It seems to be all we talk about these days. How do we use AI? Who should use AI? When should we use or not use AI? After a while, the conversations sound redundant and our sentiments only intensify. We either love AI as we hear what it can do, or we hate it for those same reasons.

But what if AI wasn’t just a topic we debated ad nauseum or a fact of life to either despise or embrace? What if AI and the tools powered by it were simply resources of the earth intended by God to be stewarded by the Church?

Early in the creation story, we see God giving humanity grace and power to exercise dominion over other created things. This included animals and fish and every creeping thing, as well as those made by humanity who bears the image and creativity of God. We are invited to steward the earth with wisdom, giving glory to God, which even includes the human creation of artificial intelligence.

If AI is a resource to be stewarded, then we must ask God how best to use it for his glory and our good. This divinely inspired, man-made resource is not salvific in and of itself and cannot be filled with the breath of God’s Spirit. But we, who are filled with the Spirit and cleansed by the blood, have capacity to use AI to amplify what God has instilled within us.

With this view in mind, we might steward AI by using it to simplify our thoughts, streamline our workflows and synthesize our ideas. But we must be the first to deny any uses of AI that presume to take the place of God’s love through artificial relationships. As sheep who know the voice of the Shepherd, we must resist any uses of AI that keep us from authenticating God’s Word through Scripture reading, interpretation and application that can only happen through divine communion.

For those who may be weary of the talk or overwhelmed by the conversation, I invite you to take on the perspective of stewarding this resource with grace. Our ancestors have demonstrated that modern tools like printing presses, microphones, telephones and computers can be effective in amplifying the gospel. Let’s commit to stewarding AI in similar ways so that our children’s children may look back and see a generation of disciples who did whatever it took to glorify God with everything we had.

Nicole Martin

Nicole Massie Martin serves as chief operating officer for Christianity Today. She is also the founder of Soulfire International Ministries, which focuses on empowering others to reach their fullest potential in Christ. Prior to her role at Christianity Today, she served as executive director of Trauma Healing at the American Bible Society. Martin is the author of “Nailing It: Why Successful Leadership Demands Suffering and Surrender,” “Made to Lead: Empowering Women for Leadership” and “Leaning In, Letting Go: A Lenten Devotional.” She holds a B.S. degree from Vanderbilt University, an M.Div. from Princeton Theological Seminary and a D.Min. from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.