News
Four panelists discussed current uses, proposed developments, and the ethical and theological questions raised by the application of artificial intelligence to health.
Dr Christoph Benn, director of the JLI Center for Global Health Diplomacy based in Geneva, focused on responsible, inclusive, and equitable digital transformation of health systems and the responsible use of AI in countries of all income levels.
“There are opportunities if AI is used in the right way—and we are to manage that,” he said. “We have examples in the Ecumenical Centre of how you can engage religious communities.”
Dr Ricardo Baptista Leite, a Portuguese-Canadian medical doctor trained in infectious diseases with extensive experience in global health, health systems, and science-based policymaking, cautioned that, over the next few years, we can expect to evolve toward artificial “super” intelligence, or a level of AI that surpasses human intelligence in all areas, including cognitive abilities, creativity, and problem-solving.
Leite considered aspects of inequality related to AI, and how that inequality could become an even deeper divide.
“AI has the potential to be the greatest equalizer of our time—or the greatest divider of our time,” he said.
Tijana Petković-Bertsch, an Orthodox theologian specializing in ecumenism and the ethics of technology, focused on the intersection of theology, digital transformation, and ecumenical dialogue.
She opened with the question: “Can we actually have the same idea of what it means to be human that we have had for the last centuries?”
From an Orthodox perspective, she examined a few verses from the book of Genesis. “God saw what He had made and it was very good,” she said. “It’s not random. It was intentional and good. What does it mean for us?”
Dr Anuradha Rose, a faculty member of the Christian Medical College, reflected on providing healthcare to people living in geographically difficult-to-access remote regions.
She addressed the challenge of how we use AI in ways that respect human dignity, rather than pursuing scientific progress as a goal in itself. “We will have to look and identify the aspects of AI that promote human flourishing,” Rose said. “Human beings are not just intelligence apart from emotions.”
Ultimately, the panelists agreed churches can provide a theological, emotional, and spiritual foundation for the use of AI that not only strengthens local communities but also influences government policies that promote wellbeing.
Benn concluded the webinar with a call to action for meeting with government leaders to enact such policies.
“It’s the civil society that can move governments to those positions,” he said. “It’s the informed society that is very, very important.”
