AI World Models: Producing Technological Prophets?

A December 2024 TechCrunch article titled “What are AI ‘world models,’ and why do they matter?” addresses a technology poised to significantly advance artificial intelligence. These “world model” systems aim to train AI by simulating real-world actions and their consequences, enabling machines to predict outcomes with increasing accuracy. Will these efforts create technological “prophets” able to foretell the future?

Alex Mashrabov, former AI chief of American technology company Snap, explains what world models are designed to simulate: “A viewer expects that the world they’re watching behaves in a similar way to their reality…. If a feather drops with the weight of an anvil or a bowling ball shoots up hundreds of feet into the air, it’s jarring and takes the viewer out of the moment.” A strong world model, he says, allows a system to infer these physical behaviors in a more natural manner, making for easier content creation. This in turn saves time and speeds up the entire creative process, which normally requires tedious manual attention to the most minute detail.

All of this serves to predict actions and consequences more accurately, with the goal of increasing productivity and significantly reducing the costs and time investment of companies tasked with creating the large, robust, three-dimensional worlds that often provide the settings of movies and video games.

Medium.com adds that world models are “a significant advancement in the field of artificial intelligence, taking AI to a more intelligent and autonomous level… achieving the ultimate goal of general artificial intelligence: accurately predicting the future or precisely simulating this world” (“Key Technologies Leading to General Artificial Intelligence—World Models,” January 29, 2024). It is speculated that this technology could point to a future in which artificial intelligence is able to predict or simulate the outcome of specific events when prior conditions are met—with extreme accuracy.

While AI may attempt to simulate outcomes through data and probability training, the word of God reveals something far beyond simulation. God declares outcomes with absolute certainty, regardless of prior conditions. God declares the end from the beginning and powerfully inserts His own perfect will into reality—even guiding the fate of nations and their leaders. As the Eternal proclaims, “I am God, and there is no other… declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure’” (Isaiah 46:9–10).

If you tried to accurately predict tomorrow’s weather, hour by hour, without looking at a weather app or website, you could expect to be disappointed in the results of your foggy prognostication. The Bible, on the other hand, is replete with fulfilled prophecies, revealing the Creator God as the true source of reliable and hope-filled planning. The Apostle Peter affirmed that “prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21). Furthermore, the prophet Daniel proclaimed of God that “He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding” (Daniel 2:21). Yes, the course of history is under God’s sovereign direction. That is something beyond even the greatest technological advances humanity can muster.

So, will artificial intelligence begin producing technological prophets foretelling the rise and fall of nations? Assuredly not—no matter how advanced they may be. Only God can reveal the future with perfect clarity, bringing it to pass “by the word of His power” (Hebrews 1:3).

Advances in AI world models will push human endeavors forward with lightning speed, but to what end? You need to know the answer, and you can—through the inspired words of Scripture, God’s revelation to His true servants. As Jesus Christ, the Revelator, decrees what lies ahead (Revelation 1:1), His testimony is the “spirit of prophecy” (Revelation 19:10). To grow in understanding of and faith in a wonderful prophesied future—history written in advance—request your free copy of Prophecy Fulfilled: God’s Hand in World Affairs.