As artificial intelligence (AI) makes its way into social media and smart devices, markets and health care systems, military and public policy, evangelicals are raising big questions about its revolutionary potential.
With a landmark statement on AI—the most prominent consideration of the issue among American evangelicals—these leaders are putting moral and ethical concerns at the forefront as the emergent technology grows behind the scenes.
“We recognize that AI will allow us to achieve unprecedented possibilities, while acknowledging the potential risks posed by AI if used without wisdom and care,” state the authors of the new Evangelical Statement of Principles on Artificial Intelligence, unveiled today in Washington, DC. “We desire to equip the church to proactively engage the field of AI, rather than responding to these issues after they have already affected our communities.”
The statement was initially endorsed by about 65 leading evangelical voices, including Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) president J. D. Greear; pastors Matt Chandler and Ray Ortlund; professors Wayne Grudem, Michael Horton, and Richard Mouw; as well as leaders of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC), which released the document. (CT’s editor in chief, Mark Galli, also signed the statement.)
Experts in faith and AI have applauded their proactive efforts to address this area, calling it “a pioneering move” for the church, as secular and government spheres have recently struggled to confront technology’s ethical issues.
An AI ‘Turning Point’
SPEAKING OUT
Jason Thacker: Artificial Intelligence Favors the Powerful. But It Doesn’t Have To.
“We need a common starting point on which to evaluate the weighty ethical decisions before us about how this technology will be develop and used,” said Jason Thacker, ERLC’s creative director and the author of a forthcoming book on AI and human dignity.
The statement, composed by experts in business, public policy, tech, ethics, and biblical theology, consists of 12 articles, each offering biblical affirmations and denials about human nature and various implications for the future of artificial intelligence.
The document emphasizes God’s power as the author of life and humans’ special role as image-bearers. It mostly focuses on conceptual and theoretical frameworks for using AI but also explicitly decries the use of AI for sexual pleasure as well as “manipulative and coercive” data collection.
Rooting its discussion in the worth, dignity, moral agency, and creativity of all persons, it goes on to “deny that any part of creation, including any form of technology, should ever be used to usurp or subvert the dominion and stewardship which has been entrusted solely to humanity by God; nor should technology be assigned a level of human identity, worth, dignity, or moral agency.”
The statement testifies to the possibilities of innovation for human flourishing and the lessening of suffering but denies that the use of AI is “morally neutral.”
Article 3 relates to the relationship between humanity and artificial intelligence. It affirms “the use of AI to inform and aid human reasoning and moral decision-making,” and denies “that humans can or should cede our moral accountability or responsibilities to any form of AI that will ever be created. Only humanity will be judged by God on the basis of our actions and that of the tools we create. While technology can be created with a moral use in view, it is not a moral agent. Humans alone bear the responsibility for moral decision making.”
Other articles speak to AI’s implications in areas like medicine, sexuality, work, and war.
In the shadow of ongoing debates over privacy on social media, Article 8 on data and privacy is particularly prescient, affirming that privacy and personal property are rights not to be violated by states or corporations.
The article goes on to deny the “manipulative and coercive” use of data. “We further deny that consent, even informed consent, although requisite, is the only necessary ethical standard for the collection, manipulation, or exploitation of personal data—individually or in the aggregate.”
Proactive, Not Reactive
ERLC president Russell Moore has been discussing the implications of emergent technology throughout his ministry career; more than a decade ago, as a professor of Christian ethics, he challenged students to think through potential to baptize robots or cyborgs.
As that far-off future has grown even closer, Moore said he has lost sleep over AI.
“No issues keep me awake at night like those surrounding technology and artificial intelligence,” said Moore in an ERLC news release last week. “The implications artificial intelligence will have for our future are vast.”
“It is critical that the church be proactive in understanding AI,” Moore said. “It’s also critical that the church insist AI be used in ways consistent with the truth that all people possess dignity and worth, created as they are in the image of God.”
The statement’s release comes on the heels of recent national and international declarations on the technology.
