Review of John C. Lennox’s Book
2084 and the AI Revolution: How Artificial Intelligence Informs Our Future
By S. Gollmer (May 18, 2026)
I just finished reading John Lennox’s book 2084 and the AI Revolution and found it insightful beyond an evaluation of how AI will revolutionize the world. As seen from the title, it is a play on George Orwell’s 1984. Lennox is not a doomsayer on the subject, but he wants his readers to understand the limitations of AI and the worldview implications of generating Artificial Generalized Intelligence (AGI).
He begins by quoting from Neil Postman’s 1992 book Technopoly.
“… new technologies alter the structures of our interests: the things we think about. They alter the character of our symbols: the things we think with. And they alter the nature of community: the arena in which thoughts develop.”
Lennox concludes that technologies alter “the way in which we perceive reality.” He points out that fundamentally AI operates on algorithms, which are unable to embody qualia (the introspective phenomenological aspects of our mental lives). Although AI will never replace humans, it can have a profound effect on how we live and think.
Given the rate at which technology changes, this book was updated in 2024, only four years after its initial publication. This well referenced book primarily serves as a counterpoint to the writings of Yuval Harari. Last summer I read Harari’s Sapiens (New York Times Readers’ Pick), Homo Deus (New York Times Bestseller), and Nexus (Editor’s pick for best books of the year 2024). 2084 and the AI Revolution is the book I would have written if I were as well read and wise as John Lennox. He confronts Harari’s transhumanist view of Dataism and provides a Christian response to the concept of a God-Man.
John Lennox has PhD’s in Mathematics and Philosophy and has debated noted figures such as Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, Michael Ruse, and Peter Atkins. His Christian worldview shapes his arguments and the last third of the book provides a biblically sound presentation of Christianity as an alternative to naturalistic atheism. This book is written for believer and non-believer alike and invites the reader to consider the claims of Scripture, which are avoided in Harari’s writings.
This book is accessible to all but provides sufficient footnotes for those wanting to delve into the material more deeply. This 312-page read went quickly and questions are provided at the end of each chapter to spur further reflection. I recommend that you place this book high on your reading list. (https://www.amazon.com/2084-Revolution-Updated-Expanded-Intelligence/dp/0310166640/)
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