When artificial intelligence rocketed into the headlines in 2022 with the launch of ChatGPT, I was on a listening tour around the San Francisco Bay, asking tech professionals and pastors what they need from each other to live faithfully around AI.
I split the year between two visiting scholar roles, both of which explored how people of faith can advance the common good in AI. In one role, I sat in a modernist redwood study at Stanford’s Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, reading scholarship and learning about AI topics with social scientists from five continents. In the other, hosted by Christian study center New College Berkeley, I drove around the Bay Area. I visited tech companies, churches and coffee shops to learn with Christian communities.
AI has stayed in the headlines since then, and my work to help Christians pursue the common good in AI continues. It is clear to me that Christians are looking for guidance on how AI forms us individually and communally and what we can do to faithfully engage. For this, I invite you to explore the ancient Christian idea of a Rule of Life with me, in the new context of artificial intelligence.
Why a Rule of Life for AI?
AI is a catchall term for a set of technologies that make computers do things that are thought to require intelligence when done by people. Think of recognizing faces, understanding speech, driving cars, writing sentences, answering questions, creating pictures. -Will Douglas Heaven, MIT Tech Review
Do not be guided in your actions by the values of this world, and do not value anything more highly than the love of Christ. -St. Benedict, The Rule of Benedict
To engage emerging AI technologies, we need a set of spiritual formation practices that connect to the wider communal needs of society. The ancient Christian idea of a Rule of Life offers that individual and communal formation.
Guidelines and Practices
Here are three starting points for a Rule of Life for AI. For each, I offer a theological doctrine or biblical narrative to ponder, a question and a practice.
1. Sabbath: How can we apply the idea of Sabbath as we use AI? Let’s include a weekly rhythm of rest into our use of AI. For some, this might mean resting from a technology such as generative AI art to enjoy drawing skills with the much older technology of pencil and paper. For others, we might think about a regular rhythm of using an AI technology in a way we find especially refreshing, then offering a prayer of thanks.
Practice: Take a weekly tech Sabbath, whether that means resting from an AI technology or using one in a renewing way.
2. The Image of God: How can we learn what people need from AI systems? Christian leaders often focus on getting tech experts and theologians into conversations on AI and the common good. We also need a third commitment: to listen to what actual users of technology say about how they use it and how it affects them.
Fortunately, many Christians in AI study this question. Dr. Rosalind Picard of MIT sees the Christian doctrine of the image of God as a reason to listen to human beings as she builds AI systems. She says, “What we’ve seen is that we have to learn from users about what they want and need. We can come up with ideas of what technology is needed, but we have to listen to the people using the systems. Through the process of building systems and talking to users and iterating on those systems, we learn what’s helpful.”
Practice: Commit to a regular rhythm of learning from scholars and practitioners in fields such as human computer interaction, perhaps a yearly conference or a quarterly coffee meeting.
3. Justice & Flourishing in the Early Church: How can we choose and influence AI systems for good? Cornell professor J. Nathan Matias emphasizes that the early church offers a valuable model for designing just systems that can be applied to AI. He observes that the early church overhauled their system of distributing food to widows when they realized their current system was hurting marginalized participants (Acts 6:1–7). Consider introducing a regular “Acts 6 Audit.” Take some time to learn about the risks and benefits of a particular AI system to marginalized communities. Then see if there is something you can do to change how the system is impacting people, or to choose a different system.
Practice: Commit to an Acts 6 Audit at least yearly. Choose an AI system, learn about how it impacts the marginalized, and choose at least one way to minimize harm and support helpful impacts.
Invitation
Like ancient Christian rules of life, all these things are easiest to do in a community. Browse the sidebar for a few places to start on learning and connection.
Starting Point Resources on AI
Communities for Christian Leaders
American Scientific Affiliation (ASA) – Professional society for Christians in tech & science with ongoing events on AI.
Grefenstette Center – Tech ethics center at Duquesne University with online events, grounded in Catholic thought but engaging all Christian traditions and broader society.
Further Reading
“AI in Christian Thought and Practice,” an approachable guide and questions by scholars.
“What Is AI?” article by Will Douglas Heaven in MIT Technology Review on July 10, 2024.
More Christians in AI to Follow
Sherol Chen, AI Scholar & Passion Talks Founder
Chris Lim, TheoTech Founder
Ruth Okediji, Harvard Legal Scholar
Nathan Schneider, Tech Journalist & UC Boulder Professor
Derek Schuurman, Calvin University Scholar
Listen to Felicia Wu Song on how technology impacts faith, society and personhood ![Arrow]()
Hannah Eagleson serves as director of partnerships and innovation for the American Scientific Affiliation, where she leads early-career programs to support the next generation of scientific leaders. She also serves as chaplain and director of graduate student and faculty engagement at Chesterton House, a Christian study center at Cornell University. In this role, she supports the spiritual and intellectual lives of graduate students and faculty members. Eagleson also leads the Innovation Circle for Christian Scholarship, a peer network for people who lead national-level and campus organizations focused on Christianity, scholarship and the common good. Eagleson is the editor of “Science and Faith: Student Questions Explored.” Eagleson holds a Ph.D. in early modern literature from the University of Delaware and a M.A. in liberal arts from St. John’s College.
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