【AI and Self-Management】AI can help enhance deeper human thinking, but ultimately, only God can be trusted and relied upon
- Tin Siong
- Jul 3
- 7 min read
IMPACT x Malaysia IAA did an exclusive interview with me. Check out the original full story in Chinese:
【Reported by reporter Chong Siew Fung】
I have translated it into English here.
God created man, and man was created in the image of God; therefore, man has a creative nature that enables the development of technology and further advancement of artificial intelligence (AI). The correct order should be: AI serves man, and man serves God. At the same time, AI can't worship God; only a living person with a spirit can worship Him.
Preacher Pang Tin Siong, a cross-cultural regional tech executive from Singapore Bible College, shared the triangle of God, humans and AI during the topic and emphasised that "AI is a good helper for humans, but should not be the master of humans, as God alone is the one humans should worship."
There is a saying, "AI cannot replace humans, but those who are good at using AI will replace those who are not." Pang Tin Siong agrees and explains that AI is like a knowledgeable assistant who is always available and on call. Having such an assistant is undoubtedly an advantage over those who don't have one.
He further emphasised, "The knowledge of this assistant is extremely broad, but it is always just an assistant, not a master. The knowledge it provides is not always entirely applicable to your actual situation, so you still need to think and judge independently." Self-management becomes just as important in an era of increased AI adoption.
Based on his experience in ministry at the Singapore Bible College and his observations from teaching at the university, AI has greatly facilitated students' learning. For example, when a teacher asks a student to read five articles, the student can quickly extract the key points in a short time with the help of AI. However, this convenience may also lead students to rely on plagiarism copying rather than genuine learning.
Currently, there is no ideal tool that can accurately detect plagiarism among students, and as a result, some assignments may be unfairly marked with higher scores by teachers. However, he warned students not to rely blindly on AI-generated answers and miss out on genuine learning opportunities. He explained that there are some tech terms for which answers can be found online, but these answers don't help students understand what they are learning.
In an academic institutional learning environment, teaching materials are designed to have designated learning objectives. With the wide range of information available online, the proper application of learning depends on utilising these resources wisely. Preacher Pang Tin Siong, 56, has been in the IT sector of the commercial world for more than two decades. In 2014, he furthered his studies at the Singapore Bible College, alongside his wife, Thang Cheong Foong, and he was invited to join the college's IT Services in 2017.
During the pandemic's spread from 2020 to 2022, he utilised his technical expertise to design smart classrooms for the college, supporting end-to-end teaching and learning, and applying hybrid classroom models that leveraged technology to serve the Kingdom of God.
AI fuels discussions, but never take it all as it always
Pang Tin Siong agreed that, if used correctly, AI can indeed help students learn certain content more effectively. In particular, AI has great patience and can explain concepts repeatedly, allowing students to utilise AI to study a specific topic effectively. However, if AI is used solely to complete assignments and employed with a mentality of trickery, students may miss out on genuine learning opportunities.
Preacher Pang said, "AI can help to cope with homework, but when it comes to exams, the problem will be exposed, because the use of the Internet is not allowed in the examination room, and the ultimate test is still your real understanding." He added that there is no way to ban the use of AI by students in schools, but students should ask themselves, "What have I learnt from using AI?" Extending from the campus to the workplace, if a supervisor subordinates a task, the subordinate can use AI to find the answer in the shortest possible time. Still, the key lies in integrating with work scenarios, rather than relying on generic AI-generated content.
Preacher Pang Tin Siong believes that the answers provided by AI are usually based on a general context, but may not be fully applicable to the user's specific situation. In addition, while AI can be helpful in most situations, it also poses a significant problem - "AI Hallucination", which refers to the scenario where AI generates information that appears reasonable but is fictitious, inaccurate, or lacking a factual basis.
The phenomenon is akin to serious-looking babbling, or like someone who refuses to admit, 'I don't know.' It can confidently fabricate a reasonable-sounding response, even if there is no answer. For example, in February 2024, a report mentioned that an Air Canada chatbot had provided incorrect information about the company's refund policy, resulting in a loss of credibility. The bot provided passengers with refund guidelines that did not align with the actual policy, leading passengers to believe they could apply for refunds. Even though this error was caused by an AI, Air Canada ultimately honoured the incorrect policy for the passengers and stopped the chatbot after the incident.
