Storytellers are leading the way against the rush to accept Artificial Intelligence as the answer to all our problems.
The Hollywood artists’ strike and the new Mission:Impossible film, Dead Reckoning, part 7, are prophetic acts against the onslaught of A.I. tools.
I will unpack why this is important and use M:I 7 to illustrate how we can act against this dehumanizing future planned for us. But first, we must come to grips with what is behind this all.
No longer Sci-Fi
This might sound unbelievable (although it shouldn’t), but people in high positions of power in business, tech, government, and non-government agencies are pushing the world toward a moment where they will control us all through A.I.
There isn’t space here to go into the beliefs driving them, but I want to introduce you to how many think. Here are some articles to read in case you struggle to accept what they are pushing us towards:
- Google Is Trying to Create a ‘Digital God,’ Elon Musk Says
- Joe Allen: Summoning Demons Through AI – Stephen K Bannon’s War Room
- God and robots: Will AI transform religion? – BBC News
While there are many issues to point out, the one thing needing highlighting is the drive to create a digital god that will solve all our problems and issues—and enslave humanity.
This sounds insane. A digital god that will rule all of mankind?
Is it crazy? It shouldn’t be surprising or hard to believe that people believe they can replace God or be god. It’s a pattern seen throughout history.
Satan wanted to be god and was thrown out of heaven (see Isaiah 14:12-15).
Adam and Eve disobeyed God so they could be like god.
Pharaohs, kings, Caesar, and rulers have constantly seen themselves as gods: read Daniel 3 for starters.
Throughout time, man has been tempted and attempted to make himself god through military, financial, and medical means.
Today, it has coalesced into technological power. These two articles collect military and government papers which tell us of their plans regarding their push to control mankind through tech.
What does this have to do with us?
This impacts everyone. No one will be immune to what is happening if, at minimum, A.I. is not controlled.
While Sound of Freedom shows the world the evils of child trafficking, Mission:Impossible Dead Reckoning shows the world the evils of A.I. and the demons it is summoning.
On top of that, the WGA and SAG strikes show the world what is happening right now to people’s livelihoods.
Warnings from many voices have been pronounced for decades that this type of thing was coming.
It has taken a storyteller (Christopher McQuarrie) and artists in Hollywood to SHOW the world what evil is and how it impacts people now.
The writers and actors in Hollywood are striking for a few things, but at the core is the desire of the studio system to replace artists with computers. Men and women who have worked hard to get their creations on the screen are being replaced by tech that doesn’t need to make a living.
That doesn’t have a soul.
That IS NOT alive.
Mission:Impossible shows us where this will go if A.I. is not controlled. The film centers around a rogue A.I. It alters everything in its path, and no one can stop or prevent it without a special weapon. This particular weapon is something everyone in the world wants to get to control the A.I. god. Only one person wants to kill it and stop the damage.
While I enjoy technology—hence publishing this on Substack and writing this with my laptop—it can’t and won’t be my god.
We were not created to be controlled by anything created, be that a substance, a machine, or a person. We were made to live in the image of God and to live for God through the gifts and talents He gave us. Technology has helped us all in tremendous ways. However, it is being weaponized against us now, and we must stand.
How? Let’s see what M:I 7 has to tell us.
What can be done? 3 Things
1. Realize what is happening now—and what is to come
Mission:Impossible Dead Reckoning shows us what will happen if this gets out of control: truth will vanish and lives with be ruined. What has been introduced to the public through ChatGPT and other A.I. tools is now quickly threatening people’s jobs.
Interestingly, the first big push to stop the onslaught of A.I. began with storytellers: writers and actors in Hollywood.
The Screen Actors Guild and the Writers Guild of America have shut down Hollywood because the studios want A.I. to replace actors and writers in filmmaking.
Studios want to scan actors’ faces, capture their voices, and use those images and sounds forever, creating simulated characters for the screen. Read more here.
The system also wants to turn to A.I. and ask it to write a script for a film or episodic show, and it’s done in moments. Read more here.
Why? On the surface, it’s cheaper and easier to deal with. It saves time and the hassle of dealing with people’s feelings and emotions.
But it hollows out filmmaking, robbing it of what makes it so beautiful: the joy and pain of a PERSONS story. Blood, sweat, tears, and laughter are why we see films.
It dehumanizes men and women as well.
God gave PEOPLE the ability to act, write, sing, make music, and create art. It’s a part of HIS design.
The danger of an artificial algorithm replacing the God-given talents of men and women should shake you to your core.
We can’t let this happen; the next set of skills it will eliminate will be teachers.
2. Recognize that the cross and sacrificial love are the only answer.
The answer to life’s ills has always been the cross of Christ. It is the place sin (the real evil in the world) was destroyed and life restored to mankind through the sacrificial love of Jesus Christ.
Mission:Impossible reminds us over and over again that the cross (the key the world is looking for in the film) and sacrificial love (Ethan Hunt’s willingness to put others, including strangers, before his own life) are the answers to defeating the truth eating, world-destroying parasite known as the Entity.
Mirroring real life, in the film, the cross is a powerful weapon of destruction in the hands of the wrong people. In ancient times, the cross was a horrific way to die. “Crucifixion was invented by the Persians between 300-400 B.C. It is quite possibly the most painful death ever invented by humankind. The English language derives the word ‘excruciating’ from crucifixion, acknowledging it as a form of slow, painful suffering.” 1
The story shows us that the cross can be used to weaponize the Entity and further enslave mankind through it.
However, the cross in the hands of God and fueled by Jesus’ sacrificial love is now the most powerful weapon against evil. The key in the hero’s hand, Ethan Hunt, powered by his willingness to sacrifice his life, is the only way the all-consuming evil will be destroyed.
Let that sink in for a moment.
3. Time is short, so live for Christ and the sake of others.
In the closing of Mission:Impossible, the narrator says time is short, the Entity has to be killed quickly, and mankind relies on Ethan’s willingness to die for the cause, all while we watch a sunset over a field of Arctic ice.
Jesus said, “We must do the works of him who sent me while it is day. Night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world” (John 9:4-5 CSB).
The night is coming. Jesus said it; it’s happening; it’s time to live for Him and help others.
It will cost us something, but nothing great comes cheaply. “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die,” wrote Dietrich Bonhoeffer in The Cost of Discipleship.
We are in an authentic battle for the hearts, minds, souls, and spirits of family, friends, neighbors, and strangers. If you aren’t in the struggle, time to get into it.
As we’ve discussed, telling your stories is the best way into the battle. You’ll have to be vulnerable. You’ll have to be humble. You’ll have to admit defeats as well as victories. Tell others about your success and triumphs. Tell others about the good and evil you have experienced and survived.
People need it, and Jesus requires it.
Hope for tough times ahead
The world is losing touch with reality. It is being wiped clean and rewritten digitally by people and A.I.
But there is hope. People are standing up and saying, “You can not pass!”
The strike in entertainment is one sign of hope. Mission:Impossible is another. Even the “Godfather of A.I.” recently quit Google to warn us of what is happening—and what is coming.
Ultimately, there’s hope because they can’t wipe away your life experience, and the Holy Spirit is working through those events. They can try to silence you, but your story, the lamb’s blood, and your willingness to die for others will slay the dragon (see Revelation 12). We can save mankind through our stories.
Take heart, as we go out and reach others, Jesus is working with us to bring light into dark places.
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