Imitation Game: Personhood, Theology and AI’s Inevitability

Don Peterson and Clif Guy explore how AI intersects with theology, personhood, and the responsibility to live with conscience in a digital age.

OVERLAND PARK, KS, UNITED STATES, October 2, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Divided Attention delivers one of its most timely and challenging episodes yet with “Imitation Game: Personhood, Theology and AI’s Inevitability.” Host Don Peterson sits down with Clif Guy, a computer engineer, tech entrepreneur, and Christian theologian, to explore the complex intersection of artificial intelligence, faith, and the very definition of what it means to be human. Across nearly ninety minutes, Peterson and Guy wrestle with the urgency of asking not just what AI can do, but what it should do. The dialogue confronts fundamental questions: Where does personhood begin and where does it end? Can machines truly embody morality, empathy, or soul? And what happens to humanity when imitation becomes indistinguishable from reality?

Peterson grounds the conversation in the language of faith and responsibility: “A person can be spiritual. An AI can’t. We have a spiritual grounding, which keeps us moral, ethical, and well-grounded as sinners, right? So that we live for the day that we ascend to heaven. You live a god-like Christian life. Whether or not you believe there’s a God, live that life, and if there is, you’ll be better off. AI brings into the culture yet another source of intelligence that can inform us, we hope, in meaningful and productive ways.” — Don Peterson

Guy pushes the point further, warning against blurring the line between tool and person: “Can AI give you advice? Yes. Can the advice be good? It can be. It’s a non-human intelligence, and it’s not a person, and I think the mistake is we’ve had some people who have accidentally treated an AI as though it were a person, and then bad things start happening, and it’s in our headlines all the time.” — Clif Guy

As the episode unfolds, Peterson reframes the tension as both an exciting frontier and a looming responsibility: “We’ll get to know AI better as they evolve. AI’s will get to know us better, too. They’ll know more about us and they’ll know more about the human condition as time goes by, and you would expect it. That’s what I love about it, unlike the internet which was kind of in stasis. It is what it is. With AI, the nature of it will change for sure, and that I think is what scares some people, and it’s also what’s the most exciting part about it.” — Don Peterson

Together, their exchange reveals a profound paradox: AI can reflect human wisdom, but without accountability, it forces us to confront what makes us human in the first place. It’s a dialogue that pushes past hype and fear, inviting listeners to wrestle with both the opportunities and dangers of AI’s rise.

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“At Trondheim Studios, we could not be more proud to be Mr. Peterson’s production partner. Having a ringside seat to each episode is an education and his extraordinary ability to communicate consistently leads to thought-provoking and meaningful conversations.” — Jeremey & Amber, Trondheim Studios.

ABOUT DIVIDED ATTENTION
Who’s Don Peterson? Peterson has built and advised companies across the spectrum of healthcare, technology, and venture capital. As a serial entrepreneur, Peterson created his first startup, DeskStation Technology, in 1990. After a pivot to healthcare in 2012, he founded IVXpress, Inc. (originally known as Infusion Express, now IVXHealth). Peterson is all about strategy, partnerships, building exceptional teams, and driving systemic change. With Divided Attention, he extends this legacy, amplifying voices, fostering empathy, and inviting listeners to engage with the world more thoughtfully and courageously. He lives with his wife of 47 years in the Kansas City exurbs and enjoys spending his time with his five grandchildren.

🎧 Divided Attention Podcast is available now on all major streaming platforms and at dividedattentionpod.com.

📺 Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/WEynE_B3jX0?si=ie8ELPjVPkKMyzFM

Don Peterson
Divided Attention
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Imitation Game: Personhood, Theology and AI's Inevitability

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