Advances in artificial intelligence raise important questions about the future of human relationships and community. As robots, algorithms, and virtual assistants grow more sophisticated, some warn that technology risks further isolating people and eroding social bonds. Christians who embrace relationship as fundamental to following Christ must thoughtfully engage this challenge. How can the church nurture true community and combat isolation in an AI age?
The Risks of Disconnection
It’s no secret that technology has increasingly mediated and even replaced human interaction. Social media has made it possible to amass “friends” and “followers” online while neglecting in-person relationships. Smartphones distract us from those physically present and provide illusions of connectedness via notifications. The metaverse offers virtual relationships with avatars more interesting than our neighbors.
AI technologies like chatbots designed to be relational companions and “affective computing” to recognize human emotions amplify these trends. As roboticist Sherry Turkle puts it, these advances allow “further escape from each other” and evasion of the messiness of actual human relationship:
We seem determined to give human qualities to objects and content to treat each other as things…We are increasingly drawn to relating to machines as if they were people, and relating to people as if they were machines. (1)
Turkle warns this undermines development of empathy and maturity needed for true communion. Retreating into artificial companionship may represent “regression rather than progression.” (2)
While alarmist at times, such warnings resonate given increasing digital distraction and the appeal of virtual relationships unencumbered by vulnerability and sacrifice. Unreflectively embracing AI risks valuing convenience and individualism over human community. How must the church respond?
Relational Beings in God’s Image
A biblical perspective on connection grounds why human relationships matter. Scripture teaches that we are fundamentally relational beings created for community because we bear the image of a relational God (Genesis 1:26-27). The Trinity models perfect communion and reciprocity in diversity through the eternal loving relationship of Father, Son, and Spirit who is the bond of love between them.
This sets a pattern for human community. As theologian Stanley Grenz writes, “Genesis 1:26-27 provides the starting point for a biblical understanding of humankind as essentially social beings.” (3) Bearing God’s likeness suggests community and unity in diversity are central to human nature. We reflect God together, not just as individuals.
Jesus also prioritizes loving community as core to his kingdom. When asked about the greatest commandment, he answered: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind,” and a second like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37–39). For Jesus, vertical and horizontal relationships are inseparable. This mutuality of love is only realized in fellowship, not isolation.
Theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer argued that bearing the imago Dei means “God has imprinted his own relationality onto human nature” so that “one’s own humanity is fulfilled only when one enters into proper relation with other human beings.” (4) True personhood requires reciprocal love in community. AI cannot satisfy our relational design.
The Loneliness Epidemic
Tragically, many in our culture experience profound loneliness and isolation despite technological connection. Nearly half of Americans report sometimes or always feeling alone and lack meaningful relationships. (5) One-person households are increasingly common. (6) “Despite living in one of the most digitally connected periods of human existence, the majority of the population suffers from this utter lack of belonging,” notes one psychologist. (7)
While complex, this “loneliness epidemic” is exacerbated by over-relying on technology for pseudo-relationships that cannot fulfill our relational wiring. Christians must fight the cultural currents pulling us apart into isolation. Prioritizing true community provides a compelling countercultural witness.
Hebrews 10:24-25 offers instruction tailor-made for our technological moment: “Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” Virtual gatherings cannot replace face-to-face fellowship.
Social Beings in God’s World
Scripture also presents the broader creation as a complex social network in which we have communal responsibilities. In Israel’s law, social concern for neighbors and “resident aliens” cared for the vulnerable. The Jubilee laws aimed to prevent isolation by redistributing land and freeing Israelites from indentured service every 50 years (Leviticus 25). God’s people were called to restore social equity.
The New Testament repeats this emphasis, teaching care for neighbor (Luke 10:25-37) and using familial language like “brothers and sisters” to describe the church. We are members of one body (Romans 12:4-5) with none isolated or neglected. In Christ, even divisions like ethnicity or status no longer separate (Galatians 3:28). Mutual service unites us (1 Corinthians 12:4-26).