In February, President Trump issued an executive order on the matter stating, “Continued American leadership in AI is of paramount importance to maintaining the economic and national security of the United States and to shaping the global evolution of AI in a manner consistent with our Nation’s values, policies, and priorities.”
Last week, Google slashed the AI ethics panel it had announced only a week earlier after outcry over its constituents. It also elected to cancel its contracts with the Department of Defense after employees sounded the alarm on ethically thorny military AI projects.
Earlier this week, the European Commission published their own ethical guidelines for “trustworthy artificial intelligence.”
“The ethical dimension of AI is not a luxury feature or an add-on,” said Andrus Ansip, EU vice-president for the digital single market, in a Monday press release. “It is only with trust that our society can fully benefit from technologies.”
A Systemic Approach
The evangelical statement marks a strong, timely insertion into the global AI discussion.
“The statement stakes an early claim for a seat at the AI ethics table for thoughtful Christians,” said David Brenner, an attorney and founding member of the group AI and Faith. He calls the ERLC’s action “a pioneering move.”
“The statement demonstrates how religious belief brings a systemic and holistically grounded approach to the ethics discussion, rather than the ‘one-off’ considerations of what is right and fair that we have seen in the recent lurchings of Facebook and Google.”
Tripp Parker, a machine learning leader at Amazon who reviewed the statement before it was published, said he is glad to see the church stepping into this conversation earlier than it might have historically.
“The church has largely ignored some of these big technological movements or been late to the game,” he said. “So I think this is a positive step to at least be talking about that, about what uniquely Christian we bring to this conversation.”
He praises the document for its framework and for “staying in its lane,” not overstating its case or trying to be a technical paper.
But he and Brenner don’t believe the statement is perfect.
“The statement is strong in theology and theory but less strong on the practical issues posed by cutting edge technology,” said Brenner.
Parker said the statement is somewhat “anemic” in fleshing out the effect of sin on the work of developing AI. He’d also like to see a more positive view of what AI can do for society. “What is the positive vision we could make about this; what should we be pointing toward?”
Michael Paulus, director and associate professor of information studies at Seattle Pacific University, said, “One wishes it were more diverse and inclusive, theologically as well as technologically, which would allow for broader discussions about a range of issues related to human nature, the promise of technology, and our hope for the future.”
More will need to be said about how various technologies alter human understanding of ourselves and our place in the cosmos, he said.
Even so, he believes the statement provides a constructive first step for anyone anxious about AI.
As countries, corporations, and citizens are continually encouraged to embrace and accept new technologies, the Luddite temptation and its counter, the perception that all progress is forward progress, will grow.
The statement’s concluding article on the future of AI announces that even as some technology outpaces human abilities, “God alone has the power to create life, and no future advancements in AI will usurp Him as the Creator of life.”
“We deny that AI will make us more or less human, or that AI will ever obtain a coequal level of worth, dignity, or value to image-bearers,” the authors state.
“Future advancements in AI will not ultimately fulfill our longings for a perfect world. While we are not able to comprehend or know the future, we do not fear what is to come because we know that God is omniscient and that nothing we create will be able to thwart His redemptive plan for creation or to supplant humanity as His image-bearers.”
Update (May 10): Abedini has been released from solitary confinement. Supporters have sent more than 50,000 letters of encouragement to his prison.
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Update (April 29): Along with nine other prisoners, Iranian-born U.S. pastor Saeed Abedini has been placed in solitary confinement, the American Center for Law and Justice reports. The move is believed to be retaliation for prisoner-staged protest against poor conditions.
Abedini, who has been in prison for 215 days following his arrest last fall, faces badly deteriorating health, including severe internal bleeding and kidney issues.
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(BP) Iranian officials have pressured imprisoned pastor Saeed Abedini to renounce his faith in Jesus even as they have stepped up their physical abuse and psychological torture of him, including taking him to a hospital but denying him medical treatment, according to recent reports.
In a letter obtained by the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), Abedini–a U.S. citizen of Iranian descent–wrote that he was told by Iranian prison officials, “Deny your faith in Jesus Christ and return to Islam or else you will not be released from prison. We will make sure you are kept here even after your 8 year sentence is finished.”
