This seminar will provide a general understanding of the concepts, methods, and technologies underpinning artificial intelligence (AI), including recent innovations that have enabled entirely new capabilities. We will provide examples of exciting applications as well as discuss the limitations and potential misuse of AI. A key objective is to equip ministry leaders to (a) harness new AI applications fully and appropriately and (b) bring a Christian perspective to discussions about the use of AI and its impacts on our communities and society at large.
If you have specific topics or questions you would like to be included, please send an email to cec@computer.org with “ELF-26” in the subject line.
Session 1 - Introduction to Artificial Intelligence and Latest Developments: This session will give participants a basic understanding of AI technology, where it has excelled, and where the technology is heading. We will explain terms and concepts including machine learning, deep learning, generative AI, Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) Artificial Super-Intelligence (ASI), agents, and AI reasoning. We will also review a broad range of uses of today's interactive AI tools like Google Gemini, ChatGPT, or Claude for tasks ranging from personal study and research to improving communication (writing, speaking, etc.). This session will include hands-on demonstrations of appropriate uses of AI to improve the quality, efficacy, and efficiency of tasks we do in our daily lives and ministries.
Session 2 - Applications, Ethics, and Society: This session will provide examples of today’s AI limitations and weaknesses, with cautions regarding both deliberate and unintentional misuse of AI. The session will consider how AI providers evaluate the technology’s trustworthiness, goal alignment, and ethics. This session will explore how to discern what are appropriate or inappropriate uses of AI for individuals, churches, and ministries. We will also discuss a range of areas where AI is influencing, or will influence, society in very visible and–perhaps more importantly–subtle, ways. Here, participants will grapple with broader questions regarding potential impacts on society, such as in labor markets, privacy, discerning truth where our ability to trust in what we see and hear is challenged, and the sanctity and uniqueness of human life.
