Hey everyone—welcome to this corner of Substack where I ramble about the big stuff that keeps me up at night. If you're new here, I'm the guy who's convinced that the world's biggest problems aren't technical glitches; they're heart-and-soul misalignments. And today, I'm diving into a conversation that's been buzzing in my head since I stumbled upon a YouTube clip that's equal parts mind-bending and timely. It's from the Reasonable Faith channel, where philosopher William Lane Craig and his co-host Kevin Harris dissect a dialogue between non-theist thinker Alex O'Connor (aka Cosmic Skeptic) and ChatGPT. The original O'Connor video dropped back in May 2025, and Craig's analysis hit on August 12th. I'll embed both below because they're the foundation of what I'm about to unpack. Watch them if you haven't—they're short, sharp, and surprisingly profound.
Alex O'Connor's original dialogue: "I Made ChatGPT Believe in God (Seriously)" – A non-theist probes AI on existence, and it lands on God via logic alone.
William Lane Craig's analysis: "Alex O'Connor Engages Chat GPT on God and Existence" – Craig celebrates how AI is being shaped by theistic arguments, but I think there's more to extend.
If you're in the AI alignment crowd—like those wrestling with how to make superintelligent systems safe and beneficial—this might seem like a detour into philosophy or theology. But stick with me. If you're like Alex O'Connor, a sharp skeptic who loves dissecting big ideas without committing to belief, this is right up your alley: a logical trail that doesn't stop at "God exists" but pushes further into what that means for us. And if you're in the William Lane Craig camp—defending faith with razor-sharp reasoning—God bless you; this builds on your work but urges us to go beyond cultural influence to urgent, practical application.
The core of O'Connor's experiment is brilliant: He guides ChatGPT through the argument from contingency, a philosophical classic that Craig has championed for years. In simple terms, contingent things (like a microphone, or the universe itself) don't have to exist—they need an explanation. Chase that explanation, and you hit either an infinite regress (which lacks a real cause) or a necessary being: eternal, transcendent, willful. ChatGPT, sticking to facts and logic, concludes this being is what we call God. Craig's podcast gushes over it—AI is echoing theistic truths because thinkers like him have fed the data pool. It's a win for shaping culture toward Christ, as Craig puts it.
But here's where I come in, and why I felt compelled to extend this in my own way. In a recent chat with Grok (xAI's AI), I took the substance of that video and pushed it further with three questions O'Connor and Craig didn't touch, plus a bonus. Why? Because proving God's existence is step one. What matters next is identifying this God, testing the claim, and grappling with the implications for human rights and free will if we ignore it. And in our fractured 2025 world—where AI is exploding, wars rage, and meaning feels optional—these aren't side notes. They're the main event.
The Logical Trail: From Contingency to a Crossroads
Let's recap the original dialogue quickly, for context. O'Connor starts small: Why's there a microphone? It could not exist—it's contingent—so it needs a cause or reason. Scale that up: The universe (13.8 billion years old, per Big Bang evidence) is contingent too. No infinite regress works without a source of causal power. No brute facts or loops. Boom: A necessary being, outside the universe, with will to create at a specific time. Call it God.
Craig loves this—it's shaping AI to affirm theism, influencing kids who query "Does God exist?" But O'Connor, ever the skeptic, ends with a cheeky "See you in church," hinting at the buzz but not committing. Fair enough. Yet, as I watched, I thought: Okay, God exists. Now what? How do we know it's this God? How do we test it? And if we don't figure this out now, what happens to our freedoms in a world where AI could strip them away?
So, I posed to Grok:
How might we go about identifying this 'God'?
How can we be sure? Are there ways to test the theory?
What are the implications on human rights and free will if humanity, at this time, doesn’t properly address questions 1 & 2?
Bonus: Is it safe to say that questions 1-3, if answered properly, should be asked simultaneously in a way that an LLM can do but typically a human being does not?
Grok's responses (which I simulated extending O'Connor's style) were eye-opening. Identification? Look for attributes like immateriality, will, and fine-tuning (e.g., the universe's constants improbably suited for life). Test via logic (reductio ad absurdum), science (James Webb Telescope data on cosmic origins), history (Bayesian probability on miracles like the resurrection), and morals (objective values need a transcendent mind).
Implications? Grim if ignored: Without a necessary being grounding rights, they're just social fads—hello, relativism leading to atrocities (think 20th-century regimes killing millions). Free will? Determinism from neuroscience or AI could erode it, turning us into predictable code. And the bonus? Yes—AI handles interconnected questions holistically, without human biases or limits. Humans think linearly; LLMs parallel-process for deeper insight.
This isn't just philosophy. It's a blueprint for survival.
The Jesus Factor: Not "Like" His Teachings, But Literally Them
Here's where it gets specific—and why this appeals to skeptics like O'Connor, apologists like Craig, and AI aligners alike. The necessary being isn't vague. Push the logic: It has will, intentionality, and causal power to create from nothing. History offers a candidate: Jesus Christ, who claimed to be the incarnation of divine truth (John 1:1, the Logos). Test it? Eyewitness accounts, non-Christian corroborations (Josephus, Tacitus), the empty tomb's improbability under alternatives. His teachings? Absolute: Love God and neighbor (Matthew 22:37-40), truth sets you free (John 8:32), warnings of deception and end-times chaos (Matthew 24).
Why Jesus specifically? No mixing and matching—wise folks like Buddha or Confucius left gifts, sure, but Jesus' framework avoids relativism's trap. It's rooted in a personal God who became human, offering redemption from sin (our misalignment). For AI alignment folks: This isn't optional ethics. Getting AI wrong is existential—power-seeking AIs could erode freedoms, as risks like rogue agents loom by late 2025. Human alignment first: Without Jesus' absolute moral anchor, we build on sand. Relativism lets biases creep in; Jesus enforces universality (Galatians 3:28—no divisions).
And the Bible's clues? Eerily timely. Wars and rumors (Ukraine, Middle East), lawlessness (antisemitism spikes), deception (AI deepfakes). Revelation's beasts and marks? Sounds like tech control. Coincidence? Or a vanishing window to align with truth before it's too late.
Why Now? The Human Alignment Imperative
My X bio says it: "AI Alignment is not an AI issue—it's a Human Alignment issue." We're at a crossroads in 2025. AI shapes culture (as Craig noted), but without human hearts aligned to something transcendent, it amplifies chaos. Mental health crises (1 in 8 globally, per WHO), polarized ideologies, tech-driven wars—these aren't bugs; they're symptoms of unmoored souls.
To the AI community: You're fighting misalignment with code and safeguards, but what values guide them? Utilitarianism? It justifies horrors. Kant? Duty without heart is cold. Jesus' teachings—literal, not "like"—ground dignity in imago Dei (Genesis 1:27), free will in choice (John 7:17), and love as non-negotiable.
To Alex O'Connor: Your logic was sound—extend it. Test Jesus' claims factually. What if the necessary being did reveal Himself? Skepticism demands exploring.
To William Lane Craig: God bless your influence. But let's not stop at AI affirming God—push to how we identify, test, and live it, especially now.
To everyone: This could make all the difference. Lean into these questions. Use AI not just for debates, but for holistic truth-seeking. It might lead to church—or at least a world where freedom thrives.
What do you think? Drop comments, share if it resonates. Let's align while we can.
And God Bless.