Vice President JD Vance, in an appearance on the Bryce Crawford Podcast said the AI industry carries “really, really weird spiritual dark energy.” His remarks stem from personal spiritual beliefs surrounding the rise of AI technologies. This interview is part of Vance’s promotional campaign for his memoir, “Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith“. The memoir charts his journey of conversion to Roman Catholicism.
The main theme of the conversation remained Vance’s discomfort with the growing impact of AI on human connection.
AI carries “spiritual dark energy”
Vance said he found the idea of people taking advice from chatbots deeply disturbing. He said this in the context of the rising trend among young people seeking romantic advice and relationship counselling from AI platforms such as ChatGPT and Gemini. He said AI is “kind of satanic” for reducing genuine human relationships. He described the overall nature of AI as spiritually dark.
Elaborating further, he mentioned the example of a tech company that held a burial ceremony for a retired AI model. He said the physical burial ceremony was bizarre as the retirement of the AI model left company’s staff in tears. The excessive dependence on AI is causing people to detach from one another and rely on AI for emotional support.
Later in the podcast, the host asked Vance about a controversial AI-generated image that President Donald Trump had posted. The picture in question depicted President Trump as Jesus, portraying him as a messiah. Vance defended the post and said it was only intended as a joke.
Spiritual belief in the end of times
The host, a 22-year-old Christian influencer, further talked about faith-driven topics with Vance. When discussing the biblical Antichrist, Vance remarked he would not be surprised if he were walking among them. He said given the current state of global events, the end of times seemed just around the corner. He recalled sitting in certain high-level meetings with world-renowned politicians where “every spiritual alarm bell” rang due to dark discussions. According to Vance, the world is heading rapidly towards darkness.
Political analysts view this conversation with concern. Vice President’s remarks regarding the end-times theories raise important implications for the separation of church and state. Meanwhile, conservative Christian audiences praised Vance for speaking about spirituality and personal reflections on religious ideals.
The gap between practicing and preaching
Vance’s comments regarding AI as spiritually dark and satanic do not align with the Trump administration’s stance on AI. The government continues to push for deregulation and aims to emerge as the victor in the global AI arms race. Interestingly, Ohio, which happens to be Vance’s home state, is currently constructing hyperscale data centers.
Commentators further observe that since Vance’s high-profile baptism in 2019, he has turned political arguments into spiritual battles.
