Podcast Summary: "The Briefing with Albert Mohler"

Episode: Thursday, February 19, 2026
Host: R. Albert Mohler, Jr.
Theme: Cultural Commentary from a Biblical Perspective

Overview

In this episode, Albert Mohler explores the stewardship of digital life and the deep theological, ethical, and cultural implications of current digital technologies—especially AI and social media. Mohler discusses the confusion arising from ascribing human-like traits to artificial intelligence, the growing concerns over children’s online safety (radicalization and gambling), and the significant harms and addictive nature of social media—particularly among young people. He offers a robust defense of the Christian understanding of human uniqueness, rooted in the doctrine of the imago Dei (image of God).

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The AI ‘Sociopath’ Controversy

• Context & Media Framing:
  Mohler opens by referencing a Wall Street Journal article entitled "Why AI Chatbots Can't Be Trusted for Financial Advice," which claims that "AI chatbots are sociopaths." He critically examines the use of this term.
• Defining ‘Sociopath’:
  Mohler explains that sociopathy is a moral category requiring moral agency, which only humans possess.
  “A runaway horse cannot be a sociopath, but a human being can be a sociopath.” (03:00)
• Confusion about AI Personhood:
  He warns of the dangers in popular discourse that anthropomorphizes AI, ascribing to it the moral weight reserved for human beings made in God's image.
  “The bigger issue for Christians is the confusion that comes when people start talking about artificial intelligence and those chatbots as Persons as human beings who after all, are made in the image of God, a very different thing.” (06:13)
• Moral Agency and the Imago Dei:
  Mohler insists that only humans are moral agents. Assigning moral agency or responsibility to machines is a fundamental confusion that subverts the biblical doctrine of humanity.
  “There is a bright line, a bright, bold red line, and you have human beings on one side of that line, and you have no other created being on that line.” (19:39)

2. Can Ethics Be ‘Built Into’ AI?

• Debate on AI as Fiduciary Advisors:
  Mohler discusses Professor Andrew Lo’s idea to create an AI advisor "that always puts its clients’ interests first," questioning whether AI could ever have empathy or a conscience.
  “An AI advisor will also need digital equivalents of empathy, humility, and a sense of fairness. Professor Lo says.” (25:51)
• Limits of Artificial Conscience:
  Mohler emphasizes that no machine can have a true conscience because conscience is a uniquely human, God-given faculty.
  “No machine is ever going to have a conscience, not in any real sense. No human being, the conscious human being, fails to have a conscience.” (24:45)
• Analogs of Empathy and the Biblical Alternative:
  He critiques the idea that AI can have ‘analogs’ of human traits like empathy, arguing that biblical terms like "compassion" and "sympathy" are both more precise and more deeply rooted.
  “The important thing about empathy is that it is a fairly recent word meaning a disposition, a moral disposition. And yet I'm going to argue that biblical words are far superior, including the words compassion and sympathy.” (27:09)

3. AI, Human Responsibility, and Evolution

• Professor Lo and Evolutionary Theory:
  Mohler briefly touches on Lo’s use of evolutionary theory in AI, pointing out the limitations when applied to moral questions.
  “He wants to use a kind of computer accelerated natural selection to spur the development of better AI models.” (31:18)
• Unique Moral Accountability of Humans:
  Contrasts evolutionary explanations with Christian anthropology, emphasizing that moral accountability is a Creator-designed feature unique to humans.
  “Our moral accountability is always there.” (25:26)

4. The Age of Deepfakes and Digital Distortion

• Technological Manipulation of Reality:
  Mohler warns that with advances in AI-generated media, we’ve reached a point where "you can't trust your eyes," challenging both Christians and the larger society to remain committed to seeking what is "truly true."
  “The fact is, you can't trust your eyes right now simply because you don't know... whether or not this is a corrupted image or it's a constructed video.” (34:02)

5. Children, Online Radicalization, and Gambling

• Online Recruitment by Extremist Groups:
  Mohler highlights a surge in minors being targeted and recruited by hate and terrorist groups via video games and social media, referencing UN statistics.
  “Across Europe and North America, children now account for 42% of terrorism related investigations, a threefold increase since 2021.” (37:25)
• Gaming Platforms and Platform Hopping:
  Details how games like Roblox and Minecraft, and apps like Discord or Telegram, are being exploited for radicalization.
• Underage Sports Betting:
  Cites USA Today reporting on the surge of minors attempting to place bets during major events like the Super Bowl—over 50,000 minors stopped from creating betting accounts in a single hour.
  “In a single hour, we are told the age verification service had to stop more than 50,000 minors from creating new betting accounts.” (40:12)

6. The Addictive Nature and Harms of Social Media

• Ongoing Trials and Corporate Responsibility:
  Mohler references current litigation against social media platforms for knowingly exposing minors to addictive services and harmful content, especially Instagram under Meta (Mark Zuckerberg).
  “When Meta surveyed young teen users about their experiences during the previous seven days, nearly one in four reported unwanted sexual advances and one in five suffered cyberbullying.” (43:15)
• Profit Over Safety:
  Reports that Meta prioritized user engagement over known harms, with Zuckerberg overruling staff recommendations on mental health issues.
  “Mark Zuckerberg… personally vetoed a ban on plastic surgery filters on Instagram despite pleas from outside experts and his own employees that these filters caused harm to the mental health of teens.” (44:07)
• Parental Vigilance and the Need for Boundaries:
  Mohler concludes by exhorting Christian parents to be alert to the dangers of radicalization, gambling, and social media within their own homes.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Human Uniqueness:
  “Christians if no one else had better remain sane and clear minded in the midst of all this confusion... we know the difference between human beings and a machine.” (46:51)
• On the Limits of AI:
  “You can't create the machine that is going to have a true conscience because you're not the creator.” (30:44)
• On Children Online:
  “Parents need to be aware of the fact that there could be a radicalization taking place down the hall. There could be gambling taking place right down the hall, or at least the attempts to do so.” (42:00)
• On Social Media Harms:
  “The scale of harm inflicted by Zuckerberg's Instagram is staggering… every week tens of millions of young people experience these serious harms.” (43:15)
• On Christian Diligence:
  “It ought to be a distinctive mark of Christians that we know the difference between human beings and a machine. The question is, do our children know and understand the difference?” (46:51)

Important Timestamps

• 00:04 — Opening and introduction of topics: AI, social media addiction, and children’s digital safety
• 02:00 — Examination of the “AI as sociopath” allegation
• 06:13 — Confusion between AI as human and Christian response
• 19:39 — The bright line between humans and all other created realities
• 25:26 — Moral accountability and the uniqueness of human conscience
• 27:09 — Empathy, sympathy, and biblical categories over modern psychological terms
• 34:02 — The age of deepfakes and challenges to truth
• 37:25 — Radicalization and recruitment of children online
• 40:12 — Surge in underage online gambling attempts
• 43:15 — Harms of Instagram and the social media industry
• 44:07 — Meta’s prioritization of profit over protecting teens
• 46:51 — Christian distinctiveness in understanding human value

Final Thoughts

Mohler’s episode is a call for Christians to retain moral clarity amid the digital age’s confusion, holding firmly to the conviction that only humans—made in the image of God—are moral agents, and that digital technologies, no matter how advanced, cannot replicate the conscience, compassion, or accountability that are uniquely human. He challenges parents and the Christian community to engage these issues with vigilance, discernment, and scriptural wisdom.