I’m not a techy person. However, the gradual encroachment of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into our daily activities, homes, workplaces, and social media feeds has been nagging at me persistently, uneasily.1 I know many have felt the same, especially those who care about politics and social justice – as many of our JPIT readers and supporters do.
So when I was asked to choose a project as part of my internship year, AI was screaming at me. From a place of very limited knowledge, I was really keen to learn more about what was going on technically, socially, politically and spiritually with the rise of AI. I wanted to ask questions and gather data on the phenomenon that was gripping universities, businesses and individuals.
The formal outcomes are highlighted in the briefing, but I was keen to reiterate a couple here. Firstly, there are a plethora of Christian organisations already exploring this topic, especially Theos Think Tank and the AI-Christian Partnership. They have done critical work illuminating the ethical challenges which technology has posed throughout history, drawing on the growing field of ‘AI ethics’.
That said, there was a strong call throughout the process for JPIT to begin to resource ministers and churches to dig into the AI debate, through both theological and political perspectives. This suggests that there is an opening for work on AI which fully intersects across churches, policy, and advocacy for justice. The briefing highlights how the Church has an opportunity (and responsibility) to speak into this moment thoughtfully, critically and prophetically. We hope that this briefing document will help to provide this support and open up these questions through a Christian lens.
Lastly, the project forced me to realise that I was subconsciously committed to a certain conclusion, which framed AI negatively and persuaded churches to implement stricter policies.
This was a surprising realization. When your politics is considered “progressive” or “woke”, it is easy to slip into a firm, techno-luddite cynicism.2 There can be a sense that you must get everything right and always be sensitive to any political issue. There is a pervasive fear of being cancelled for resharing the wrong post or for buying from the wrong shop, for example. The more I researched for this project, the more I recognized that my social media algorithms were skewed towards critiquing AI. It was commented by one webinar attendee that JPIT was appearing to present an overly negative stance; one interviewee offered new contributions to the website resource bank to balance the content’s perspectives slightly more.
This isn’t to say that the final project’s conclusions went the opposite way, as I’m increasingly aware of the dangers. I’m also not wanting to condemn anyone who has strong moral arguments for or against AI. Instead, I hope to highlight through evidence-backed nuance that AI is a new frontier where we are constantly learning, and it is important to engage with those who disagree with you to avoid pre-determining it as negative or positive. My research unexpectedly provided a new backdrop to ongoing conversations about political polarization, particularly in debates about our responsibility as individual consumers of AI and in our tendency towards binary perspectives. The project was the perfect opportunity to chat with Christians from a range of backgrounds and expertise to directly confront some of my assumptions, and I learned a huge amount from the contributors. I would encourage you to read our briefing whatever your perspective or experience, and open yourself up to hearing new ideas like I did!
AI conversations are increasingly inseparable from church spaces. AI is also no longer a niche technology concern. It has become a justice, public policy and theological issue. My hope and prayer is that this project has encouraged more ministers and churchgoers to engage with the theological and political questions critically, and to reflect this in our policies. This isn’t about fighting against AI, but the systemic injustice created by ‘big tech’, whose systems are impacting people and planet now and in the years to come.
For more ponderings on AI ethics and justice, I’ll be hosting a session at Greenbelt Festival in the Hope & Anchor, ‘Claude have mercy’, with Kester Brewin on Saturday 29th August at 2pm. Come and join! 😊
For further reading and listening recommendations visit our AI, faith and justice resource bank.