AI frequently misquotes the Bible, the CEO of Bible app YouVersion has warned.
Bobby Gruenewald said that AI platforms are not good enough to accurately handle biblical texts and cautioned against their use for seeking spiritual guidance.
YouVersion is the world’s most-downloaded Bible app. It has had a double-digit growth in the number of UK users accessing it at least four days a week compared to last year.
Accuracy and integrity
In an interview with Christian Daily International, Gruenewald said that YouVersion would only introduce AI features if it felt “very confident that it can be done safely and be done with a level of accuracy and integrity”.
He added: “The best model with the best performance, with the most popular versions of the Bible that are most indexed, misquotes Scripture at least 15% of the time. Some of them as much as 60% of the time.”
“When it comes to answering life’s most important questions and trying to give direction from God’s Word, we need it to be better in order to rely on it”.
He noted: “For Bible translation, every word and punctuation is meaningful to Scripture translation”.
Bible translation
Similar concerns over AI’s limitations were highlighted last year by Wycliffe Global Alliance, an international network of groups committed to Bible translation.
Translation Consultant Dr Taeho Jang explained that “AI translation’s primary advantage is its ability to produce naturally flowing language,” but warned that “this naturalness can mask risks when AI prioritises fluency over fidelity, occasionally using expressions that diverge from the source text’s meaning”.
He added: “When AI handles simple, repetitive drafting decisions, translation efficiency increases substantially. Nevertheless, I firmly believe that humans should retain final authority over high-level decisions, particularly those involving exegesis and theological nuance.
“As AI capabilities rapidly advance, we must resist the misconception that AI can independently complete Bible translation. The essential characteristic of Bible translation is its spiritual dimension – a process guided by the Holy Spirit through prayer.”
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