IS AI FROM THE DEVIL? Coach Tarie Revisits the Narrative in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
Written By: Coach Tarie | Published On: Leaders Mandate | May 16, 2026
Who is speaking to this generation more? Who is being heard? Whose opinion matters to the younger generation of today? Has the Church lost the narratives of today? What is the destiny of this generation?
Over 10 years ago, I wrote an article entitled “Is Google From The Devil?” My burden was to awaken the Church to the fact that the internet was becoming the space where people searched for truth. Today, that burden has returned with even greater urgency. The question has become: Is AI from the devil?
THE ALGORITHMIC GENERATION
We are speaking to a generation that does not only want answers on a screen. It wants instant answers, intelligent answers, customised answers, conversational answers, and decision-supporting answers. This is no longer just a telegraphic generation. This is an algorithmic generation.
Decoding the Digital Spiritual Warfare
History has to repeat itself if there is going to be hope for this generation. We are living beyond the post-information age; information is no longer just being searched, it is being generated and interpreted by artificial intelligence.
History Must Repeat Itself
From the Gutenberg printing press in the 15th Century to the pulpit era of Jonathan Edwards, the Church historically occupied the technology of the day. But since motion pictures, the Church has often struggled to take hold of the dominant narrative, following miles behind the internet, Google, and social media.
AI Has Taken the Narrative
If anyone wants to know something, they no longer only “Google” it. They ask ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, or Claude to explain, summarise, advise, generate, and interpret. A narrative is not innocent. Whoever occupies the imagination of a generation influences the systems that generation builds.
The Real Danger
The danger is not that AI exists. The danger is that the world will upload its assumptions, values, biases, and agendas into the systems that shape the thinking of the next generation—while the Church debates whether the tool is evil. Who is teaching AI what wisdom looks like?
“[The purpose is] that through the church the complicated, many-sided wisdom of God in all its infinite variety and innumerable aspects might now be made known...” — Ephesians 3:10 (AMP)
The 2006 Vision
In 2006, the Lord Jesus gave me a vision: "Ndakusimudza Church yangu sebhazi renge richifamba munzira rotanga kufamba pamusoro pezvikomo." (I am taking my Church, like a bus that has been travelling on roads, to begin to move on top of mountains). The Church had to occupy spaces that influence behavior and culture.
AI Influences All 7 Mountains
The Kingdom must be established on the top of the mountains (Isaiah 2:2-3). Today, AI is touching all of them: Governance (data/policy), Media (narratives), Religion (digital discipleship), Arts (creativity), Business (automation/strategy), Education (personalized learning), and Family (daily digital environments).
Occupy Till I Come
Napoleon Bonaparte said, "The objective of war is victory, the objective of victory is occupation." Our Lord got us the victory and left an instruction: "Occupy till I come" (Luke 19:13). Occupation means entering the space with wisdom, excellence, and Kingdom intention. We cannot redeem a space we abandon.
To say AI must be used for Kingdom advancement is not to say AI must replace human thinking, prayer, study, discernment, creativity, or responsibility.
The Three Trades
My friend Nash Barara profoundly argued that interacting with AI asks us to make trades: Speed for depth (skipping reasoning), Convenience for cognition (removing friction where original thought is forged), and Autonomy for comfort (letting AI decide). "Every time you outsource a thought, you pay with a piece of your mind."
The Mine Between The Ears
Every person carries the richest mine in the world — the mine between the two ears. AI does not cancel this mine; it should amplify it. The danger is when AI becomes a substitute for thinking instead of a servant of thinking.
The Hand Guiding the Tool
The carpenter does not become useless because he uses an electric saw. The strategist does not lose intelligence because he uses AI. The Church must not use AI to become shallow faster. We must use AI to become more effective, excellent, and strategic.
The Church has too often entered too late—into film, TV, social media, and digital publishing. We cannot afford to enter AI late. We must be relevant by bringing Kingdom wisdom into the world’s operating systems.
2026 Theme: Living By Design
Marketplace relevance means we do not hide our wisdom in religious corners. Through AI, Kingdom people can now write better, think wider, research faster, design smarter, teach further, and innovate global solutions. But the issue is using AI by design, asking what Kingdom purpose the tool serves.
The New Question for the Church
The question is not simply "Is AI from the devil?" The better questions are: Who is using AI? With what worldview? With what wisdom? A knife in the hand of a surgeon heals; in the hand of a criminal, it destroys. The mind guiding the hand matters.
Taking Hold of the Narrative
Many gifted young people in the Church think their skills in technology, coding, research, and AI are not relevant to Kingdom advancement. But in this age, these are the most strategic gifts. We must produce Kingdom datasets, build ethical AI frameworks, and use AI to carry wisdom into all spheres.
So, is AI from the devil? No.
But AI without wisdom can become dangerous. AI without discernment can become deceptive. AI without human responsibility can become destructive. AI without Kingdom presence can become a narrative captured by other spirits, other philosophies, and other agendas.
The printing press carried the Bible. The pulpit carried revival. Broadcast carried preaching. The internet carried digital discipleship. Social media carried influence. Now AI must carry wisdom. Not because AI is Lord, but because Christ is Lord over every mountain, every age, every tool, and every narrative.
The Church must not ask from a place of fear: “Is AI from the devil?” The Church must ask from a place of mandate: “How do we occupy this space until He comes?”
Coach Tarie
Life, Leadership, Business Growth & Transformation and Social Reformation Coach.
Author | Speaker | Leadership and Business Trainer | Social Reformer | Strategic Thinker | Consultant
Living By Design for Marketplace Relevance
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