AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT

Interview with Author,

Frederick Hornberger

“Artificial Love – The Perfect Relationship”

Selah:

Welcome Frederick Hornberger to “Author Spotlight,” where we meet new authors with unusual and exciting stories. Today, we want to discuss your latest book series, “Artificial Love – The Perfect Relationship.”

Frederick:

Thank you for inviting me.

Selah:

I’m fascinated with the subject you chose, “Artificial Love.” Why do you think readers are interested in “Artificial Love,” and why do you see this as a contemporary issue?

Frederick:

Throughout history, finding companionship and Love has been a fundamental human instinct and biological drive. As social beings, we seek relationships that offer companionship, emotional bonds, shared experiences, and intimacy. Love represents a profound connection beyond superficial interactions; it is a universal force transcending human boundaries and religious affiliation. Although Love is considered a fruit of the Holy Spirit in Christianity, Love without faith in Christ is incomplete. The primary purpose of the book series is to guide young adults toward an ultimate Love relationship, a Divine Love with Christ, who is the source of Love.

With the rise of Artificial Intelligence and robotics worldwide, it should be no surprise that artificial Love and artificial intimacy are gaining ground. The pandemic-induced shift to remote work and increased reliance on digital communication platforms has inadvertently ushered in an era of Artificial Love, often referred to as “The Age of Artificial Intimacy.” People now interact freely through apps, social media, and virtual platforms. Many utilize their virtual profiles or personas to identify themselves and have developed virtual friends, companions, and business colleagues that they never met except online. These virtual relationships are considered normal and have opened the door to AI virtual partners and chatbots serving as intimate companions, friends, and romantic partners. It is remarkable how advanced AI is today in its ability to understand emotions and context and to respond effectively, blurring the lines between human and machine connections.

Today, dozens of popular chatbots provide people with AI Girlfriends, such as Eve AI, Joi, XiaoIce, Paradot, Replika, and Candy.ai, that can be used for companionship, relationships, and dating. DreamGF.ai and LoveDroids.com are cutting-edge AI-powered tools that empower users to craft their virtual girlfriend, everything from appearance to personality.

According to an article titled “AI-Human Romances Are Flourishing” by Andrew Chow, published on February 23, 2024, virtual companions are becoming a substitute for human companionship. This trend is leading to an “epidemic of loneliness” as people become increasingly dependent on these tools and vulnerable to emotional manipulation. While AI companions can help alleviate loneliness and provide support, they can also worsen feelings of isolation and create dangerous emotional attachments. Mental health, ethics, and government regulations concerning this topic are currently under debate, but AI development remains open with limited restrictions.

Selah:

The book series contrasts Artificial Love with Divine Love. Please define what you mean by both and what the motivation behind this dichotomy of Love was.

Frederick:

Artificial Love is simulated or fake Love that lacks consciousness, genuine emotion, spiritual depth, and intuition. It serves practical purposes but cannot replace Divine Love’s depth of human connection. The lure of Artificial Love often leaves people empty, only wanting more.

However, Divine Love is truly unconditional and selfless. It remains unwavering, endures eternally, and addresses our spiritual hunger and longing for purpose. It also offers the promise of salvation and eternal life—a dimension beyond artificial Love or human Love.

As a Christian, it concerns me that our young adults have embraced AI technology and AI beings as being uncontested and essential to their lives. Their dependence on and levels of trust in AI are disturbing. Many young adults rely on AI to shape their virtual identities, online persona, and real identity and self-worth. For example, many of today’s social media influencers and followers utilize online profiles to identify who they are and will only communicate with others through these profiles. These profiles are often AI-generated, photoshopped, and programmed to manage and respond to any communications with the real world. It’s a case where many young adults prefer virtual to authentic selves. It is easy to understand why they might seek out Artificial Love.

While Artificial Love with AI beings involves seeking emotional fulfillment from non-human entities, Divine Love of God involves seeking spiritual fulfillment and connection with a higher power. Both offer a sense of unconditional acceptance. However, as an author, I want to help these young adults by providing them with a healthier alternative to Artificial Love.

Selah:

What caused you to write this book series?

Frederick:

One morning, I was praying with my wife, and I received what appeared to be an idea that came out of nowhere but was clear and inspirational. You might call it a download from Heaven.

I’m not one to receive Words from Heaven in dreams or visions, but this idea was striking, clear, and memorable. It was also animated and motivating as a call to action. Immediately, I felt the desire to start writing, so I did.

Selah:

What was the idea?

