Preaching the Gospel in Times of Artificial Intelligence
Adventist communicators event discusses how to make AI an ally to the Church’s mission.
June 22, 2023 | Brazil | Felipe Lemos, South American Division, and Adventist Review
Artificial intelligence (AI) use and resources has becoming increasingly popular lately. What was previously limited to academic research and cinema production with a futurist bent has definitely become closer to everyday life. According to Search Logistics, “the global AI technology market is expected to skyrocket in the next few years, reaching a total market value of US$190.61 billion by 2025.”[1] According to research released by Forbes Advisor, the most popular uses of AI today include responding to messages, inquiring about financial issues, planning travel itineraries, and crafting social media posts. [2]
Other analyses of future trends point to AI as responsible for significant changes in various areas of human life, including health, education, and human and social development, among others. This also includes religion, which is also part of the impacted by chatbots, generative AI powered by increasingly sophisticated processes.
Ways to make artificial intelligence systems in allies to fulfill the mission of the Adventist Church were discussed at the event. [Photo: South American Division News]
This large gathering of more than 100 participants, known as the Global Adventist Internet Network (GAiN), has always had the goal of reflecting about technology and communication and applying them to the mission of the Adventist Church. In 2023, the five-day meeting took place in Columbia, Maryland, United States.
Artificial Intelligence and Evangelism
The solid biblical foundations that inform the message the Adventist Church preaches can be leveraged with the use of AI, Emmanuel Arriaga, who works at Google, suggested. He understands that artificial intelligence is useful in the context of the Adventist Church for the elaboration of proposals, documents, and research. He reminded GAiN participants, however, that the platform and models development includes ethical discussions.
Erick Sperandio Nascimento, a university professor and researcher, stressed that AI tools are opportunities to implement unprecedented content creation models to evangelize. He mentioned, for instance, the importance of using tools for theological counseling and solutions for biblical studies. “It is possible to structure systems to provide personalized studies based on people’s preferences,” he said.
Applied Intelligence
The Adventist Church already has practical applications for AI. An example coming from South America is the chatbot or virtual Bible assistant called Hope, built and implemented six years ago. The system provides people with real-time support, in Portuguese and Spanish, for their studies. It has a database of nearly six thousand official web articles produced by the Adventist Church, as well as 89 Sabbath School Lesson Guides and 63 books by Adventist Church co-founder Ellen White.
William Timm, coordinator of the Novo Tempo Digital Bible School, explained that between 2019 and 2023, the tool has assisted 278.422 students, more than 40 thousand of them just in 2023. “It is possible to use technology in a way that is useful for the spiritual nurturing of people,” Timm said. According to coordinators, thousands have been baptized as a result.
Feedback form Participants
For South American Division communication director Jorge Rampogna, “events like [GAiN] make us reflect on the need of using every possible opportunity to share the gospel and support mission.” Abel Márquez, communication director in the Inter-American Division, added that “GAiN is an event that fosters interaction and creativity that keeps us up to date regarding ideals and tools for digital evangelism.”
Chrystelle Agboka, head of news production for the Adventist Church in the North American Division, emphasized that technological advances like AI can make the work even more effective. “As communicators, we have a lot of power to shape the brand of the Adventist Church, reach people inside and outside of it, and help make disciples.”
The original version of this story was posted on the South American Division Portuguese-language news site.