Christian spirituality: Creation, work and AI
Technological innovation can be a form of participation in the divine act of creation
Unless you’ve been living under a rock these past few years, you’ll be aware that AI is high on the agenda everywhere. From television programmes, to news items, to random conversations – AI is there. On a national level the country finds itself amid two public consultations related to AI – one pertaining to the country’s national AI strategy, and the other related to the use and effects of AI-powered social media platforms on the young.
The sentiments one hears being aired on this topic are quite varied but tend to fall into two extremes; AI is either going to save humanity from all our problems and ailments, or else it’s going to kill us all! However, fantasy and fatalism do good to nobody.
We might find a more realistic alternative, I believe, in the tempered hope expressed in certain magisterial texts and papal documents that have been published in the past few months. The Church is actively reflecting on this reality (and has been doing so for quite some time now) and can offer us a way forward.
One recent document worth singling out was a message by Pope Leo XIV addressed to the participants of the Builders AI Forum (BIAF) held in Rome last month. Being present there myself, it was consoling to see a large number of Catholic professionals whose work intersects in some way or other with AI; from C-suite professionals, to developers working in some of the leading tech companies in the field, to investors and entrepreneurs.
While the Church is being remarkably active when it comes to reflecting on the changes such AI tools are bringing about in society – from work, to healthcare, to education and everything else in between, the forum participants sought, so to speak, to ‘translate theory into practice’. The workshops and conversations explored how Catholics in various positions and roles could make use of AI tools and systems to advance the flourishing of society, while ensuring that this is done in an ethical, safe and trustworthy way.
This is, in a sense, a creative work that fulfils humanity’s vocation as being co-creators with God. This notion is not novel; it springs from the interpretation of the Genesis story where the Church understands that “[e]very worker is, to some extent, a creator – be he artist, craftsman, executive, labourer or farmer” (Pope St Paul VI).
Pope Leo XIV’s message to the BIAF participants applied this concept to the current reality, since AI “like all human invention, springs from the creative capacity that God has entrusted to us… This means that technological innovation can be a form of participation in the divine act of creation. As such, it carries an ethical and spiritual weight, for every design choice expresses a vision of humanity.”
He thus exhorted the participants, but by extension all who have power, influence, expertise and authority, to guide and manage the development and deployment of such tools, to always strive to envision and create “an AI that reflects the Creator’s design: intelligent, relational and guided by love”.
The Church – locally and abroad – remains committed to contributing to this vision, to the fulfilment of humanity’s true vocation and the flourishing of all in society.
