Authentic Only
-An exclusive excerpt from Allen’s new book-
It’s always better to propose a solution rather than just oppose a problem. Otherwise, we end up like those who post signs in their yard of a dog squatting with a big line through the image. They’re really clear on what they don’t want. But they also have a permanent visual of that very thing in their yard.
I do oppose AI. It’s an illusion that we need something artificial to make our creativity more real. The solution isn’t to boycott AI but to pursue the real. AI compromises our efforts to create with the Creator. It promises immediate answers and offers to serve our needs. What we miss is how it uses us as we use it. AI is designed to keep us engaged with it as long as possible. The better it knows us, the more it can manipulate, I mean help, us. God doesn’t immediately answer every question. His goal is intimacy and relationship, not just information and efficiency. What we’re after is God’s reality—not artificial reality. How is the artificial invading what you do? The goal is to strip all aspects of artificiality from your creativity.
My incredibly talented creative designer recently shared potential nature images for my free daily readings. Thankfully, before we went with my favorite one, knowing my hate-hate relationship with anything AI, she did a little more research: “I noticed the filename contains the words ‘AI-Generated.’ If you’d rather I seek out something human-created, I am totally on board. Many of the stock image sites are becoming increasingly populated with AI options. It’s hard to tell whether a camera took the picture or it was artificially generated.”
Her further research led to a helpful photo filter with three options: 1) All Content, 2) Authentic Only, and 3) AI-Generated Only. We’re going with “Authentic Only” every time. I hope you will as well in your creative pursuits. While AI may provide fast answers and cheap solutions, there are hidden costs. For starters, relying on the artificial will only make your work more artificial. But it doesn’t stop there. The more we look to AI rather than to God, the less real we become.
I refuse to accept AI as inevitable, impossible to avoid, or even beneficial. As you pursue your gifting with God, you have a choice about whether you will embrace, tolerate, or defy AI. Do yourself a favor. Set your creative filter to Authentic Only.
(From The Creativity Glitch: How to Stop Being Stuck, Find Your Groove, & Create with God.Copyright © 2026 Allen Arnold.)
This reading was crafted to encourage your pursuit of story and creativity with God. Your donation makes this crowd-funded initiative possible. You can support it via PAYPAL (or by check to Allen Arnold at PO Box 62841, Colorado Springs, CO 80962).
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