Former Growing Pains star Kirk Cameron is sounding the alarm about artificial intelligence-and he is not buying the idea that every technological shortcut represents progress.
In a provocative new episode of The Kirk Cameron Show, Cameron asks whether AI is genuinely making people smarter or quietly weakening their ability to think for themselves. His concern becomes especially pointed when he turns to children, who are growing up with machines capable of answering questions, solving problems, writing assignments and remembering information for them.
"We've handed our kids machines that answer every question instantly, and we call them smart for knowing how to use them," Cameron argues in the episode's description. But the actor and outspoken Christian commentator then poses the much more uncomfortable question: if computers are increasingly remembering, calculating, writing and thinking for people, what happens to the human mind?
Cameron believes the danger goes far beyond students secretly using ChatGPT to finish their homework. He worries that people may be surrendering the intellectual struggle through which wisdom, patience and discernment are developed.
"Are we outsourcing the very struggle God designed to grow wisdom in us?" he asks.
That question gives the discussion its distinctly Christian edge. Cameron is not demanding that believers throw away their computers or pretend artificial intelligence does not exist. Instead, he is warning Christians against allowing convenience to replace discernment-and allowing a confident-sounding machine to become an unquestioned authority.
His sharpest criticism concerns AI's ability to deliver false information with extraordinary confidence. Cameron warns that the technology does not merely make occasional mistakes; it can get matters "spectacularly wrong" while presenting its answers as though they are unquestionably true.
That makes independent knowledge more important, not less important. If users do not already possess a basic understanding of Scripture, history, science or current affairs, they may have no way of recognizing when an AI-generated response is misleading, biased or completely fabricated.
For Christians, the implications are enormous. Artificial intelligence can now generate sermons, Bible studies, prayers, theological arguments and even supposed explanations of difficult biblical passages within seconds. Yet speed does not guarantee truth, and polished language should never be confused with spiritual wisdom.
Cameron therefore presents critical thinking as more than an academic skill. In the age of AI, he calls it a "survival skill."
The episode also includes Cameron reacting to several clips with James and concludes with what he describes as one of the most powerful testimonies of a transformed life he has ever heard. Nevertheless, the question hanging over the entire conversation remains difficult to escape: are people using AI as a tool, or are they gradually allowing the tool to replace their own thinking?
Cameron closes with a biblical principle drawn from 1 Thessalonians 5:21: "Test everything. Hold fast to what is good." It is an especially timely warning for Christians tempted to accept every smooth, instant answer appearing on a screen.
AI may be able to collect information, imitate human writing and respond faster than any person. But it cannot assume responsibility for what Christians believe, teach or pass on to their children. That work still requires careful thought, biblical knowledge and spiritual discernment.
Cameron's message is clear: use the machine if it is helpful-but never let it do your thinking for you.
