What are the Ethical considerations in using Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology within the Church? We ignore it at our peril, for it is quickly changing the world. AI has incredible potential to serve and enhance our ministries. However, it needs to be used within the ethical and moral boundaries of the faith. To unleash it upon our Church Communities without any ethical constraints would be like turning loose a raging bull in the sanctuary. The result would be lots of damage to the pews! So we need to apply Christian Ethics to our use of AI. 

Some (but not all) of the considerations include:

• Questions about control – who can stop the AI when it goes beyond the limits?
• Value of human life – how do we ensure that AI generated content has a positive and not negative impact on people, providing respect and encouragement?
• Outthinking – how do we ensure that the AI doesn’t outthink us, setting traps that we then stumble into that demean others and cause trouble?

The Church needs to be a strong advocate for the responsible use of all technology, especially AI. Let’s use it to change the world for the Gospel!

Ministry is based on human relationships. That is something that Artificial Intelligence cannot replace. It can, however, be an effective tool for managing those human relationships. But it takes balance between using the AI to manage and actual human contact to relate. Like all technology, AI can be used for good or bad.

The challenge for Technical Ministry is how to use AI tools in a balance approach. AI can never replace personal Bible study, prayer and conversation with other people in the Church. If we ever find ourselves in a place where we can’t worship, we can’t function without the technology, then we have become too dependent. What happens if the power goes off right before the worship service begins? (I have seen that event happen.) Do you cancel worship? People are already on their way to the Church. No, you still hold the worship service. You can sing familiar songs acapella. You can pray together using the Lord’s Prayer. The preacher can still preach, but maybe they do it in the aisle instead of the pulpit so people can hear them better. In other words, you adapt to the loss of the technology and still hold the worship service. It works, and people will perhaps remember the sermon more because it was an atypical service.

The Church should use AI technology, but must never become overreliant upon it. Our calling is to use the technology with humility, grace, love and a commitment to build the Kingdom of God! We do that with or without the technology. It all comes down to one human being sharing with another human being the story of the Gospel. AI can multiply our efforts at that point, but it must never replace our commitment.