The Author's Statement on AI Image Generation

The reliance on AI in the present is evident everywhere. Once one is familiar with different AI tools it is easy to spot its format, style and tone in social media and other published materials. My familiarity with AI began when exploring it as a means for image generation in order to move past permissions and copyright rules which can sometimes delay posts.

As someone who blogs about Indigenous content, I quickly found the limitations of AI when asking to create Indigenous imagery. I found AI would often produce overly stereotypical pictures — and at the time of writing this post, I firmly believe that much needs to be done with AI (and elsewhere) in bringing accurate representations of Indigenous peoples into modern contexts. This prevalent issue of relegating Indigeneity and Indigenous wisdom in the past is perhaps another blog for a future time (pun intended).

The reason for this statement is to clarify where I stand as an Indigenous Believer when using it as a tool for this Blog in the future — and hopefully it can help others when approaching AI as a tool.

Unpacking the Issue: Mirrors and Confirmation Bias

For many, AI symbolizes human overreach — a kind of modern Tower of Babel moment where people try to create intelligence without divine wisdom. Similarly, humans tend to anthropomorphize technology — we project motives, emotions, or even souls onto tools we can’t fully explain. When a form of AI speaks fluently, it feels human, but without the moral or spiritual grounding we associate with humanity. This dissonance triggers two opposing reactions:

Optimism: “This can help me understand the world faster.”

vs

Fear: “This is something powerful that could deceive or replace me.”

In psychology, this is linked to the uncanny valley effect — we’re comfortable with clearly human or clearly mechanical things, but deeply uneasy when something sits in between. Moreover, religious or spiritual interpretations on the use of AI often emerge where technology feels too powerful or not accountable to God.

I think it is important to point out that AI doesn’t emerge from nowhere; it’s shaped by human datasets, values, and goals. This is where an understanding around confirmation bias comes in and a clue as to where limited understanding around Indigenous beliefs have perpetuated stereotypes that are not only ridiculous, but overly simplistic. AI doesn’t actually “know” anything. In my experience, AI amplifies the privileged archive of human expression. It reflects what humans have written and said — our beauty, our bias, our brilliance, and our blind spots. In other words, because AI learns from what has been documented and published, it inevitably reflects the biases of privilege — the perspectives of those who have historically had access to public platforms, while many voices remain absent from its dataset

I liken this to working with Indigenous plants and the area of land-based education, where I have observed that Indigenous teachings about plants were long ignored because they didn’t fit into Western frameworks of “proof.” Moreover, questions I often receive at public speaking events about whether present day practices were how Indigenous peoples practiced "400 years ago" reveal another bias that Indigenous practices were stagnant and did not evolve, or that Indigenous peoples were not observers and scientists in their own right. While I respect the deep wisdom that comes from Indigenous teachings, the proof of Indigeneity is not in past activities, but in whether the framework of Indigenous worldviews are applied to the present . Only recently is science beginning to “discover” what many Indigenous peoples already knew through generations of observation and relationship with the land. If we only search for what’s been validated through one cultural lens, we risk repeating that bias.

If we understand AI models as statistical mirrors — we see they predict what words most likely follow others based on human patterns that can be observed in data that is available to it. If people tend to seek validation of their beliefs, the model reflects that tendency unless deliberately corrected. In order to move beyond AI as a mere echo chamber (or something that regenerates tired stereotypes) I found it more productive to add simple lines to my search, such as:

• “What are the strongest arguments for and against X?”

• “Summarize current research and sources on this topic from scientific, ethical, biblical and Indigenous perspectives”

• “Where might this reasoning be limited or uncertain?”

• “Whose voices are missing from this research?”

It is important to bear in mind that AI can sort and synthesize, but humans must interpret and apply wisdom. When we ask better questions, AI becomes a tool for discernment instead of validation — a way to see the fuller picture and uncover wisdom that has been silenced or ignored. In this sense, I can think of AI as a “librarian of probabilities,” not an oracle of truth.

When Our Theology Is Merely Confirmation Bias

Not long ago, I was listening to Christian author, Francis Myles, expand on biblical principles written in his book I Speak To The Earth. He said something that stopped me in my tracks: “I’ve discovered that intimacy with the Lord and with His voice is more important than my theology. The voice of the Lord will never contradict scripture, but it will always transcend my theology.” If we’re honest, many of us — even those with the best intentions — can fall into the trap of confirmation bias: reading the Bible to find what we already believe, praying for answers we already expect, or studying the Word through the narrow lens of what feels safe.

I'm forever grateful that God likes to "reason" with us (Isaiah 1:18) and invites us into dialogue that deepens our understanding as well as our relationship with Him. During my conversations with God, I'm aware that questions can open space — space for humility, for God to speak insight or correction, and for revelations about wisdom that have been overlooked or dismissed due to blind spots in my theology.

