Deepfakes: Another Blow to our Broken Political Trust
If the first famous deepfake video were a child, it would have already finished kindergarten. Over six years have slipped by since filmmaker Jordan Peele sounded the alarm by showing it was possible to put words into the mouth of former President Obama. Viewed today, it’s clear right away that something’s off about the video. But Peele’s warning has only grown more urgent: today’s deepfakes are harder to spot.
And it’s not only the videos themselves that are a problem. In a world where we can no longer trust what we see, politicians try to gain short-term advantages by muddying the waters, further eroding trust. Last month, the White House press secretary claimed that some viral videos showing a confused President Biden were deepfakes. But the live debate that followed showed millions that Biden’s age-related struggles were all too real. Former President Trump floated the idea that red marks photographed on his hand were AI-generated, and may have tried out the claim that his notorious Access Hollywood recording was fake. As leading politicians test the maybe it was AI excuse, some are wondering whether advanced AI could end political freedom as we know it.
The political dangers are compounded by the other ways the technology threatens trust. There’s little transparency around the creation of AI and the very small number of people deploying it. Meanwhile, this technology promises all kinds of disruptions to the job market. From grim uses such as fraud, identity theft, and privacy invasion, avenues abound for further damage to our society’s already-fragile trust.
Trust in Christians is Slipping Too
It’s a good time for Christians to remember we are “receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken” (Hebrews 12:28). Yet from our broken political culture to our quiet, private sufferings, we see that the full effect of Jesus’ reign hasn’t arrived yet. That’s why we go on praying, “your kingdom come, your will be done” (Matthew 6:10).
We have plenty of reasons to be praying right now. One is that the church isn’t bucking the broader tidal wave of mistrust in America. A Gallup poll found confidence in churches is falling along with trust in basically every other institution. Unfair as it may be to most clergy, trust in pastors sits at an all-time low.
AI’s Bad Timing
It’s this backdrop that makes me especially concerned about the thickening fog that AI promises. When the internet went mainstream in the 1990s, right away people started trying out fake identities. Any new communications technology inevitably becomes a tool for deception. But in the early internet era, about 40 million more Americans attended church than do today. Building trust face-to-face was part of the fabric of a lot more lives.
Building Trust is in our Christian DNA
More than anything else, screen time rituals have replaced Sunday morning community. That trend alone explains a lot of what has gone haywire all around us. Instant access to any content you want offers a quick rush. But in the long run, it numbs us and leaves us lonely.
Real face-to-face community flips this script. Getting to know people is usually uncomfortable at first, but lasting friendships have priceless value. Proverbs 17:17 says, “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” In a world of isolation and adversity, we need meaningful friendships more than ever.
From its beginnings, the church brought people together face-to-face. Early Christians “devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (Acts 2:42). Recognizing the importance of everything in that list, I want to zoom in on the bread-breaking. I recall a pastor once saying how sharing a meal grows a friendship in a way little else can. It’s hard to say exactly why this is, but I think it’s true. I once attended a church where the main outreach strategy was to encourage people to invite non-Christians over for a meal. It has a brilliant simplicity to it.
Everywhere You Go, Christians Show Up
My family recently moved to a new state, and we didn’t know a single person well when we arrived. Yet when we reached out for help moving in, people showed up from a church we hadn’t even visited yet. More recently, I’ve made a Christian friend who insists on buying me breakfast every time we get together, despite my efforts to reciprocate. At our new church home, a “small group” community welcomed us with open arms. Women from a Bible study brought my wife to tears by throwing a baby shower for her. And those are just a few of the things we’ve experienced.
It might seem naive to view acts of generosity and kindness as a meaningful counter to AI’s more disturbing possibilities. But this is the startling power of the church. We’re promised that the Spirit of God is at work, preparing the way for a new heavens and a new earth as we use the gifts the Lord has given us (Matthew 25:21). The everyday ordinary can lay a foundation for the eternal extraordinary.
Tech is No Substitute for Trust
I think the Christian response to AI will require much more than acts of kindness and personal trust-building. But I think we’re deeply mistaken if we believe it can involve less than that. God’s people will unlock lots of beneficial purposes for AI and other emerging technologies. But I believe the next couple of decades of church life will be defined by Christians’ success or failure in recovering the lost art of building face-to-face trust.