"How do I get to heaven?" This is answered by an AI (artificial intelligence). “Believe in Jesus, repent of sinful behavior and trust in God's grace”. Will a computer eventually fulfill the great task of “making disciples of all nations”? No of course not. But how can the AI help in the mission? I would like to share a few thoughts on this with you.
First, it is important to realize that the percentage of internet users is increasing massively every year. In the year In 2022 there were 5,4 billion internet users worldwide (66% of the population), a year earlier it was 4,9 billion (62% of the population). That is why the Internet is also considered the 7th continent for world mission (Antarctica is not counted as it has no permanent residents). With just a few clicks you can also meet people online who would otherwise only be reached with great effort. Due to internet censorship, not everyone has free access to the internet. According to a report by Reporters Without Borders this affects about every third internet user worldwide (Fig. light = countries with surveillance, dark = countries with censorship). Stay anyway two-thirds who can be reached through open access with the gospel.
In addition to the fact that global networking through the Internet creates access to many unreached people, new technologies such as AI (artificial intelligence) can help to identify people of peace. So-called chatbots imitate a human counterpart for the Internet user and enable free conversation on a wide variety of topics. The chatbots from Microsoft (Chat GPT), Google (Bard) or something similar on everyone's lips. The areas of application and the assertiveness of the chatbots will crystallize in the coming months. But many areas of work are now changing. I would like to enclose three points that have an evangelistic use in relation to: "How can AI help in missions?".
An AI can answer 80 percent of the queries
Companies have already recognized that a good 80% of their customer inquiries can be answered using AI. In the past, so-called FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) were often used on websites. However, these appear very impersonal and cold to visitors. With a chatbot, the same questions can be answered with the experience of a seemingly face-to-face conversation. You can not only ask questions, but also in-depth questions. It's amazing how well the AI answers questions of faith: “How am I saved? In the Christian faith, salvation is achieved through faith in Jesus Christ, repentance of sins, trust in God's grace, and developing a relationship with God that leads to hope of eternal life.”, “How Can I Believe? Faith develops through openness to spiritual questions, learning about faith, self-reflection, prayer, and connecting to a community of faith that can help you shape your spiritual journey.”.
An AI can serve as a filter for queries
Just answering questions is a passive form of evangelism. In order to find people in a targeted manner, you also need specific questions. This according to the principle: "Who asks, leads". Just as most evangelistic manuals can be learned in a short training session, an AI can learn and apply such manuals quickly. Especially those who evangelize regularly know that the same objections often come up in conversation. These can also be answered well by AI. If the AI identifies a person of peace, the handover to a real person takes place.
An AI can transcend cultural boundaries
The Internet as the 7th continent is characterized by a high level of cultural mixing. An AI can recognize from which cultural background a person is and adapt the dialogue. We must be prepared for the fact that there are two types of culture among Internet users. On the one hand, people who continue to maintain their social contacts offline (family life, sports clubs, work, etc.) and people who mostly maintain their social contacts online (online games, live streaming, etc.). This has an impact on the discipleship process. The former need a local spiritual family. At most, they and their social environment can create a new one, or they can network with Christians in their environment. The latter will take care of their spiritual family online. They define a completely new type of culture.
would you like to help
We are looking for motivated people who would like to reach the 7th continent as pioneers. As a team, we are working on the question, among other things: “how can the AI help in the mission?” and put it into practice. Do you have a technical flair, do you enjoy social media or would you like to support this project in some other way?
Please contact me...
