, every creator who is listening to the Holy spirit. So that again, what you create doesn't mean you can't use tart, you know, the technology, but you have to know the source. um The fruit you saw no them by their fruit and as the roots or the branches if the root is not Granted into a creative human experience. The fruit will not bear the fruit that we believe I that's just where I stand on that My friend, thank you for listening to this commentary, to this discussion. I value your opinion on this because you, my friend, are one of the creators who's affected by the rise of AI. Perhaps you've seen it as a benefit. Perhaps you see it as a burden or a danger to your very livelihood. So reach out, share on the platform that you're listening or using to watch this right now and leave a comment. share with me on email, alan at godandgigs.com, or just let me know on social media what you think of this episode when you see clips from this specific episode on what you are doing to shield your faith, to shield your spirit, and make sure that you are approaching this in the right way. Because I believe, my friend, that God is inside everything. He has never been surprised, and so he's not surprised by the rise of AI. But he is, depending on us, to seek him through everything. So I value your opinions, I value your feedback. Let me know what you think. And remember, as always, continue to become the creator that God is creating you to be. God bless, and we'll see you next episode.