Neurons in Your Brain and AI

You can see an obvious example of God’s creation design by looking in a mirror. Everything you see and experience is due to neurons in your brain, messengers that use electrical and chemical signals to convey information, allowing you to live. Neurons carry data to different parts of your brain, spinal cord, and your whole body. Just trying to grasp the number and functional complexity of neurons is beyond human thinking. In one cubic millimeter of the human brain, a single neuron connects with 5600 nerve fibers, and our whole body contains 86 billion neurons that form 100 trillion connections.

Julie Polter, writing in Sojourners magazine (August 2024, pages 9-10), calls our attention to the fact that when we hold a baby and look into those sparkling eyes, “we become acquainted with tiny beings who are also full, unique people.” She goes on to say that “the neural pathways in a baby or toddler’s brain multiply when given loving attention and interaction from the people around them.”

We hear all the concerns about robots and artificial intelligence (AI), which is intelligence exhibited by computer systems. How can AI exist? Would anyone suggest it is some accident and just a product of chance? AI is limited in what it can do because it is relatively simple compared to the neurons in your brain. You are not an accident and not the product of blind chance.

Looking in the mirror and thinking about how special and unique every human being is, we see God’s design in an undeniable form. Jesus called His followers to recognize this special creation and love (agape) our enemies. Even though we may struggle to understand what others do, we know they are a product of God’s design. They can do wonderful things if they allow God to use them for the purpose He created them to accomplish.

— John N. Clayton © 2024
References: Harvard Medical School and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke on their websites