Welcome to AI and Our Faith! In this newsletter, I hope to bring you my best insights and reflections on the ways in which theological thinking can inform the ethical (dis)use of artificial intelligence (AI). I plan on publishing once a month for the next year, but hope to publish more frequently than that in the future! I hope you enjoy this first email, which along with a forthcoming email will serve as an introduction to this newsletter.
Have you ever read an article or headline about artificial intelligence that left you feeling worried or confused? I certainly have. (Otherwise, I don’t think I would have gone down the path that led to starting this newsletter!) Thinking back on that moment, what kinds of sources or authorities did you turn to for guidance? Maybe you read a book by a celebrated computer scientist, like Stuart J. Russell’s Human Compatible. Some academics, like the linguist Emily M. Bender, approach AI issues from a standpoint of social criticism. Unsurprisingly, government institutions in the US, China, the EU, and throughout the world assert authority over AI issues. And there’s the madding crowd of tech influencers, each with something to sell you…
Now, here’s a genuine question that might even seem like a joke a first. Did you consult Scripture for guidance about AI? Turn to God in prayer? Email your pastor?
If you did, props to you! I’m literally in seminary right now and that’s definitely not what I first turned to when I became concerned about AI two years ago. I suspect that many of you, like myself, turned to secular sources long before we had any idea that the Christian tradition might have something to tell us about artificial intelligence. Or, maybe, even as a believing Christian, you’re reading this right now and have no idea whatsoever of how Christianity might help us make sense of AI issues. You might even be wondering why Christians should be concerned about AI in the first place.
These are very reasonable doubts. The Christian canon‒the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament‒has precious little to say about technology in general, much less cutting-edge information technologies like AI. Few if any pastors have experience or training that would help them address technological issues from a faith standpoint. Some academic theologians do write about technological ethics (even AI! there’s a surprising amount of theological literature on AI out there), but let’s be honest, who is even reading those articles besides other academics? What’s left for the layperson?
Sadly, I think that the answer is “very little,” which is precisely why I started this newsletter in the first place. As a seminarian at Boston University School of Theology, I am pursuing a Master of Divinity degree with the goal of being admitted into a PhD program for theological ethics (with a focus on AI ethics) after I graduate. I am very fortunate in having time to read and reflect on Scripture and theological writings with respect to issues in artificial intelligence, and I hope that by starting this newsletter, I can give back to the communities of faith that have sustained me by sharing insights on the intersection of AI, theology, and ethics with the general public.
So back to the original question…
What does AI have to do with theology?
To answer this question, it’s easier to start with a more general question: What does technology have to do with religion? There are more and less obvious answers.
Perhaps this question brought to mind the experience of worshiping over Zoom during the Covid lockdowns. Certainly, modern communications technology has enabled forms of religious life like televangelism and digital ministry that were once unthinkable. Or maybe you’ve heard something about how the printing press enabled the Protestant Reformation. These are all great examples, but I see the relationship between technology and religion existing on an even more fundamental level.
To me, technology is the means by which human beings intentionally shape the material world around them. Religion as a practice is directed towards the spiritual world, but as a practice it takes place in the material world. (Or, quoting St. Paul’s words on the resurrection of the dead, “It is not the spiritual that is first but the physical and then the spiritual.”)1 Technology has to do with religion, because it shapes the material world in which we, as embodied human beings, do religion. Let’s take, for instance, the sacrament of Communion, one of Christianity’s most central practices. How could the ritual meal of bread and wine have taken place without the invention of agriculture? Was agriculture not one of our earliest technologies? It’s hard to imagine a better example of human beings intentionally shaping the material world!
So what about AI? Does AI already shape the ways in which people practice religion? For better or for worse (I suspect for worse, but that’s a topic for a future email), the answer is yes, the world is already rife with instances of AI being used for religious purposes. Perhaps you’ve heard of clergy giving AI-assisted sermons. Companies are putting out glossy AI chatbots that claim to be assistants in interpreting Scripture. Then there are the frightening reports of AI-triggered psychosis with religious undertones.
And this is with the technologies that are already mature! Meanwhile, major tech companies are pushing for the development of “artificial general intelligence” (AGI)‒an AI that could, according to its proponents, do everything that humans could do, and potentially better. How deeply would this unsettle our notions of what it means to be human? After all, from a Christian standpoint, being human is to be made in God’s image.2 If we were to make an AI in our own image that shared many of our capabilities, what would set us apart from that AI? What is left of the imago Dei?
The Christian theological tradition, as ancient as it is, equips us with intellectual and spiritual tools to grapple with such difficult questions. Indeed, there might not be any satisfying way to address these issues without involving theological thinking. As you follow along with this newsletter, you’ll see me introduce a variety of Scripture passages and theologians who can help us reflect on these issues together. By subscribing to this free newsletter, you’ll be first to receive my updates!
1 Corinthians 15:46.
Genesis 1:26.