“AIpocalypse Now”: How to handle fear with faith

0:00Good morning and welcome to the Daily Article Podcast from Denison Forum. It's Tuesday, September 15th, 2026. This is an automated reading of today's Daily Article authored by Dr. Jim Denison. Today's article is titled AI Pocalypse Now. How to handle Fear with Faith. Michael J. Fox received the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award at Last Night's Emmy Awards and the late Dolly Parton was honored as well. However, I haven't seen any of the actual shows that received awards, so I've got nothing to offer there. But I can update you on the phenomenon that may transform or even replace television content, as we know it. Then we'll pivot to some biblical responses that point the way to courageous hope. According to the Dean of Harvard College, students are using artificial intelligence all the time for everything, a development that is dividing scholars. People have been creating AI companions for the last two years.

1:03One man used a chatbot to build a holographic version of his deceased father. Not everyone is happy with the AI revolution that is happening around us. In a May poll, 71% of Americans felt that the pace of AI development is moving too fast. Vandalism of $2,500 food delivery robots is rising. Xanthropic researcher Jacob Coxen, who September 9th, post to X, sparked what the Wall Street Journal called, America's Great AI Freakout, is joining Senator Bernie Sanders and former Trump White House advisor Steve Bannon at an event tonight to push for human-controlled AI. Hoover Institution and Harvard University historian Nile Ferguson, echoes such concerns in his free press article titled, AI Pocolips Now. In his view, it's a matter of when AI is used to launch a devastating cyber attack on critical infrastructure or a biological attack. He adds, it's the next global financial crisis, it's the next pandemic, it might even be the next world war.

2:06Forbes science journalist Andrea Morris similarly warns, quote, human extinction at the hands of an AI superintelligence becomes possible if it escapes our control and starts rapidly improving and replicating. At that point, humans trying to stop it could simply become comparatively weaker threats or obstacles it needs to remove in order to keep pursuing its goals. End quote. Others in Silicon Valley, however, are questioning calls for an AI slowdown, claiming that they are self-serving and misplaced. President Trump agrees, stating yesterday that he would be a sufficient guardrail against rogue AI. In the view of Wall Street Journal columnist James Freeman, he is standing up for the economic liberty and vitality of the United States. An economist Joseph Stiglitz writes that, if we manage the AI transition well, AI could usher in a new era of social well-being. The superabundance economy could provide for all in ways that were never possible before. Yesterday marked the anniversary of US President William McKinley's death,

3:09eight days after a deranged anarchist shot him during an exposition in Buffalo, New York. From leaders of the free world to the rest of the world, we can all admit with David, there is but a step between me and death. The difference is that, unlike our ancestors, we possess the ability to destroy mankind itself. A single gallon of anthrax, if suitably distributed, could end all human life on earth. As William J. Broad and Cade Metz note in the New York Times, humans also face the prospect of doom from killer asteroids, pandemics, thermonuclear war, climate change, giant blobs of incandescent material shot from the sun, ecological collapse, and the onset of a sudden ice age. We fear nuclear annihilation for good reason. A single nuclear warhead can level an entire city, and the launch of one missile likely assures the release of all of them. Now many believe that we can add an AI apocalypse to the list of existential threats.

4:12But while this news may surprise and trouble you, nothing I have written today surprises or worries your Lord. Jesus is the image of the invisible God, the one through whom all things were created. From the beginning of history until this very moment, he upholds the universe by the word of his power. He proved his supremacy over and over. He ruled nature by calming stormy seas. He ruled disease by healing leprosy bodies and blind eyes. He ruled pain by enduring crucifixion with courage. He ruled out by crying out his despair at the cross, but then praying, Father, into your hands, I commit my spirit. He ruled sin by paying its debt for all sinners. He ruled Satan by defeating his temptations. He ruled death by conquering it at Easter. Now you and I are more than conquerors through him who loved us. No matter what the future holds, we know that the one who holds the future holds us as well.

5:13We already have eternal life and are thus immortal. The worst we can imagine in this world is but a step into a world beyond our imagining. Frightening times are fertile soil for faith. They show us our need for what only God can do, and they show the world what he can do in us. When we trust our fear to our Father, the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus. I'll close today in a way you might not expect. As Dallas Cowboys fans know, our team lost its first game of the year in humiliating fashion. Many critics are already giving up on the season, but quarterback Dak Prescott has a different take. We have to stick together, and we're hanging our hat on our brotherhood, and that's what we believe we are. There's no better time to show it than after a loss. There's no better time to show a frightened world the power of our faith than today. Thank you for listening to The Daily Article Podcast.

6:14For links, scripture references, or to find out more about Denison Forum, visit us at DenisonForum.org or click the link in today's show notes.