As many Americans continue to create and share AI-generated caricatures of themselves on social media, a prominent pastor and author warns that AI-generated deepfakes of Christian figures like Billy Graham are stirring up confusion related to what’s real and what’s not. Could this be an opportunity for the Church?
Joshua Pauling, vicar of All Saints Lutheran Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, described encountering a viral AI video falsely presented as a Graham sermon in a recent column for Mere Orthodoxy, reported Crosswalk. Obvious blunders like including engagement prompts from Graham, Pauling noted, helped expose that the video was fake.
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Moment for the church?
In response to issues such as deepfake technology, The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association has cautioned the public to trust only its official channels. Despite growing problem, Pauling argued the church offers a remedy through in-person worship and Christ-centered community.
“But could this moment also be a catalyst for the resurgence of in-person relationships and gatherings?” Pauling noted. “Reality gets its revenge eventually, doesn’t it? The church can stand in precisely this moment, as she embodies a different way of being.”
EDITOR’S NOTE — This report is a summary of an article written by Michael Foust and originally published by Christian Headlines. With reporting from The Baptist Paper.
