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Teachings on A.I.

Epiphany's Statement on Artificial Intelligence

Epiphany’s primary engagement around artificial intelligence centers on issues of human values and what it means to be human.  The conversation turns around Jesus’s words: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind, with all your strength, and with all your soul, and your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27). We understand the core components of a person to be: the heart, mind, body, soul, and neighbor. Three of these components operate within the material realm – our brain (mind), our body (strength), and our neighbor. Two exist within the metaphysical realm – our heart, where freedom resides, and our soul, which connects to God. Worship reveals the soul; spiritual exercises form the heart, which is why these are the two areas of primary focus at Epiphany.

Understanding and owning the metaphysical reality of our heart and our soul adds depth and insight into conversations around artificial intelligence. This is our Christian sweet spot: the nephesh (soul – Hebrew), ruach (spirit – Hebrew), leb (heart – Hebrew), chay (life – Hebrew), psyche (soul – Greek), pneuma (spirit – Greek), karda (heart – Greek), zoe (life – Greek).  This is stuff we know something about.  We know we are born as souls to worship God and as hearts to care for one another. We know we are christened into mystery and metaphysics under the title: Royal Priesthood (1 Peter 2:9). The Royal being our calling to care for creation and all that is in it.  The Priesthood gives voice to God.  We are hybrid beings, temporal and eternal, material and metaphysical, body and soul.  

The church is the training ground for our royal duties, a spiritual gym where we come to practice being human. Membership requires one thing alone, a soul, which is uniquely human. For “to be born,” to quote K from Blade Runner 2041, “is to have a soul.” 

At Epiphany we understand that it is our role, in this newly emerging world of GenAI, to articulate of our Imago Dei, and to fulfill our assignment as the Royal Priesthood. For additional resources, click here.

Additional Resources

AI & the Church Summit 2024

The AI and the Church summit that took place from August 12 to August 15, 2024 at Epiphany was a time of significant conversation around what many argue is the most important topic facing humanity today. Doyt+ and Kate+ attended this conference and shared what they learned from their experience with the parish during the Sunday Forum on September 22, 2024. Read more about the summit at this link. Click here to download the AI & the Church Summit Journal which summarizes the event (PDF)

A.I. Panel at EPN 2024

The Rev. Doyt on Theology & AI

An excerpt from a panel on Artificial Intelligence at the 2024 Episcopal Parish Network conference in Houston. Click here to watch the panel in full.

Sermon Series on A.I. (Summer 2023)

#1: AI and Human Identity--The Royal Priesthood

Click here to read the sermon in full.

“Remember the via media, that we are people of the middle way. And there will be good news: new medical treatments, and scientific breakthroughs, new efficiencies in manufacturing, and better worldwide food distribution. And there will be troubling news: Job losses, and theft, and fraud, and an Internet polluted with lies. […] And amidst it all, we walk the middle way, understanding and practicing the true primacy of relationship, relationship with one another, with creation, and with God. + The cross is our sign because of who our God is, a relational God, Trinitarian, Father and Son and Holy Ghost.”

#2: The Ontological Nature of a Person

Click here to read the sermon in full.

“Heart and soul determine our sovereignty as human beings made in the image and likeness of God. We are who we are because of who this God is. This is our symbol +. If we do not understand our nature; if we deny the metaphysical, believing simply in our organic composition, then we will not have the capacity to understand how the machines managed by AI are meant to serve us, all of us, all of humanity, equally.”

#3: The Formation of the Human Heart

Click here to read the sermon in full.

“If I’m wrong about AI and it either fizzles out, or singularly provides benefit to humanity; in other words if it is all good or goes away, we are still called to be people who seek to form unimpeachable character through habits of the heart.

Or if it turns out that generative artificial intelligence threatens the community of humanity, we are still called to be people who seek to form unimpeachable character through the habits of the heart. Either way, this is who we are because of who our God is. In this very strange time it is time to double down on our common humanity.”

#4: Soul Sensates and the Coronation of the Royal Priesthood

Click here to read the sermon in full.

“That is the point of being human; to align our choices, our heart, with God’s unmitigated, constant, and equitable love for all human souls. And so, we must not miss the moment to be people of great courage. To demand that this stunning new technology be used for the benefit of all people. This is our duty. You and I have been chosen by God to be alive right now. God made us to lead as the Royal Priesthood. We know the score; we know our duties around heart formation and soul care. What we do today will have an enormous impact on the world in 50 years. Who humanity is in 2070 has everything to do with how we act right now.”