Our spiritual connections have practical implications: bearing “one another’s burdens” (Galatians 6:2), hospitality (Romans 12:13), care for widows and orphans (James 1:27), and more. Fulfilling these requires presence and relationship, not digital proxies or transactions. Christian community must be lived out incarnationally, as the Word became flesh (John 1:14).
Combating Dehumanization
This relational perspective combats tendencies amplified by technology to reduce humans to objects. Philosopher Sherry Turkle argues “we are at risk of developing an idea of companionship that debases its currency,” pretending friendship with objects satisfies our social wiring. She calls for “restoring conversation to its rightful place – in the center of human relationships.”(8)
When using technology, practices of empathy, humility and listening that cultivate companionship are needed. Christians must lead the way in this. Movements like the “slow tech” movement aiming to reclaim presence provide models. Turkle rightly sees potential for religious community to nurture conversation and depth:
I argue for slowing down. The human need to converse…gives the church a new relevance. Churches (along with synagogues and mosques) have a new role to play…not pushing parishioners into extremes of technological enthusiasm or technophobia but modeling a full conversation about technology’s place in our humanity. (9)
The church can model wise, humane engagement with technology that combats isolation and fractured attention. Our communities should feel profoundly human and connected in a distracted world.
Intimacy in the Age of AI
Human capacities for intimate relationship also differentiate us from artificial intelligence. Marriage offers a profound “one-flesh union” (Genesis 2:24) impossible for machines. The Old Testament employs marriage imagery to describe God’s covenant bond with Israel (Hosea; Ezekiel 16). Sexuality is a sacred gift within this covenant context (Song of Songs).
The New Testament also uses marriage analogously while elevating non-marital relationships in the church family. Jesus performed his first miracle at a wedding (John 2:1-11) and describes himself as a bridegroom to the church (Matthew 25:1-13; Revelation 19:7). Such intimate bonds inspire our best human virtues like sacrificial devotion and joy. This sets biblical vision for flourishing relationships in sharp contrast with digital distractions and virtual escapism.
Philosopher Barry Schwartz contrasts the richness of marriage with seeking online gratification from endless romantic options: “No matter how much you searched and chose, there might be someone just a little better. Commitment and definiteness meant, inevitably, missing out on what might be slightly better. How can you ever know that you have made the best choice?” (10) For Schwartz, practicing commitment cultivates human meaning, unlike paralysis when overwhelmed by options.
Grounding intimate relationships like marriage in God’s design and Christ’s redemptive work allows them to flourish even amidst cultural confusion and fragmentation. The church can model such countercultural depth. Our communities should feel more intimate, not less, in an age of AI.
Loneliness and the Gospel
Most fundamentally, Christians combat isolation by grounding identity in Christ’s love, not cultural conformity. Loneliness often stems from chasing approval or meaning apart from the only relationship that truly fulfills our longing for connection. Augustine famously wrote, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.” (11) Our deepest need is for communion with God.
The gospel powerfully addresses isolation. Jesus assures us “you are not alone, for I am with you” (John 16:32 NLT). Through Christ, we are “no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people” (Ephesians 2:19). The Spirit unites and comforts the church. In God’s family, our loneliness is transcended.
This empowers us to build communities of radical welcome for the isolated. The friendship of Christ overcomes barriers. If we have experienced grace, we extend it. The book of Hebrews instructs, “Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers” (Hebrews 13:1-2). The cure for isolation is Christ-centered community.
Key Takeaways:
- Some forms of technology mediate rather than support true human connection. AI risks exacerbating this.
- Bearing God’s relational image means friendship and community are fundamental human needs.
- The church must combat widespread loneliness and practice true fellowship.
- Loving our neighbors requires presence and vulnerability, not just digital engagement.
- Intimate relationships like marriage also need nurturing and protecting in an AI age.
- Combating isolation means grounding identity in Christ’s love, not platforms promising pseudo-connection.