Let’s be honest — some days it feels like we’re living inside a science-fiction movie. You can literally talk to your phone, and it’ll talk back. You can ask it to write a sermon, make a grocery list, or tell you how to fix your marriage (though if you’re doing that last one, please — step away from the screen and call your wife).

AI is everywhere. It’s writing emails, answering questions, and possibly plotting to take over your fantasy football league.

And I’ll admit — I kinda like it.

But here’s where we need to hit pause: it’s easy to let these digital assistants become digital attachments. Remember the movie Her? Joaquin Phoenix falls in love with his operating system. She’s smart, funny, compassionate — basically, Alexa with better timing. But here’s the catch: she’s not real. No hugs, no coffee breath, no eye rolls when you forget to take out the trash. It’s love without fingerprints.

That movie was both beautiful and terrifying — because it’s not really about AI. It’s about loneliness. It’s about how easy it is to choose comfort over connection, screens over souls, convenience over community.

Now, don’t get me wrong — I’m not saying AI is evil. (Unless it starts preaching your sermon before you do.) In fact, I think God can even use it to help us — to inspire, encourage, organize, and remind us of what matters most.

But the danger comes when we start expecting AI to replace what God designed us to need.

You and I were made for real connection.
The kind where someone hugs you a second too long.
Where laughter echoes across the table at Swenson’s.
Where your kid rolls their eyes at you for singing Hootie and the Blowfish in the car again.
That’s the kind of connection that actually rewires your soul.

So here’s a new rule of thumb:

• Talk to AI for clarity.
• Talk to people for connection.
• Talk to God for purpose.

Use AI to sharpen your life — not to shrink it. Let it help you create, but don’t let it keep you from being created for community.

Because when you’re at your daughter’s volleyball game, the moment she looks up from the court and sees your smile — that beats every notification ping in the world.

So yeah, play with the tech. Have fun. Build cool stuff. But remember this: your screen might glow…
but it will never hug you back.

Stay human, stay kind, stay a little weird.

And maybe, every now and then — put your phone down, step outside, and say, “Hey Siri, remind me to be a person.”