What if the greatest danger of artificial intelligence isn’t what it can do—but what it can replace?

In this episode of the Embracing Brokenness Podcast, Steve and Colleen Adams explore a growing concern: AI is no longer just a productivity tool—it’s becoming a relational substitute. From AI companions to emotionally intelligent chatbots, we are entering a moment where technology can mimic what only God was meant to fulfill.

This conversation goes deeper than headlines. It gets to the heart.

Why AI feels like it “understands” you

How it subtly meets core human longings

The danger of synthetic belonging, love, and purpose

Real stories of how far this has already gone

Practical red flags to evaluate your own usage

How to use AI without letting it use you

This isn’t fear-based. It’s a warning—and an invitation.

👉 The truth:

“I AM is greater than AI.” (Use this URL and create a bookmark next to your AI tab in your browser): https://bedecked-litter-95f.notion.site/I-Am-AI-29c29def361b80dc867df86090d3bfe0

Use this prompt in your favorite AI chat. You may be surprised at the answer it gives you.

If Screwtape (from C.S. Lewis's Screwtape Letters) were to write a letter to Wormwood on how to thwart my faith and effectiveness personally, what would that letter say based on what you know about me?

Chapters:

00:00 – A chilling real-world example of AI companionship

01:30 – Why this episode matters right now

03:00 – “AI may replace your need for God”

05:00 – The emotional evolution of AI

07:00 – Productivity vs. transformation

09:00 – AI and the loss of human connection

12:00 – The Screwtape exercise (eye-opening)

16:00 – Spiritual warfare and identity

18:30 – Core longings: Belonging

20:30 – Purpose vs. productivity

21:30 – Love and affirmation

23:00 – Understanding and being “seen”

24:30 – Safety and relational risk

26:30 – Significance and generational impact

29:00 – The substitution problem

31:00 – The “synthetic steak” analogy

33:00 – AI companionship and the future

36:00 – Red flags to watch for

39:00 – What if you’re not using AI yet?

41:00 – Practical guardrails

42:30 – Final truth: I AM > AI

Easter reminds us that death is not the end—but it does invite a deeper question: how are we living in the time we’ve been given?

In this episode of the Embracing Brokenness Podcast, Steve and Colleen explore “The Dash”—the small line between your birth date and death date that represents your entire life.

Through the story of Alfred Nobel, personal experiences with loss, and a powerful reflection sparked by the song Live Like That, they unpack what it really means to live intentionally.

You’ll discover:

Why most people drift instead of live with purpose

The difference between happiness and lasting joy

How distraction and self-focus quietly shape your life

What people actually remember about you in the end

How to choose love at the “fork in the road” moments

This isn’t about achieving more—it’s about becoming someone who reflects Christ in everyday life.

Because the dash may look small… but it holds everything.

00:00 – Welcome + Easter Monday Reflection

02:00 – The Question: What Would People Say About Your Life?

07:30 – The Dash Explained (Birth → Death → Everything Between)

10:15 – The Alfred Nobel Story (A Wake-Up Call)

13:30 – Why Most People Drift Through Life

15:00 – Meaning Doesn’t Just Happen—It’s Cultivated

18:30 – Colleen’s Turning Point (Loss, Funerals, Clarity)

22:30 – “Live Like That” – The Measuring Line for Life

26:00 – The Fork in the Road: Choosing Love or Self

29:00 – Living Surrendered vs Living in Control

32:00 – Start With Why (and Where It Falls Short)

34:30 – Happiness vs Joy

36:30 – What Living for the Dash Actually Feels Like

40:00 – It’s Not About What You Achieve

42:00 – Final Question: What Is Being Written in Your Dash?

43:30 – Closing Challenge + What’s Next

In Part 2 of our Reclamation series, Steve and Colleen Adams explore what it looks like to reclaim the parts of our story that were shaped by failure, shame, and consequences.

In this deeply personal episode, Steve shares the part of his story he rarely tells publicly — the collapse of a successful real estate business in the 1980s, federal fraud charges, and the prison sentence that followed.

For years, the weight of that chapter lingered quietly in the background of his life.

Then, decades later, God prompted him to do something unexpected.

Go back.

Together, Steve and Colleen returned to the federal prison camp where he served his sentence — not as an inmate this time, but as a man who had experienced redemption.

What happened there became a powerful moment of reclamation — a reconciling of past, present, and purpose.

This conversation explores:

How God redeems even the most painful chapters of our story

The difference between shame and redemption

Why consequences can become part of God’s restoration process

How wounds and failures can shape our calling

What it means to reclaim the life God originally intended

Reclamation isn’t about rewriting the past.

It’s about seeing how God was present in it all along.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Personal Background

02:16 The Journey of Reclamation and Writing the Book

04:12 Early Life, Success, and the Fall into Crime

07:21 Facing Charges and the Impact on Life

10:24 The Courtroom and Sentencing Experience

12:33 Returning to Prison and Reconciliation

15:54 Reflections on God's Mercy and Grace

18:39 Visiting Prison and Internal Reconciliation

22:37 The Internal Journey of Reclamation

26:17 Turning Point and Surrender to God

28:21 The Role of God's Word in Healing

29:37 God's Continuous Reclamation in Our Lives