“The Work of Our Hands” has six statements of principle and several practical scenarios to help pastors work through things that might come up in their ministries regarding AI.
A portion of the forward reads: “A theological and ethical framework for AI is not only necessary but also required for Christians to think through how AI, as a technological marvel, will shape human life and, subsequently, the course of human history.”
The paper was published by the SBC’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLIC) research team. The first faith-based statement on AI ethics was published by them in 2019, and now, they are working on a practical guide to AI following the 2023 SBC denominational statement.
Bob Maginnis, author of the upcoming book “AI for Mankind's Future,” applauds the SBC for grounding its guidance in reminding Christians that their worth was given by God and never about how productive they are.
“A pastoral word on AI: human dignity must come first, and community should never be replaced by a chatbot,” advises Maginnis.
However, Maginnis says pastors need to know a lot more than they currently do about AI. He says it's impossible to overemphasize how pervasive the coming storm is going to be and how soon.
“I can find one individual in a mass of 7 billion using current technologies with AI. And so, if you're doing things that I don't like, I can cut off your bank accounts, I can cut off your access to buying anything,” reveals Maginnis.
If that sound straight out of the Book of Revelation, it is. Maginnis says the world will use AI to attack the church because it's the church.
“Pastors need to wake up and recognize that this is not going away, and it's being used for nefarious purposes by people that you would not want to darken your church door because they are out for blood,” says Maginnis.
