CHARLOTTE, N.C.—With news about artificial intelligence making headlines daily, Southern Evangelical Seminary (SES, www.staging.ses.edu) President Dr. Richard Land has signed onto and endorsed a “Statement of Principles” regarding artificial intelligence from the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention.
According to the ERLC, where Land is President Emeritus, “It is tempting for all of us to think that the impact of AI is a far-off phenomenon that doesn’t affect your daily life. And that is the problem. AI already drives so many aspects of our lives that we often don’t recognize it.”
Numerous Evangelical leaders, including Land, have signed the AI statement, which notes: “In light of existential questions posed anew by the emergent technology of artificial intelligence (AI), we affirm that God has given us wisdom to approach these issues in light of Scripture and the gospel message. Christians must not fear the future or any technological development because we know that God is, above all, sovereign over history, and that nothing will ever supplant the image of God in which human beings are created. 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.”
“I am delighted that the ERLC has taken the lead in composing and gathering support for this extremely important statement,” Land said. “As Christians, we are facing issues concerning AI that no human beings have ever had to address before. The hard and fast dividing line between what is human and what is machine has been breached by the advances in artificial intelligence. Just how much can human beings’ intelligence be enhanced by AI without being made either more than human or less than human?
“This important statement,” he continued, “provides an excellent starting point for laying the ground rules for how we can approach these issues with maximum probability of retaining the unique dignity and inviolability of human nature, and at the same time, benefit from artificial intelligence, which, after all, is the product of human ingenuity with which God gifted us uniquely as human beings. The ERLC’s ‘Statement of Principles’ is a roadmap to begin the journey, which will encompass a significant part of our future as human beings.”
Read the full ERLC statement on AI here.
For 27 years, SES has existed to equip students and ministry leaders to share the Gospel from an intelligent, informed and rational biblical worldview. Courses, conferences, seminars, guest speakers and more seek to accomplish this longstanding mission. Central to this purpose is the provision of a biblical basis and an academic understanding of believers’ commitment to Christ. Therefore, SES seeks to provide an educational opportunity where the Christian worldview is both a framework for thinking and a dynamic for living.
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