2084 and the AI Revolution, Updated and Expanded Edition: How Artificial Intelligence Informs Our Future by John C. Lennox. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2024, 384 pages. ISBN-10: 0310166640, ISBN-13: 978-0310166641. Available from Amazon and Zondervan Academic.
In an era saturated with breathless hype and anxious headlines about artificial intelligence (AI), John Lennox’s 2084 and the AI Revolution offers a rare and invaluable perspective: a guide that is at once technologically informed, philosophically rigorous, and theologically profound. Lennox, an Oxford Professor of Mathematics and one of the world’s most respected Christian apologists, is uniquely positioned to bridge the often-separate worlds of science and faith. While his book addresses a global audience, its insights speak with a particular and pressing urgency to the Chinese church, which lives at the epicenter of state-driven AI development and technological social engineering.
This book is so compelling because it does not begin with a sermon. Lennox, a true educator, first earns the reader’s trust by patiently mapping the territory. He begins with the cultural anxieties that frame our modern conversation, tracing a line from the dystopian visions of George Orwell and Aldous Huxley to the foundational work of AI pioneers like Alan Turing. This first section serves as a clear and accessible primer on the AI landscape, carefully distinguishing between the specialized artificial narrow intelligence (ANI) that is already a part of our daily lives, the speculative but sought-after artificial general intelligence (AGI) that would possess human-like cognitive abilities, and the god-like artificial superintelligence (ASI) that haunts the imagination of futurists. By explaining concepts like neural networks, machine learning, and algorithms’ limitations in a way accessible to the non-specialist, Lennox ensures that his subsequent critique is not aimed at a caricature, but at the technology as it truly exists.
With this groundwork laid, Lennox transitions to the philosophical heart of the matter. He directly confronts the materialist worldview that so often underpins futuristic predictions—the idea that the human mind is nothing more than a “meat computer” and that consciousness is simply a complex algorithm waiting to be replicated. Lennox argues that this reductionist view is not only a poor explanation of reality but is ultimately self-refuting. If our own thoughts are merely the determined outputs of a mindless physical process geared for survival, what basis do we have for trusting reason itself—including the very reasoning that leads to such a materialist conclusion? This powerful argument dismantles the philosophical foundations of many AI utopians. For Lennox, our capacity for reason, our experience of consciousness, and our sense of self are not illusions to be explained away, but pointers to a reality that transcends the purely material.
At the core of his response is a rich theological framework that aligns powerfully with the themes explored in this ChinaSource Journal issue. As Dr. Xu articulates in his lead article, a truly Christian engagement with AI requires the twin doctrines of imago Dei (“the image of God”) and natura vitiata (“fallen nature”). Lennox masterfully wields these concepts to offer a balanced critique. He sees the promise of AI—its capacity to solve diseases and enhance human flourishing—as a beautiful expression of the creativity endowed in the imago Dei. It is because we are made in the image of a rational Creator that we ourselves can create such powerful tools. At the same time, he views the perils of AI—its potential for dehumanizing surveillance, unethical warfare, and the amplification of human pride—as sober reminders of our natura vitiata. It is this theological realism, grounded in the doctrine of the fall, that allows Lennox to appreciate AI’s promise while remaining deeply skeptical of its utopian claims.
This framework finds its sharpest expression in Lennox’s masterful contrast of the transhumanist Homo Deus with the Christian “true homo deus.” Engaging directly with the influential ideas of thinkers like Yuval Noah Harari, Lennox deconstructs the secular quest for human self-deification through technology. Where transhumanism offers a story of human ascent to achieve godhood, immortality, and bliss, Lennox presents the Christian story as one of divine descent. He shows how the transhumanist ambition is ultimately a story of power, of grasping, of becoming one’s own god—an impulse Lennox traces back to the first temptation in Genesis. By contrast, the Christian narrative is about the “true homo deus,” Jesus Christ, who did not grasp equality with God but humbled himself, taking the form of a servant. For Lennox, Christ’s resurrection is the authentic and historical answer to the problem of death, rendering the transhumanist dream of a technological fix a pale and ultimately hopeless imitation.
Lennox ensures his warnings are not merely abstract philosophical exercises. He anchors the “2084” theme in the sobering realities of the present by dedicating significant attention to the large-scale implementation of AI for social governance. He examines how these technologies are being used in East Asia, for example, exploring the implications of social credit systems and the immense pressures placed on minority populations. By grounding his analysis in these real-world applications, Lennox transforms the discussion from a future speculation into an urgent analysis of our present reality, giving the book immense relevance for any reader seeking to understand the intersection of technology and state power.
Perhaps the boldest and most distinctive part of the book is its final section, where Lennox moves from philosophy and ethics into biblical prophecy. He boldly engages with the eschatological texts of Daniel and Revelation, not to set dates or indulge in sensationalism, but to offer a theological archetype for understanding our times. He interprets the prophetic figure of the “man of lawlessness” or “the beast” as a picture of a future AI-empowered, god-claiming global leader. Lennox meticulously connects the imagery of the text—a talking, intelligent image that demands worship, and a system of total economic control where buying and selling are contingent on allegiance (the “mark of the beast”)—to the technological capabilities emerging today. This section is a powerful demonstration of how ancient scripture can speak with stunning relevance to 21st-century fears about global governance, social credit systems, and the rise of an all-encompassing surveillance state.
In the end, 2084 and the AI Revolution is not simply a book about the dangers of technology, but a profound exploration of what it means to be human in a world that increasingly seeks to forget. It is not an argument for fear, but an invitation to a deeper, more resilient hope. Lennox successfully provides a framework that is intellectually invigorating, pastorally wise, and spiritually enriching. With helpful discussion questions concluding each chapter, this book is an invaluable resource for any Christian leader, educator, or family wanting to understand the times. It challenges the global church to engage this new era not with anxiety, but with the wisdom, courage, and hope that can only come from a faith grounded in the true homo deus. This book is essential reading for those who seek to apply the eternal truths of the gospel to the pressing questions of our technological age.
