Interview
Jackelén and Kirchhoffer reflect below on important questions for visible unity, in particular the rise of artificial intelligence and other technologies.
Would you please share an update on your two subgroups related to, respectively, theological anthropology and moral discernment?
Jackelén and Kirchhoffer: The study group convened in Egypt to plan its work for the coming year. The two subgroups on theological anthropology and moral discernment will each prepare texts for study and discussion at the next meeting of the commission in Sweden.
The theological anthropology group will consider how digitalization, as the massive and transformative technological shift it constitutes, affects our understanding of what it means to be human. What does it mean to be created in the image of God, in the age of artificial intelligence? How do digital practices change the ways of doing theology as well as spiritual and liturgical life? How do we as churches deal with the ambivalence of AI?
The moral discernment subgroup will develop several studies of contemporary moral problems that apply the “Tool for Facilitating Dialogue to Build Koinonia” published by the previous commission in 2021 in Volume III of Churches and Moral Discernment.
Why are discussions of “being human” more important now than ever?
Jackelén and Kirchhoffer: The question of “being human” is critical for the ecumenical movement’s quest for visible unity, both in matters of faith, and in matters of common social action. How we understand the human is closely related to how we think about salvation and the reign of God. Differences in theological anthropology (our understanding of the human in light of what we believe about God) can lead to differences in how we think about sin and morality, which can in turn affect how we think about the church as visible sign of the reign of God both in the present time and in the eschaton.
Much of theological anthropology has been suffering from an anthropocentrism that has been detrimental to understanding the relationship between humans, creation, and planet Earth. This needs to be considered even in future work. Moreover, rapid advances in technology have always posed challenges to humanity, both in terms of new possibilities and threats. There is a risk of “dehumanising” people and reducing them to objects of a technocratic system rather than respecting them as created co-creatures and co-creators always known, loved, and called by God to holiness and sanctification.
The advances in AI also require moral discernment. They provoke a renewed affirmation of what makes humans moral subjects deserving of our respect in the face of the onslaught of technological facsimiles that in their “human-likeness" risk undermining the common good for all human beings. Closely linked to this is not merely the objectification of the human, but the denigration of the natural world as being merely “a thing” exploitable to satisfy unfettered human desires. Both theological anthropology and moral discernment consider how human beings and the created world are related as the “good” creation of a good God, and how that has implications for the role that human beings have to play in caring for that creation and each other and not simply exploiting them for individual or group gain.
Learn more about the work of the WCC Commission on Faith and Order