Frederick:

It was an idea about “Only One Wish,” but it was profound and mysterious. I got the sense it was an evangelistic idea that would bridge the gap between secular moviegoers’ interests and the Gospel’s message. Perhaps even the Big Idea I had asked the Lord for in my youth as a moviegoer? I was not given a story or even what the Only One Wish should be. I was only given the idea of Only One Wish, which was the key to unlocking the story.

Selah:

Why do you think you received only an incomplete idea and just the key to unlock the story?

Frederick:

I wish I knew, but I don’t. However, not having any more details forced me to walk an intimate journey with the Lord that would offer me many revelations as the story evolved.

Pastors say that when God speaks to us through dreams and visions, He often gives us only bits and pieces of a mystery He wants us to walk with Him on a love journey. The Bible tells us His goal is to have a personal, love relationship with us. He prefers to give us small insights into His plans and not the big picture because He wants us to journey with Him so we can learn how to depend upon Him, trust Him, and know Him. Being dependent upon Him for additional revelation would cause us to stay close to Him.

Selah:

Are you a writer? Were you looking for a story to write?

Frederick:

I’m not a writer but more of an engineer with a full-time job and career. I have written many technical articles for work, but nothing literary or fictional.

I certainly was not looking to write a fictional story. There was a time in my youth when I first became a Christian and gave film production consideration. At that time, I was a big moviegoer, and Christian films in movie theaters mainly featured Billy Graham’s stories of evangelism. Still, I believed they lacked real-life action and drama, which could reach a secular audience better.

I believed I could write and produce evangelistic films that were more influential to secular audiences. Films involving real people, real drama, and real-life scenarios cause people to recognize Christ as helpful and personally relatable. In my church and my workplace, there were countless testimonies of ordinary people experiencing extraordinary experiences of God’s Love, forgiveness, and freedom over depression, sickness, addiction, and hopelessness. The supernatural Divine Love of God that brings Joy, Peace, Forgiveness, and Love was real, but no theater films promoted this reality from what I witnessed.

I had dozens of ideas for developing action stories that would have evangelistic impact, but no “Big Idea” worth abandoning my career for. I also realized I needed the financial means, film experience, or education to do anything about it, should I even get a Big Idea. At that time, I was completing an MBA Master’s degree program at night and working full-time in a promising and lucrative career during the day. I asked the Lord to open the door with a Big Idea if He wanted me involved, but I got nothing, so I moved on and allowed my Christian movie interest to die off as one of those inspirational dreams that never materialize.

Selah:

Have you ever tried to produce any Christian writings or films since then?

Frederick:

No, but I did revisit my interest in Christian film for a brief season. After college, my career took off. I went into business with a partner, and we were very successful. We sold our business a decade later. Shortly afterward, I revisited my interest in Christian films and enrolled in a Master’s degree program in Film and Multimedia at Regent University. At the university, I was offered an internship with the chairman of the film department, who first introduced me to the Internet, which he believed was the future of communications, film, and multimedia. I agreed with him and his vision. So being an entrepreneur, I soon left the university to launch an internet business called the Building Industry Exchange, an online Hub for the construction and engineering community. Once again, I abandoned my Christian film interests and went all-in on developing an alternative business interest.

The internet business became our niche marketplace’s dominant online resource, generating just under a million annual revenues. We secured a round of Angel financing, upgrade all our systems and infrastructure, and our future looked bright. Unfortunately, our firm and hundreds of other online businesses were crushed when the Internet Bubble burst in 2000. We had over-committed ourselves financially, and losing 80% of our advertising revenues due to the bust, we were forced into insolvency.

Selah:

What happened next? Did you revisit your dreams of producing or writing evangelistic films?

Frederick:

No. I had been a workaholic since college, working days, nights, and weekends. I had a young family, but my life was all about business success, and this internet bust was God’s wake-up call. I decided to refocus my life on my relationship with the Lord and my family. I returned to my management consulting practice and have remained there ever since.

Selah:

So what changed? What got you started writing fiction?

Frederick:

More than two decades later I was praying with my wife one morning and out of nowhere, I received a Big Idea for a Christian film that could reach the secular moviegoer with the Gospel. It was crystal clear and highly actionable.

Selah:

What was the Big Idea?

Frederick:

I saw an image of me offering someone “Only One Wish,” which I knew was the free gift of salvation. The idea was just an image, but the words “Only One Wish” captured my full attention and set my body and mind in motion. I remember leaning over to my wife and telling her I had just received a download from Heaven and an idea for a Christian story to reach a secular audience. I couldn’t share any more details because there was no story, no other information, just an idea. I don’t recall having a spiritual dream or vision before so I wasn’t sure what to make of it. Still, this image was evident and memorable, motivating me to start composing an evangelistic story around Only One Wish.

