
The Speak Life Podcast Interview: John Lennox Responds to Shocking Claims About AI || SLP630
Jan 30, 2026
John Lennox, mathematician and Christian apologist, offers a concise take on AI, consciousness and biblical perspectives. He questions claims that AI has true agency and contrasts simulation with personhood. He warns about technological utopianism, surveillance risks and transhumanism, and urges ethical engagement rooted in Christian hope.
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AI Simulates, It Does Not Possess Consciousness
- John Lennox argues current AI only simulates intelligence and is not truly intelligent or conscious.
- He emphasizes we do not know what consciousness is, so claims of human-level AI are premature.
Consciousness Remains Scientifically Unexplained
- Lennox highlights that scientists lack a working explanation for consciousness and thus cannot claim AI has human intelligence.
- He stresses the importance of the word 'artificial' when assessing AI capabilities.
Word-Ordering Doesn’t Equal Understanding
- Lennox disputes Yuval Harari's definition of thinking as merely ordering words and warns AI lacks genuine understanding.
- He points out AI predicts next words via statistical distributions, unlike human thought.









