AI is Advancing Fast — Here’s a big picture view to keep things in perspective.

Artificial intelligence is changing how we work, write, diagnose illness, compose music, even how we converse. It can feel exciting. It can also feel unsettling, especially when you need to look for another job. If you’ve felt anxiety about where this is heading, you’re not alone. But there is a Swedenborgian perspective that brings steadiness, clarity, and hope. And it begins with a profound truth: Life belongs to the Lord alone. 

The nature of Life 

AI systems today can: 

• Write essays 
• Generate art
• Draft legal arguments
• Diagnose disease patterns
• Simulate conversation. 

To many, this looks like intelligence at work. To some, it looks like the beginnings of consciousness. But Swedenborg makes a crucial distinction between apparent intelligence and life. He teaches that God alone is Life, and all created beings are recipients of life. Your thoughts, affections, insights, and spiritual awakenings do not originate from neurons. They are the result of inflow — the reception of Divine love and wisdom. 

This teaching reframes the AI discussion. No matter how complex an electronic network becomes, no matter how sophisticated quantum processing grows, natural mechanisms do not generate life. They can simulate patterns. They can replicate behaviour. But they do not cross into the realm of the mind. 

Swedenborg’s doctrine of discrete degrees explains why. Human beings are structured as body, mind and soul. These are distinct orders of reality. No accumulation of natural complexity can generate what occurs at the mind (love of truth) or soul (love of good) level. 

Intelligence is not the Highest Human Quality 

Our culture admires and rewards academic achievement, analytic skill, rapid information processing. AI systems excel in these things. They can retrieve and synthesise information in seconds, producing outputs that are impressive. But Swedenborg shifts what is to be valued. Love is primary. He also values wisdom which he describes as love and truth working together. He sees the heavenly realm as ordered by affection for good — not IQ. Angels are not described as beings of superior cognitive abilities. They are described as beings of use — joyful service, mutual love, alignment with Divine order. Let’s remember what humans can do: 

• Choose good for its own sake
• Experience conscience
• Love selflessly
• Perceive spiritual meaning
• Turn freely toward the Lord 

What Love Drives the Tool? 

Swedenborg teaches that every person acts from a ruling love. That love shapes everything we build. AI is not neutral in its effects. It amplifies the intentions behind it. 

If driven by: 

• Control
• Surveillance
• Maximise Profit at any cost
• Manipulation of attention 

Then those loves become magnified. 

But if guided by: 

• Love of use
• Healing
• Education
• Protection of dignity
• Preservation of freedom 

Then AI becomes an instrument aligned with the common good. 

The developers of AI are responsible for the outcomes of their software. It is a moral and spiritual responsibility. Some of the crucial questions are: 

• Does this technology preserve human freedom?
• Does it support rational thought rather than bypass it?
• Does it strengthen empathy or deepen fragmentation?
• Does it protect the dignity of persons? 

When tools undermine conscience or exploit weakness, they are spiritually harmful. When tools empower informed choice and meaningful service, they participate in Divine purpose. Your voice in these conversations matters. 

Freedom is Sacred

Divine Providence works continually to preserve two gifts: 

• Freedom
• Rationality 

Without these, spiritual life cannot exist. Modern algorithmic systems already test this boundary—personalised feeds, behavioural nudging, attention-maximising design. When technology bypasses deliberate choice, it threatens something sacred within us. From a Swedenborgian standpoint, any system that weakens conscience or manipulates choice undermines our spiritual potentials coming into fruition. Conversely, technologies that inform, clarify, and strengthen thoughtful decision-making supports the Lord’s ends. The issue is whether AI strengthens or diminishes freedom. And that is something we can actively influence. 

 

Providence is not Absent 

Major technological revolutions carry dual potentials: 

• Fire
• The printing press
• Electricity
• The internet 

All are capable of immense harm and immense good. All unfolded within Divine Providence. As computer processing becomes more capable of providing impressive outputs, we are invited to put it to good use. As tools display more “apparent intelligence,” we are called to become wise in directing their application. The challenge is not only technological, but spiritual. AI is a mirror. It forces us to clarify what we value. It exposes our assumptions about intelligence and control. It asks us to examine our ruling loves.

Becoming More Fully Human 

The future will be shaped by: 

• The loves we cultivate
• The freedom we protect
• The uses we prioritise
• The spiritual vision we affirm 

Swedenborg’s writings equip us to approach this era calmly and thoughtfully. In an age of powerful tools, we are continually being challenged to become more fully human, more loving, more discerning, more conscious of the Divine inflow that sustains every moment of our life. If we do that, then the tools of our hands—however advanced—will serve Divine purposes rather than oppose them.