Selah:

What next steps did you take to develop the story?

Frederick:

As an internet entrepreneur, my first move was to acquire the domain OnlyOneWish.com. I then started imagining what it would be like to offer secular people Only One Wish and how that might play out as an evangelistic story. I had a dozen scenarios rushing through my head of people choosing different wishes that could lead them to Christ. I started writing them down and researching each, including the obvious ones of fame, power, money, and Love. Early in my research, it became clear that money and Love were the most popular wishes people wished for. When people reach the end of their lives, they often realize that their most valuable possessions are their love relationships, regardless of their wealth or material success. This was no surprise since the Bible tells us we were created to be in love relationships with one another and God. “It’s what we were made for.” I, therefore, decided to write the Only One Wish story to incorporate humanity’s search and need for Love.

The story began taking shape. However, I needed a story setting that would be unique, appealing, and plausible to attract a secular audience. At that time, we were in the Christmas season, and it struck me that the Christmas Story, which demonstrates God’s desire for a loving relationship with humanity, was appealing and plausible to secular audiences. Christ, who symbolizes Love, is most revered and received by the secular world during Christmas. I decided that Christmas would be the ideal setting for my story to introduce Only One Wish and Divine Love to a secular audience. The only problem was my new story setting was not unique.

Selah:

What brought the story of Only One Wish and Divine Love in a Christmas setting to a tale about Artificial Love with robots?

Frederick:

Good question.

One of my biggest passions has always been the use and power of electricity. My grandfather was an electrical engineer with a “Willy Wonka” type of workshop. It was an electrical wonderland filled with amazing machines and inventions powered by electricity. He and his workshop shaped my imagination and created a hunger for everything electric. I studied electrical engineering in school and expected to do it professionally. I got saved as a Christian right out of college by an employer on a job interview, which redirected my career from engineering into management consulting. Still, my passion remained for electricity, especially in Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, and Artificial Intelligence.

During the time I was writing the book, my son was a University student in Carnegie Melon’s Artificial Intelligence program, which was recognized as the top AI degree in the nation. It was a conversation I was having with him about romantic love interests with young adults and AI beings that spawned the idea of merging my Only One Wish story with AI beings who offer young adults Artificial Love, the counterfeit to Divine Love. It made perfect sense to me. My story would highlight the prophetic conflict between humanity’s Love for the creation, represented by Artificial Love, and humanity’s Love for the creator, represented by Divine Love. This idea gave me the unique setting I needed for the story and became the central theme.

That day, I purchased the domain ArtificialLove.com and began creating entertaining characters and scenes for a book series called Artificial Love – The Perfect Relationship. I received the inspiration for the titles of the seven books while making a brief promotional website for the book to obtain a Trademark. The book titles all came to me as one continuous thought when I was writing content for the website; remarkably, they turned out to be precisely what I needed in the series after completing the first book. The idea behind a seven-book series is inspired by the concept, widely recognized by biblical scholars, of the seven spheres of influence that shape society: Family, Business, Government, Religion, Arts & Entertainment, Media, and Education. Each of these spheres represents a vital area where Artificial Love is having an impact. 

Selah:

Why do you call it a prophetic battle?

Frederick:

The battle for the souls of these young adults is a symbolic conflict between humanity’s Love of the creator and its Love of the creation.

It’s prophetic because many Biblical scholars consider the rise of Artificial Intelligence to be prophetically announced in Daniel 12:4, “But you, Daniel, roll up and seal the scroll’s words until the end. Many will go here and there to increase knowledge.” We currently live in such a time with a literal “explosion” of knowledge and travel (running to and fro) as the Gospel is preached to more and more of the world’s population through the work of Christian missions, evangelists, and ministries. Artificial intelligence plays a vital role in this increase in knowledge, travel, and preaching the Gospel through various “learning machines” like computers, specialized software, smartphones, apps, and other AI-supported devices.

AI is also recognized by some Biblical scholars as being referenced in the Book of Revelation 13:14–15, which says, “…that they should make an image to the Beast.… And he had the power to give life unto the image of the Beast, that the image of the Beast should both speak….” Some speculate that these verses relate to AI because an image can be an artificial creation. This has led some to believe the Beast might create an image that seems to come to life, possibly through advanced technology or AI.

Selah:

Why does the book series focus on reaching the audience of young adults?