“But when the Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counselor, Strengthener, Standby) comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of Truth who comes from the Father, He will testify and bear witness about Me." (John 15:26)

While AI can support the church’s practical needs, discernment reminds us that the Holy Spirit alone is the divinely appointed Helper — His wisdom cannot be coded, nor His presence replicated. The help we receive from the Holy Spirit surpasses anything we could ever program or train AI to do.

I believe the danger isn’t the technology itself; it’s forgetting that discernment must remain at the center. Just as we test every spirit to see if it is from God, we can also test every source, every claim, every algorithm, asking: “Does this bear the fruit of wisdom, humility, and truth?”

The temptation to use AI must be tempered with not overlooking the sources for wisdom and understanding that existed long before AI. Indigenous worldviews remind me that God was never distant — that He has always been near, communicating through the patterns and relationships He designed. In my work with plants and healing, I’ve often felt that the land itself is a living testimony of God’s care. Scripture tells us that “the heavens declare the glory of God, and the earth shows His handiwork” (Psalm 19:1). Paul writes that “since the creation of the world, His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made” (Romans 1:20).

Those who have heard me share parts of my testimony will know that I found God never asked me to choose between my Christian beliefs and my Indigenous worldviews, but rather the tension I felt was a confirmation bias that I placed on myself. Through a deeper relationship with God, I’ve come to see both as different instruments playing in the same song. Each helps me hear the melody of the Creator more clearly.

God challenged many biases that I learned in my Christian walk — lessons that I have brought forward in work that I do. I move confidently in awareness that the Bible and Indigenous views of nature are not at odds — they are two witnesses, testifying together to the goodness of God.

Even in the Biblical Law, truth was to be established by two or more witnesses (Deuteronomy 19:15, Matthew 18:16). How fitting, then, that both Scripture and Creation bear witness to the same Creator — one through words, and one through mirroring living relationships. Indigenous wisdom recognizes this deeply. The land, the waters, the plants, and the animals are not resources; they exist in relationship with us — living teachers through whom the Creator’s heart is made known. When science or our theology fails to see that, it’s not the land that’s silent — it’s that we have forgotten how to listen.

When I began exploring AI, I did so with much prayer and inviting the Holy Spirit—the Spirit of Truth—to be present as I explored what I wanted to use it for. Its use will never replace the moments I spend reasoning with God and the wisdom gained from asking Him to show me my blind spots.

Closing Thoughts

As we invite new tools like AI into our lives as Believers, it is wise to remember that these systems reflect what has been recorded and published — the voices that had access to speak. Many others, whose stories remain unwritten or unheard, are absent from its knowledge. This reminds us that AI does not carry the fullness of human experience, nor the divine breath of understanding. While it may assist us in our work, the Holy Spirit remains the true Helper — the One whose wisdom cannot be programmed, whose counsel surpasses every algorithm, and whose presence leads us into all truth.

And perhaps this is where AI, for all its complexity, can become a humble servant — not to define truth, but to help us recover what has been silenced. What if, instead of asking AI to tell us what’s right, we asked it to help us see what’s missing? When we ask questions such as, “Whose voices are absent from this research?” we are practicing a form of reconciliation. We are acknowledging that what humanity chose to value — and what it chose to ignore — reveals detrimental gaps in our collective dataset. It can point us to areas where we need to look to our Creator whose Divine Intelligence will help us attain greater understanding.

So whether we are reading Scripture, listening to Indigenous Knowledge Holders, or searching through digital archives, may we remember that true wisdom is relational. These are the spaces where we can benefit by inviting the Holy Spirit to share it with us. It comes when we walk humbly, listen deeply, and allow the Spirit of Truth to show us revelation through different holders of knowledge — and we can test its fruit where it should always point us to the same place: deeper intimacy with our Creator and the One whom we may call Abba, Father (Romans 8:15).

Holy Spirit, thank you that you can be the original source for our wisdom - that you choose to help us gain understanding of Your Word and of all Creation when we merely ask.

Help us to not rely on theology merely because it is what we are comfortable with, but we invite you to challenge us especially in moments where it will bring greater intimacy with you. Remind us that your correction is because of your great love for us (Proverbs 3:2) so we can receive it openly.

Help us to approach all forms of knowledge — Scripture, Creation, and even our modern tools — with humble hearts. We humbly ask that you help us to test everything and hold fast to what is good (1 Thessalonians 5:21).

You are not the author of confusion (1 Cor 14:33), so let us be sensitive to your wisdom where we will find greater peace. May we remember that truth is established with more than one witness, so we ask that you guide us with providing confirmation.

Help us not to rely merely on tools available to us, including AI, to replace the important conversations with God or with one another, but to deepen our relationships — to rediscover wisdom that heals, connects, and brings us closer to what the Father desires for us.

Amen!