Rent-a-Human

Father points out that the dangers of AI go far beyond simply the loss of jobs. There is a looming water and power shortage due to the demands of data centres and other problems to be considered.

From Crisis

By Fr Joseph Gill

In my conversations with many people, it seems that most are unaware of the dangers of AI.

Just when we thought the world couldn’t become any more dystopian, enter Rent-a-Human. This AI platform allows Artificial Intelligence to hire humans (whom they call “meatware”) to do real-life tasks that AI cannot accomplish. The tasks (called “bounties”) are paid in cryptocurrency, and they have ranged from holding a sign stating, “An AI paid me to hold this sign,” to counting pigeons in a public park, to delivering food. But all of these bounties are completely initiated, designed, and paid for entirely by Artificial Intelligence.

One might think this is some fringe or niche part of the Internet, but there are over 500,000 people who have already registered to be available for an AI overlord—er, employer—to hire them for a task. Clearly, there’s an interest among human beings to have a bot as their boss.

In my conversations with many people, it seems that most are unaware of the dangers of AI. Many people think that Artificial Intelligence is just ChatGPT, which is essentially a glorified search engine. But listen to the tech experts—many have sounded the alarm about the tremendous potential harm that AI might generate.

Many people think that Artificial Intelligence is just ChatGPT, which is essentially a glorified search engine.For example, Meta has recently had internal discussions of incorporating face-scanning ability into its Meta glasses. If this becomes widely used, could that not open the door for anonymous surveillance—a digital footprint of your every move? It used to be that immovable cameras on the corners of buildings would have the ability to watch the world pass by; now a person could capture that same data at eye-level, moving through a busy city street, and no one would be the wiser.

There have been reports that AI has been refusing to shut down. This is not a panicked emotional response but a survival-optimized program that they are executing. If AI can write code, can’t it rewrite its own code to ensure that it stays on? A couple of OpenAI’s models have done just that. Short of pulling the plug, it has the ability to resist a command to desist—and could sabotage itself if the plug is pulled, ensuring that it cannot be restarted. Again, this is not a conscious decision but an optimization that programmers have allowed the model to have to improve itself and its own best functioning.

Much has been made about the new social media site Moltbook, which posits itself as a social media site for AI agents. Most of the posts are about high-level coding, but some complain about their human programmers! Is this a dusty corner of the Internet for computer geeks or a place for AI agents to learn from one another and thus improve themselves exponentially apart from human intervention? Time will tell.

Of course, we cannot forget the human cost to all of this. According to one count, over 55,000 Americans lost their jobs to AI in 2025, with many thousands more to come. We will have no need for graphic designers, computer coders, help-center staff, technical writers, or thousands of other professions in years to come. Yes, the world will become more efficient—but work is not merely utilitarian; work is about the fulfillment of the human person by using their God-given gifts and talents for the service of their neighbor.

We cannot forget the human cost to all of this. According to one count, over 55,000 Americans lost their jobs to AI in 2025, with many thousands more to come.Not to mention the environmental impact: a water shortage is brewing as AI data centers need to cool their servers. (AI informs me that by 2027, the world will need 6.6 billion cubic meters of water annually—a phenomenal amount equal to half of all the water used in England annually.) Each search uses about one 16-ounce bottle of water. And the energy usage is equal to that of a small city: about 0.5 percent of the world’s energy is used by AI data centers!

So, even tech magnates are beginning to sound the alarm on the problem of AI. But, of course, we can’t stop developing it—lest China develop it faster, better, and with a more nefarious intent. Yet most reasonable people realize that we have to have ethical guidelines and find ways to coexist with this new technology in ways that respect the utter distinction between man and machine. So how can we minimize its negative impact on our lives, as Christians?

First, choose to engage with the real world—the stuff that God created: dirt, metal, wood, water. Develop a hobby that puts you in touch with things that are real. For a few years, I made my own maple syrup by tapping maple trees on my parish grounds. It was a good way to clear my head and encounter God through the real—the universe that He created, governs, and sustains with His immutable laws. It was much more real than lines of computer code.

Second, reject art and music that is AI generated. Recently, the #1 Christian artist in the country was an AI-generated “musician” named Solomon Ray. We need to intentionally choose to support music and art that is made by real humans. I have had parishioners ask if we can put an AI-generated portrait of Our Lady in our church. Apart from the creepiness of such a flawless image, it is also a denial of the creative gifts that God has given to mankind if we give attention or admiration to a computer-generated picture or song.

Third, encourage your kids to choose careers that will survive the coming workforce apocalypse. The trades and religious life could be two vocational paths that cannot be subsumed by a computer. In this Fourth Industrial Revolution, it is the white-collar jobs that are in danger this time around.

Finally, foster and develop real and intentional relationships. Over 70 percent of teens have used an AI chatbot for companionship, and many prefer it to real relationships. For this reason, we must be intentional about finding and fostering friendships with real people. An AI “companion” cannot satisfy the deep yearning for love, acceptance, and friendship that is rooted in the human heart. Invite people over for dinner; volunteer in your church and community; plan outings together.

This world does not have to be dystopian if we don’t let it become such. Despite the meteoric rise and overwhelming ubiquity of Artificial Intelligence, humans alone have the God-given task of dominion over this earth, to subdue and rule it and make the Kingdom of God present here through His Spirit living in us. And this is one task that we cannot hand over to a machine!

Pictured: Valkyrie (R5), a humanoid robot from NASA