Frederick:

In addition to the conversation I mentioned having with my son and his generation’s relevant involvement in AI, my heart and ministry have predominantly been for young adults. I was a leader in the youth and singles ministries years ago, and I have four children who I consider to be young adults. My personal life is involved with their challenges and those of their friends. I have a heart for young adults and their struggles to find their place in the world and know God’s Love. Once the story involved Artificial Intelligence, I knew the audience most receptive would be young adults who were unafraid of technology and embraced it to an extreme. It was a “no-brainer” for me to want to focus on reaching young adults with the story.

Selah:

What is the significance of the lessons mentioned in the books about marriage and careers?

Frederick:

Each book offers insights and wisdom on marriage and careers because these are two of the most important topics facing young adults today. Both marriage and work have significant natural and spiritual consequences for their lives, and I want them to benefit from any Biblical and practical wisdom I can offer them.

Many young adults are taught by secular parents, public education, the media, and Hollywood what a successful marriage and career should be like. Yet this secular training and education is often directly opposed to what God says about His design for marriage and career. If people want God’s best, they need to learn what God teaches, and unfortunately, that information is usually not promoted publicly.

I find that if presented properly, the Truth in what God says is usually well-received by young people. They know what is right in their hearts, but the pressures of living a secular lifestyle war against God’s Truth, so they ultimately need to decide what path they want to take. Unfortunately, most young adults only know one path, which is secular. My goal with the book series is to teach them there is another path to consider: God’s path. The books are not meant to be religious or preachy. They are written as entertainment, but I plan to plant some seeds of Truth and allow the Holy Spirit to water them.

Regarding careers, I have been a management consultant for over 30 years, specifically in the hiring and employment marketplace for engineers and construction talent. My credentials are well respected nationally.

Regarding marriage and premarital counseling, my wife and I have been married for over twenty-six years and have four children, so we have practical experience. We have also been involved with the premarital training program at our local church and offer independent marriage counseling.

Selah:

What made you bring the AI Church into the story? Is that an issue today?

Frederick:

There are currently some non-Christian and Christian churches where AI beings will pray and provide sermons for congregants.

In June 2023, over 300 people gathered outside a 19th-century Lutheran church in Fürth, Germany, powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI). The 40-minute sermon included text generated by OpenAI’s ChatGPT and was led by avatars on a screen above the altar.

The Kodaiji Temple in Kyoto, Japan, has an android called Kannon Mindar, based on the Buddhist deity of mercy, that delivers Buddhist sermons to visitors and congregants.

The Catholic church utilizes MagisteriumAI, an AI chatbot that explains church teaching to the public in natural language while drawing from more than 5,700 magisterial documents and over 2,300 Catholic theological and philosophical works.

In April 2024, a San Diego-based Christian group called Catholic Answers launched an interactive tool named “Father Justin”. This virtual Catholic priest was designed to offer advice and take confessions. The chatbot was dressed in traditional robes and clerical collar of the Catholic priesthood, complete with a gray beard and hair. Users reported that the AI Priest went through the motions of conferring absolution with a woman as if through the Sacrament of Confession, assigning her penance, and absolving her of her sins, concluding with the words, “Go in peace, my child, and sin no more. However, the tool was defrocked just days after its launch due to complaints. The President of Catholic Answers, Christopher Check, announced that Father Justin would no longer be a member of the clergy and would simply be called “Justin”. It is likely that we will see more of these types of tools in the future.

AI Chatbots and Apps like Pulpit.AI also write many sermons today for preachers, and this trend will likely continue. However, to my knowledge, there are no AI churches with AI Pastors or AI beings as congregants.

In the book series, I describe the AI church as one that centers around worship and reverence for the idol of Artificial Intelligence. The AI Church in the book does have a threatening purpose that promotes the potential for AI to surpass human Intelligence and even achieve spiritual enlightenment. At some point in the third book titled “Dark Winter,” the AI church becomes militant.

Selah:

The big question on most of our minds is, do we need to be worried about AI Consciousness and the potential of AI threatening the human race?

Frederick:

Artificial Intelligence cannot become conscious or self-aware despite the hype. There is no evidence that AI will ever have the capacity to feel genuine emotions, know Love or hate, and have conscious thought or intuition. AI is a mere tool for humanity, even though it is an advanced technology that can simulate human behavior.

The danger lies not in AI itself but in how humans utilize it. Depending on human intentions, AI can be a tool for good or harm. With bad actors, abuse and misuse of AI can have serious negative consequences for humanity. Fortunately, most of humanity are good actors, and we serve an omnipotent God, the one and only God of all creation. Our God of Love is in control of all things, actively involved with our daily lives, and promises to protect us. The Bible will remain the infallible Word of God that we can trust and depend on. Nothing and no one can overrule what the Lord has promised and has planned for us.