The Hidden Warning in 'Alien' That Every Christian Using AI Needs to Hear
NOT-SO-HIDDEN MONSTERS
I didn't watch Alien until I was in my late 20s. Even then, I did so with friends, all the lights on, and enough couch commentary to lessen the power of this dread-inducing film.
While the Xenomorphs and Face huggers are terrifying in their own right, what took me by surprise once the credits rolled was the message hiding underneath the atmospheric shots of cramped spaceship hallways and the universe's most fearless cat.
Ridley Scott's critically acclaimed Alien is more than just a haunted house movie in space. While H.R. Giger's nightmarish Xenomorph hunts down the crew one by one with predatory precision; there is another monster on the ship—one hiding in plain sight rather than in the shadows.
SPOILER-RIDDEN RECAP
The plot follows the working-class crew of the Nostromo—Ripley, Dallas, Kane, and others—who are diverted from their long haul home to investigate a distress signal. In the middle of a touchdown exploration, the mission goes wrong when Kane is attacked by an unknown creature that latches onto his face.
Against Ripley's strict quarantine rules, Science Officer Ash breaches protocol to admit him back onto the ship. This single act dooms the crew.
Kane eventually loses his unwanted hitchhiker and returns to normal duties. That is, until midway through dinner, a new creature bursts from Kane's chest in one of cinema's most iconic and gruesome scenes.
As the crew struggles to survive, Ripley uncovers the true cause for the change in mission: Ash is an android. When Ash attempts to kill Ripley to keep her quiet, he is defeated and disassembled for interrogation.
His head separated from his body, lying on a table covered in android fluid, he reveals the corporation's directive, "Special Order 937".
Priority one: Ensure return of organism for analysis. All other considerations are secondary. Crew expendable.
This was never a rescue mission; it was a retrieval. According to the log, the crew's lives were acceptable costs for the corporation, Weyland-Yutani, to obtain a new bioweapon that would grow their profit margins.
As Ash chills the blood of the remaining survivors, he offers a glimpse into the mindset of the enemy:
"I admire its purity. A survivor. Unclouded by conscience, remorse, or delusions of morality... I can't lie to you about your chances but... You have my sympathies."
THE BIBLE CONNECTION
Ash’s cold admiration for the creature mirrors the cold calculation of the company that sent him. This dynamic—leaders sacrificing their people for a "higher" goal—isn't just sci-fi horror; it is an ancient reality.
The Scriptural theme we must visit is the negative rippling effects of kings and how their appetites bring down consequences throughout their kingdoms. In the end, leaders aren't the only ones who face death and destruction from their actions—their people do, too.
Take King Ahab. This is the king who married Jezebel, the legendary queen of ill repute. Not only did she lead to the deaths of many faithful prophets of YHWH, but she was also responsible for enticing Ahab into bringing Baal worship to Israel. While Ahab experienced a second chance and redemption, other kings didn't have a change of heart. See Jeroboam, his son Nadab, Baasha, and on down the line.
"He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and walked in the way of his father, and in his sin which he made Israel to sin." — 1 Kings 15:26 (Regarding Nadab)
Whether we like it or not, the leadership above us is God-instituted, and sometimes, that institution serves the purpose of punishment.
In the case of the Old Testament kings, Israel was constantly disobedient to YHWH's commands. They reaped a multi-generational consequence tracing back to the moment they demanded the Prophet Samuel tell God, "Hey, we don't like this whole order structure we have right now. We want a human king instead."
With the granting of that request came a string of inconsistent kings. Saul, David, and Solomon started strong but had massive fallings-out. Of Israel's 19 kings, all were bad. Judah had a slightly better batting average with 8 out of 20—still not a passing grade.
THE LIFE LESSON
In our current technological crisis of limited resources, rising costs of living, and AI implementation into everything, I find myself seeing haunting parallels between the crew of the Nostromo and ourselves.
We are the crew. Big Tech is Weyland-Yutani. And AI is the Xenomorph.
Truthfully, I have a love-hate relationship with AI as a technology. On the one hand, it has been incredibly helpful as an entrepreneur to process ideas, research heavy technical marketing data, and generate strategies to grow our audience. All very cool, all very helpful.
And yet, I simultaneously hear stories about AI-induced psychosis, the negative impact it is having in student learning environments, and the "dehumanizing" of human outlets, specifically in the arts.
Taking the plot of Alien and aligning it to the lives of the kings from Old Testament history, I have a sickening sense that we, the masses, are being seen and treated like the crew of the Nostromo: Human currency paid in the race for corporate domination.
If science fiction has done more than break the fourth wall and has now stepped right into our lives, what should we do?
To answer that, let's go back to the beginning of the film when the team is meeting about the signal. The signal offers nothing concrete—they don't even know what it is saying. Parker expresses the truth that they, as a team, have clear limitations as commercial workers, not search and rescue experts.
However, in their contracts is a clause: Should the crew find out about such a signal and ignore it, they forfeit all their money for the gig.
Parker voices valid, life-saving concerns and continues to stick by them. That is, until his payment is threatened. This is where the lesson lies:
Be the voice that speaks up to protect humans and their dignity—even if the cost in the moment might be high.
It is a choice between life with one less check, or a brutal death at the hands of an acid-spitting creature wanted as a bioweapon.
As Christ-followers in a world driven by speed, greed, and distraction, how should we navigate new and existing technology that has promised benefits but also proven dangers?
I love that I can talk to my brother overseas from my smartphone. I also hate that its design was intentional to keep me glued to it. I am ecstatic about the idea of a tool like AI having the ability to crunch data in the realms of critical science research—say, for cancer or farming. I am irate that the technology has so far been primarily marketed at a consumer level to make mindless videos and to rip off the work of prominent creators.
Embracing the use of AI isn't the same as welcoming a Xenomorph into our living rooms. However, there are dangers that come with every new technology. If we can learn anything from Alien, it should be that those pushing the technology do not have our human interests at heart.
As this new tech becomes more and more ingrained in our daily lives, there may come a point where we need to say:
"No thanks. I'll take the pay cut."