AI Poses “Calculator Effect” Threat to Human Intellect, Warns Fr. Charles David Immanuel

Chennai, November 20, 2025: A thought-provoking paper by Fr. Charles David Immanuel of the Archdiocese of Madras–Mylapore has raised fresh concerns about the long-term impact of artificial intelligence on human intellect, describing it as a deeper extension of what he calls the “calculator effect”—a gradual weakening of natural human faculties when over-reliant on technological tools.

Writing from his academic and pastoral experience, Fr. Charles recalls observing, decades ago, how even simple arithmetic became difficult for many due to constant dependence on calculators. He argues that the same pattern has now accelerated across all aspects of human life, reaching a critical stage with the rise of AI tools. The priest warns that “the dangerous effect of technological tools… will at first render our natural faculties obsolete and soon make these atrophied and unusable.” 

Fr. Charles notes that human physical endurance and willpower have already been significantly affected by inventions intended for convenience. Citing examples such as lifts, private transport, and easy medical solutions, he points out how comfort has diminished resilience across generations. The shift, he says, mirrors what Mahatma Gandhi foresaw regarding the mind’s reliance on external aids. 

According to Fr. Charles, earlier digital tools automated mathematical or organisational tasks; AI, however, aims to automate non-mathematical aspects of human intelligence—teaching, analysis, communication, interviewing, medical assessment, and more. “The number of applications wherein AI could be advocated and conscientiously used is very small,” he cautions, stressing that widespread use places both skills and jobs at risk. 

He adds that dependence on AI for writing, thinking, researching, or creative work gradually weakens essential abilities: listening, analysing, evaluating, composing, dialoguing, and creating.

Most worryingly, he explains how generative AI does not simply repeat stored information—it produces entirely artificial images, stories, and voices, detaching creativity from real human experience. He highlights examples such as AI-generated religious images and fabricated videos, calling such tools “grossly inadequate” and ethically concerning. 

Fr. Charles warns that Artificial General Intelligence (AGI)—though still in development—presents a far more serious threat because it attempts to mimic human consciousness using hypothetical neurological models. According to him, using or trusting such systems would mean “squandering our dignity as God’s sublime creation.” 

AI, he says, works only on incomplete data and statistical patterns. “Purpose (future) and divine interface (present) are not represented in AI,” making it fundamentally incapable of capturing authentic human thought. 

Fr. Charles stresses that society must “put our foot down” and entirely avoid AI tools for creative, pastoral, or intellectual work. He urges individuals not to allow AI to write, draft, teach, or think on their behalf, emphasising that preserving human faculties is now a moral responsibility.

He warns that while technological conveniences once weakened the body and will, AI now directly threatens the intellect—the very core of human identity. “Those who fall into the trap of AI will be lost when the knee-deep waters rise above the head,” he writes, encouraging conscious resistance to protect human dignity. 

In his conclusion, Fr. Charles observes that technology has shifted from shaping the environment to reshaping human beings themselves, often in harmful ways. Artificiality, once considered negative, is now promoted—and celebrated—at the cost of natural human strength.

He urges every person to preserve their God-given abilities through disciplined, mindful living, adding:

“Let us all strive to be our original individual self, as endowed by God… being fully alive and active, and hence glorify God.

By Fr Charles David Immanuel

Archdiocese of Madras-Mylapore