The huge difference is that empirical evidence is a critical part of the things I put my "faith" into. Experiments can be performed to prove that the things I believe in exist. Results can be measured with scientific instruments.

We got to a place of AI through science and meticulous trial and error, not through faith. There isn't a blind belief I have that nature exists. It's a fact as plain as day. Proving god--and specifically the god of one religion--is a far different story. One is a matter of faith and the other is not.