dallas, texas
When the pandemic decimated the live events scene, Joe Allen “packed up his survival bunker on wheels” and headed for a new career path.
There was little work for “concert makers” like Allen, who set up concert lighting and sound systems. So he pursued a different kind of Lodi life. He traveled the country writing about new technology and the dangers of artificial intelligence for outlets such as The Federalist, and ended up appearing on former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon’s podcast, War Room.
Allen’s skepticism would have been niche just a few years ago. But now he is traveling the country preaching warnings about the dangers of AI, hitting a nerve with Americans who are increasingly concerned about the impact AI will have on jobs, electricity bills, mental health and even the environment. A Pew Research Center survey conducted in June found that more Americans believe that AI will have a negative impact on society than a positive one.
A graduate of Boston University’s religious science program and a self-described tech Luddite, Allen’s anti-AI stance is now mainstream. In February, Time magazine featured him in a cover story about the backlash against AI.
“I don’t feel so crazy now,” Allen said in March before speaking at First Baptist Church in Dallas, one of the nation’s largest megachurches.
Allen’s speeches, writings and media appearances have added to the growing rift on the American right over AI, which could pose a problem for President Donald Trump and the Republican Party in the upcoming midterm elections. Many in Allen’s audience are MAGA supporters, but they don’t necessarily agree with the Trump administration’s largely hands-off approach to AI regulation.
“The whole cultural fabric is already filled with this resentment. People are afraid of the imposition of technology,” he told CNN. “They’re furious. They don’t want it.”
Across the country, college students worried about their job prospects booed AI at graduation ceremonies. Communities are protesting the construction of AI data centers, fearing they will bring pollution and noise. Families are suing AI companies, accusing AI chatbots of encouraging harmful behavior.
Allen leans into those sentiments.
Allen’s problem isn’t modern technology. This is the recognition that AI is not a tool, but rather a “god” who knows better than humans what is “good” and “true,” he said in a speech at First Baptist.
He told hundreds of parishioners that “technological elites” were aiming for a “religion of AI” to replace God. One of the slides in his presentation had the face of a prominent AI executive plastered onto the tentacles of a powerful fictional monster known as a shoggoth, a reference to HP Lovecraft’s 1936 novel The Mountains of Madness. This creature has become a metaphor in the world of AI, symbolizing the uncertainty about how AI models work internally.
He said AI was “taking advantage of you” and preying on children “obscured by the innocence” of screens.
“If you’re skeptical about this and don’t want to live this way, you’re not alone,” Allen said.
Mr. Bannon, whose podcast “War Room” catapulted Mr. Allen to a national audience, said he knew early on that Mr. Allen’s words resonated with working-class and lower-middle-class Americans and encouraged him to take that message to the streets.
“He’s a perfect fit for that audience,” Bannon told CNN, citing Allen’s theological background, Southern mannerisms and ability to connect with crowds.
Tech giants claim that AI will create new jobs and benefit society by making people more productive by handling digital drudgery such as scouring emails, writing code, editing photos, and getting news. Companies are also touting efforts to reduce energy consumption, pay for the electricity their data centers consume, and implement guardrails around their models.
First Baptist Church serves approximately 16,000 members in a 270,000-square-foot complex in downtown Dallas. (There is also a dedicated parking lot.)
First Baptist Church is one of the most famous and politically influential churches in the country. Its leader, Robert Jeffries, is a longtime ally of President Donald Trump, and many of the church’s members are avowed supporters of the president.
But when Mr. Allen took office in March, it was clear that many of these supporters did not like Mr. Trump’s initial approach to AI. President Trump primarily supports deregulation, so AI companies can advance rapidly and stay ahead of China. But some advocates worry that the technology is moving too fast.
For example, Elizabeth Gomez Crocker said she considers herself a “Trump fan” but worries about AI replacing her job. She wants to slow down development so she can do more research.
“President Trump is saying things that make true supporters like me go, ‘Whoa, what?'” she said.
A June Pew poll found that a bipartisan majority wants the government to regulate AI. But even among Republicans, 61% have no confidence in the government’s ability to effectively regulate AI.
Jeff Gottfried, an associate director at Pew, said that “Americans have become more negative about AI over time,” even as they have begun to use AI chatbots more frequently. Gottfried added that young people are the ones who feel most negatively about the impact of AI on society and the future.
Trump supporters who are wary of AI are “very respectful” of the president, but may be difficult to shake, Bannon said. Few topics these days have as much uniformity across the political spectrum as AI. A May CBS News/YouGov poll found that majorities of liberals, moderates, and conservatives do not believe that U.S. government policy will ensure that AI is used “in the right way.”
“They’ve looked at the facts, they’ve looked at the data centers, they’ve looked at what’s going on in schools, they’ve looked at what’s going on at work,” Bannon said. “You can’t sell it, and you can’t spin it.”
Allen said he considers himself just part of a “whole network” that straddles the ideological divide against AI. Despite the current rift for President Trump, he said he hopes the president will make “the right choices” regarding AI.
“He has three years to make that decision,” Allen said. “And his legacy depends on it.”