Children can also make good use of AI with good parental guidance
According to Pang Tin Siong, while AI performs well most of the time, it can still be problematic in certain instances, making it dangerous for children to rely on AI without caution. He further pointed out that the definition of AI is very broad, and children of different ages use AI in different ways. For example, young children may watch videos recommended by AI during meals. From this stage onwards, parents should screen for suitable content and be strict about the duration of use, which should not exceed two hours for children aged seven to 12 to avoid affecting brain development.
Children and teenagers may download software games and use social media platforms. Even though some platforms set minimum age limits, many primary school students can still manage to register an account due to a lack of verification. In this regard, parents should not only guide and communicate at the right time but also reach an agreement with their children on its proper use to ensure their safe and responsible online presence.
Pang Tin Siong believes that for older children, AI tools can be used as learning aids, for example, for learning mathematics. Some AI tools can gradually perform algorithms and provide explanations to help children understand mathematical concepts, not just directly solve their homework. "How a child uses AI, as well as having a patient mindset, is crucial", Pang said, "It affects how they learn, and proper guidance from parents is essential."
AI Helps in Church Mission and Administrative Work
Pang Tin Siong stated that in an era of deep integration between AI and reality, churches must explore how to effectively utilise AI to support their ministries, if they wish to maintain an effective dialogue with the contemporary community. For example, AI's powerful linguistic capabilities can help with mission work or enhance the experience of cross-language gatherings. In contrast, some AI tools can help churches by translating a speaker's sermon in real-time and displaying the results on the screen. "On mission trips, pastors can preach in their language and local believers can understand the sermon through subtitles," so he says.
However, despite the AI's growing linguistic capabilities, there are still limitations to its expression, which can sometimes lead to humorous outcomes. For example, the AI once mistranslated the "Hen" in the name of Singapore's Defence Minister, Dr. NG Eng Hen, as "Hen-the female chicken" in Chinese, when in fact his Chinese name is 黃永宏医生. However, with the continuous development of machine learning, the accuracy of AI translation has improved significantly.
In addition to language translation, the AI can also assist in the administrative work of the church. For example, when a church is raising funds, it can enter basic information, and the AI can generate communication strategies for different groups to help optimise fundraising campaigns. For example, targeting different groups, such as the elderly, children, and youth, the AI can provide tailored entry points and content suggestions to enhance the effectiveness of communication. Pang said, "For the same fundraising event, AI can offer corresponding suggestions to help the administrative team deliver the message more effectively when dealing with different groups.
AI can't replace pastoral care
"Can AI replace a pastor's preaching?" This is one of the hotly debated topics in church circles recently. Pang believes that AI does have access to a vast amount of data and can help pastors gather the background information they need to preach and even organise the structure of their sermons. However, AI can't replace the pastor's core function of caring for and following up with the congregations, because a pastor's job is not only to provide spiritual knowledge, but also to build genuine connections between people.
"An AI may be able to 'greet you' and make you feel that it cares about you, but if you are no longer with us one day, it will not miss you, nor will it sincerely care about your situation. Its greetings are just sent to everyone repeatedly according to a preset algorithm, and you are not a unique individual in its eyes." Pang further analogises, "This kind of 'caring' is like a mass lover, it seems warm, but lacks a real emotional connection. Therefore, AI cannot replace the warmth and human touch given by pastors." If you trust blindly in AI, it is better to have no AI at all.
AI relies on human input, and humans are biased, so AI can't be completely neutral. Therefore, we can't take all information at face value, and we need to think carefully and make our judgements. "What you can do with AI is not necessarily what you should do," Pang reminds. All decisions need to be scrutinised for their appropriateness in the light of Biblical truths. If we blindly rely on AI without thinking, we will be easily misled by it.
However, as Christians, our lives are ultimately about serving God, as Romans 12:1-2 says, "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."
Ultimately, when evaluating the answers provided by AI, it is essential to remember the importance of maintaining one's relationship with God. The ultimate trust of Christians is not in ChatGPT, nor Gemini, nor AI Agents... God is our only ultimate dependency.
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