Abedini’s response, he wrote, is Romans 8:35-39, which says persecution and death cannot separate a believer from Christ.
“The reality of Christian living is that difficulties or problems do arise in our lives,” Abedini wrote. “Persecution and difficulties are not new occurrences, but are seen often in the Christian life. It is through the suffering and tribulations that we are to enter the Kingdom of God.”
The pastor closed the letter, ACLJ said in a news release April 10, by writing, “Pastor Saeed Abedini, the servant and slave of Jesus Christ in chains, with a lot of joy to see you soon. Evin Prison 9th March 2013.”
Jordan Sekulow, ACLJ’s executive director, said it’s clear that Abedini’s faith is sustaining him even as he suffers from increased brutality at the hands of prison guards.
Sekulow reported April 15 that Abedini’s Iranian family visited him in prison that day and saw firsthand the marks and symptoms left by a severe beating he received when officials took him to a hospital the previous week.
After being promised medical care for internal bleeding caused by repeated abuse, Abedini, a naturalized U.S. citizen, finally was granted a hospital visit but then was taken away without receiving treatment, being told the specialist he was to see was not available.
“These beatings and the internal injuries are causing Pastor Saeed frequent fainting spells,” Sekulow wrote. “Iranian officials are telling Pastor Saeed it could be an additional two months before he will receive medical treatment. Such a delay is inhumane and a gross violation of Iran’s international obligations.”
Additionally, Abedini told his family that cellmates recently threatened to suffocate him in his sleep and make his death look like an accident, a risk that weighs heavily on him.
“I cannot express in words how concerned I am about Saeed’s physical and mental health,” his wife, Naghmeh Abedini, said. “He is now continually attacked and threatened. The Iranian government should know that we are watching and aware of what they are doing to Saeed inside Evin prison. We need to speak louder until Saeed is home safely on U.S. soil.”
In an effort to bolster the pastor’s morale, ACLJ, which is representing his wife and two children in the United States, launched a letter writing campaign to send as many encouraging notes as possible to Abedini for his 33rd birthday May 7.
“We want Pastor Saeed to know that he is not forgotten and thousands upon thousands of people are fighting for his freedom,” Sekulow said.
The effort quickly became one of the largest letter writing campaigns in history, with more than 33,000 people sending letters of support as of April 15. Letters can be written at SaveSaeed.org.
“It is also an important opportunity to let Iran know that we will not forget about this persecuted pastor,” Sekulow said. “Iranian officials will be reviewing and paying attention to these letters. They will feel the incredible pressure of the world community calling for Pastor Saeed’s release.”
Meanwhile, USA Today published an article about Abedini April 4, saying “a movement to free him is gaining momentum.”
That movement, the newspaper said, got a boost from comments by Secretary of State John Kerry “that gave a nod to U.S. allies to quietly intervene.”
Kerry’s call for Iran to release Abedini encouraged U.S. allies that have diplomatic relations with Iran to push the Islamic regime to release him or get him medical treatment, USA Today said.
Faraz Sanei, an Iran specialist for Human Rights Watch, told the newspaper that the regime views converts as a threat to the orthodox Shiite religion propagated by the government.
“Since the election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2005, authorities have cracked down on many religious and spiritual movements that draw young people away from the Shiite faith, including evangelical Christians and the more numerous Sufis, Bahai and self-help spiritual practitioners, who have grown in popularity under the repressive Islamic regime,” USA Today reported.
Sanei said, “The government feels threatened by these movements because it threatens their hold and grasp on the population.”
In the same article, Rep. Chris Smith (R.-N.J.), emphasized the importance of a case such as Abedini’s becoming a priority for the U.S. government.
“No administration, even dictatorships, wants to be subjected to any kind of embarrassment,” Smith told USA Today. “When issues are prioritized by the United States, it makes a difference…. [That strategy] works with radical Islamic regimes. It worked with the Soviets and with Nazi Germany under Adolf Hitler.”
