WCC NEWS: Conference on artificial intelligence opens with profound question: “What is truth?”

The European Christian Internet Conference (ECIC) opened on 9 September under the theme “What is truth? Ethical and Practical Issues in the use of Artificial Intelligence,” drawing an array of speakers with diverse insights on a rapidly-changing world. Participants in the European Christian Internet Conference (ECIC) opening day. Photo: Ivars Kupcis/WCC 10 September 2024 Agnieszka Godfrejów-Tarnogórska, president of the ECIC network, and a communication officer of the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Poland, offered a reflection in how the opening prayer on Jesus’s response to Pilate—that he came into the world to testify the truth—is direction to us today.  “It reminds us that truth is not an abstract concept, but living reality grounded in the person of Christ,” she said. “When we as Christian communicators work with digital technologies, we are called to be witnesses to the truth in the world that is increasingly mediated by algorithms and data.” ECIC participants pictured in prayer at the Château de Bossey. At the pulpit, Agnieszka Godfrejów-Tarnogórska, president of the ECIC network. Photo: Ivars Kupcis/WCC She noted the many ethical and practical issues surrounding AI.  “That’s why our work is important,” she said. “We are called to to disturb and critique the way in which AI and digital technology are used.” She reiterated the importance of advocating for transparency, fairness, and accountability when using AI and promoting a technology vision that aligns with Christian values, respects creation, serves people, and upholds justice.  “We are here together to learn to share, to reflect, and bring a human and spiritual perspective to technological debates,” she said. “The ECIC network is an opportunity for us to explore the theme of AI. We can challenge each other to think deeply and we can pray together to God to give us wisdom and courage, and guide us with his Holy Spirit so we may bear fruits.” The first ECIC was held in Frankfurt, Germany from 22-23 November 1996, under the aegis of the World Association of Christian Communication. This is the second time ECIC has been hosted by the World Council of Churches (WCC). The 2014 ECIC took place 2-5 June 2014 at the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey under the theme “Open Internet, Open Church, Open Source.” The current ECIC, hosted by the WCC, also featured opening remarks by WCC director of communication Marianne Ejdersten.  “We are representing a broad spectrum of churches and Christian organizations, reflecting the many expressions of Christianity across the continent,” reflected Ejdersten. “Digital technologies are transforming our world and the multiple spaces in which we live and move.” Ejdersten added: “These technologies offer us new ways to communicate, to inform ourselves and navigate the world, to advocate for human dignity and human rights, and for multiple voices to be heard.” Ejdersten concluded: “I hope that the reflections at ECIC and elsewhere will encourage efforts to ensure that progress in developing forms of artificial intelligence will ultimately serve the cause of humanity and peace. It is not the responsibility of a few but of all of us.” Photo: Ivars Kupcis/WCC Future opportunities—and cautions On the first day, two keynote addresses were presented to stimulate discussions in smaller groups on methodologies, communication, and technologies. Dr George Zarkadakis spoke on “Gods, Robots, and Theory of Mind: How AI is unlike anything else we made.” Author of fiction and nonfiction books, he is also chief innovation officer of Syndesis Health Inc., a healthcare data and AI company. He holds a PhD in AI in Medicine.  Zarkadakis said: “The idea that inanimate objects may possess agency, and indeed a mind, is very much older than the birth of AI in the 20th century.” In his talk, Zarkadakis traced  the seismic waves of that evolutionary singularity from its prehistoric origins to the modern era and argued that our quest for machines that think is deeper and more profound than mere utilitarianism. “AI is a technology that can remould our species into a meta-species that transcends physical boundaries,” he said. “In essence, this means humans acquiring god-like features and abilities.” He noted that concepts that used to be present only in fiction—such as “canceling” oneself, reconstructing oneself as pieces of information, deconstructing oneself, and transferring oneself—are now on the horizon as real possibilities. “Humans have become so smart that they have become part of the machine,” he said. “Now the human is partly machine.” Zarkadakis believes that AI is very important for making progress. “What worries me is how it might impact society,” he said. Prof. Dr Holger Sievert, study coordinator and professor for Media Management, specialising in PR and Communication Management, at the Cologne Campus, spoke on the theme "Artificial intelligence as a (non-)topic of two large European churches,” presenting empirical findings from a survey of almost 1,500 church employees as well as own current observations and recommendations. Sievert has conducted the most extensive empirical studies on digitalisation and churches in recent years. His university was the first in Germany to explicitly allow AI to be used in students' project work. “Online services are still highly requested even after COVID,” he said. “The church members in Germany are not less digital, they’re more digital,” he said.  He shared the finding that, in 2022, 25% of the population of Germany used Facebook on a daily basis. “In churches, it’s Instagram that’s on the top—and it’s around 60% of people,” he said.  Sievert concluded: “What we can say overall is that church members are one to three years ahead in terms of the general population in digitization in Germany.” Learn more: European Christian Internet Conference on Ethical and practical issues in AI use Photo: Ivars Kupcis/WCC See more

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 352 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay from the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa. Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches 150 route de Ferney Geneve 2 1211 Switzerland