Artificial intelligence and the future of divinity schools
Last week I shared how excited I was to begin rolling out the content from this year’s theological education issue of the magazine. That enthusiasm continues today, and it’s amplified by the fact that we have two pieces that are explicitly related to each other.
In one of our (five!) cover stories, Katherine Schmidt explores the ramifications of the artificial intelligence explosion on her work teaching the humanities. Is this development a death knell for theology and ethics, or an important new opportunity? Then our editorial team picks up the torch from Schmidt for the issue’s From the Editors piece, which considers some of the specific roles theology might play during the rise of AI.
“To the extent that other disciplines and industries make use of humanities expertise, they might actually be able to live up to the ideals they so often put forward in mission statements.”
“It’s not unreasonable to believe that AI experts will be better equipped to prevent catastrophes if they’ve spent some time considering theological questions—whether about evil, creation, incarnation, agency, or eschatology.”
“There are no great transformations, no cathartic once-and-for-all revelations, no grand arcs that end in redemption and closure. Characters learn from each other, they grow and change, but not completely, and life keeps going.”
Host Grace Ji-Sun Kim talks with ethicist David Gushee about patriotism, authoritarian reactionary Christianity, and his new book Defending Democracy from Its Christian Enemies.
