There was a time when technology promised to elevate humanity to connect us, enlighten us and improve our daily lives. But look around today and ask yourself honestly: is that what’s happening? Instead of drawing us closer to truth, virtue and one another, we seem to be running headlong toward moral collapse in the name of “progress.”
The latest example of this came when OpenAI announced that beginning in December, verified adult users will be allowed to access mature content including erotica through ChatGPT.
As reported by Reuters, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman defended this decision as part of a “treat adult users like adults” principle, saying it’s time to loosen restrictions that made ChatGPT “less useful and enjoyable.” The justification sounds benign enough, maybe even reasonable to the average listener, but beneath that corporate phrasing lies something deeply troubling. We are watching the normalization of pornography and sexual immorality wrapped in the language of “choice” and “freedom.”
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We’ve been told for decades that pornography is “harmless,” that it’s just entertainment for consenting adults. Yet look at what it has done to society. Families are breaking apart. Marriages are crumbling under the weight of lust and addiction. Young people are losing their ability to form meaningful relationships because fantasy has replaced reality. And now we’re told artificial intelligence should play a role in this degradation, programmed not to elevate virtue or truth but to indulge our lowest appetites.
God’s Word has never been unclear on this. Sexual sin has always been a destroyer of nations, families and souls. It’s not prudish to say that; it’s wisdom. Scripture warns us to “flee from sexual immorality” because it corrupts not just the body but the spirit. Yet here we are, building digital temples to it. The more humanity tries to normalize what God calls unholy, the further we fall from His design for love and intimacy, real love rooted in commitment, sacrifice and covenant.
We’re not just talking about adults here either. The argument that this is “for verified users” is a hollow shield. Anyone who has lived in the real world knows that when it comes to the internet, walls like these are paper thin. Children today are growing up with smartphones in their hands and access to the darkest corners of human depravity before they can even spell “conscience.” Parents are losing the battle because Big Tech keeps moving the goalposts, always claiming to protect us while profiting from our weaknesses.
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And that brings me to another concern: this obsession with verification. OpenAI says the mature content will be limited to verified adults. But to be verified, you must submit personal information, proof of your age, your identity, your digital footprint. We’re being conditioned to hand over more and more of our privacy to faceless corporations all in the name of “safety” and “responsibility.” Does anyone really believe this ends well?
Every time we submit to another layer of surveillance, another demand for digital proof, we inch closer to a world where you must be “verified” to participate in society at all. Buy groceries, pay bills, travel, access healthcare, all of it tied to your identity, your compliance, your data. It doesn’t take a prophet to see where that’s heading. The Bible warns us of a time when no one can buy or sell unless they have the mark of the Beast. You can call it symbolism if you like, but the technology to make it reality is already here and it’s being sold to us as convenience.
We are trading holiness for hedonism, truth for tolerance, freedom for control. And it’s happening so gradually, so subtly that most people don’t even realize it. We’ve become numb to sin because it’s now packaged as innovation.
We must wake up. This isn’t about being anti-technology; it’s about being pro-truth. It’s about remembering that our souls are not for sale to algorithms. We cannot let the digital world redefine morality, intimacy or what it means to be human. The line between flesh and machine is blurring, and if we don’t stand firm in righteousness, we’ll soon forget what it means to bear the image of God at all.
But there is still hope, because there is still Jesus Christ. The same Lord who forgave the woman caught in adultery, who healed the broken and restored the lost, is the only One who can cleanse the sickness in our souls. The world offers counterfeits of love and intimacy, but Christ offers the real thing—love that redeems, forgives and transforms. He alone can free us from the grip of addiction, loneliness and deception.
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We don’t have to follow the world into its darkness. We can turn back to the Light of the world and find peace in His truth. Jesus offers not another digital escape but eternal life, freedom and restoration. The path out of this chaos begins with repentance and ends with redemption. The world may be building systems that lead to bondage, but Jesus is still the answer, the Savior who breaks every chain.
James Lasher, a seasoned writer and editor at Charisma Media, combines faith and storytelling with a background in journalism from Otterbein University and ministry experience in Guatemala and the LA Dream Center. A Marine Corps and Air Force veteran, he is the author of The Revelation of Jesus: A Common Man’s Commentary and a contributor to Charisma magazine.
