Derek Schuurman on a Reformed Worldview and Artificial Intelligence

Derek Schuurman teaches computer science at Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and often writes or speaks about ethics, faith, and technology, including artificial intelligence. He wrote the book Shaping a Digital World: Faith, Culture, and Computer Technology and coauthored A Christian Field Guide to Technology for Engineers and Designers, both published by IVP Academic. In this edited conversation, Schuurman offers helpful ways for Christians to think about artificial intelligence.

In what ways do you see artificial intelligence (AI) as part of God’s good creation?

It’s important to see AI and technology more broadly as human cultural activities that flow from latent potential in creation—things God intended us to discover. A narrow view defines creation as birds, bees, fishes, stars, humans, and so on. But creation is in fact all the things that God ordained to be. You might see the computer revolution as discovering a rich vein of ore. Adam and Eve may have been standing on sand that contained silicon—a common substance used in the fabrication of semiconductors—with no clue about its creational potential. 

Discovering how to use silicon in computer chips led to making bigger and better machines, which further opened up the field of software design, which opens up new possibilities, like AI. AI has shown amazing redemptive applications in medicine, drug discovery, environmental monitoring, wildlife preservation, assisting people with disabilities, and enhancing traffic safety.

American Bible Society’s 2024 State of the Bible Report shows that many Christians feel fearful and uneasy about AI.

Asking whether AI is good or bad is the wrong question. AI is part of God’s potential in creation, and it is the Reformed worldview not to reject any part of creation. In Creation Regained: Biblical Basics for a Reformational Worldview, Albert M. Wolters explains the theological notions of structure and direction: the possibility for technology is rooted in the structure of God’s good creation, and direction refers to how we unfold technology in either obedience or disobedience to God.

Can you say more about a Reformed theology of technology that applies to AI?

In “Our World Belongs to God,” a contemporary testimony approved by the Christian Reformed Church in North America, Article 50 states: “Grateful for advances in science and technology, we participate in their development, fostering care for creation and respect for the gift of life. We welcome discoveries that prevent or cure diseases and that help support healthy lives, . . . approaching each new discovery, whether of science or of medical technique, with careful thought, seeking the will of God.”

Article 50 also suggests further exploration: “In Genesis 1:28–31 and 9:1–7 [and Psalm 8,] God gives to humanity the right and responsibility to develop and care for creation; for a reflection on the limitations of human technology and need for divine wisdom, see Job 28; for the continuing goodness of creation and the need for a prayerful approach to what we use of it, see 1 Timothy 4:4–5.”

What’s a biblical example that can show us how to think about AI?

Let’s look at gold, mentioned 417 times in the Bible. Genesis 2:12 notes a land where the gold is good. In Exodus 35–38, God tells the Israelites to offer this precious metal for artisans to make into the ark of the covenant, lampstands, and more tabernacle items. The Magi come bearing gold and other gifts. Revelation 21 describes the New Jerusalem as a city made of pure gold.

Yet people in the Bible also used gold to build a golden calf and other idols as sources of security other than God. The Bible describes how greed for gold led people to ignore the needs of the poor and to go to war. I see AI like gold: something that can be directed toward good or evil.

In what ways do you see people using AI to work against God’s intended shalom?

It’s being used in so many harmful ways to spread misinformation and propaganda, intensify political polarization, manipulate public opinion, and deceive using deepfakes. People use AI to facilitate scams and automate cyberweapons. All this has led to widespread information overload and collapse of trust in people and institutions. AI is also being used to create virtual synthetic relationships, whether as romantic partners or robotic child minders. But a relationship with AI is really a relationship of one person: it’s all about you. This can damage your ability to have genuine relationships. 

What questions should Christians ask to determine whether they are using AI ethically?

In Calvin University engineering and computer science classes, we talk about seven basic design norms for technology. These norms are cultural appropriateness, transparency, stewardship, aesthetics, justice, caring, and trust. The transparency norm asks whether there’s clarity in how AI works. Lack of transparency can result in ignoring the norm of justice. Right now, we don’t know about the biases built into decision making algorithms about who gets hired for a job or approved for a loan or parole. Transparency also includes developing good documentation so that users know how to use the product, recognize potential dangers, and diagnose failures.

Applying the stewardship norm to AI shows us that while AI can do wonderful things that truly help people and the nonhuman creation, it is also very hungry for electricity. Training large language models requires a huge energy footprint. Is this energy use sustainable? How does, for example, smartphone e-waste affect the environment?

Can you say more about the norm of cultural appropriateness?

Calvin’s design norms say that “technology products should consider the culture into which they are embedded, cultivating improvement without disrespectful or unnecessary disruption.” Architects who design new buildings should be attentive to the aesthetic of the surrounding neighborhood while also innovating. Likewise, a thoughtful worship service should reflect the best of Christian tradition while introducing appropriate contemporary elements. Any technology introduced into worship should enhance worship and not create distractions. For example, new presentation technologies should enhance participation and not turn the congregation into an audience of spectators. When considering the use of AI in ministry, we must not only consider how it makes things easier, but what might become more difficult.

What else should Christians keep in mind when designing or using AI?

The Bible doesn’t say anything about AI, intellectual property, privacy, or personal information. This may lead to a dualistic view in which some things in life are sacred but other things, such as computer technology, are not. But AI, like any technology, is not value neutral. It can positively or negatively impact neighbors, caring for the earth, or respecting copyright. In whatever we do, even in our technical activities, we live coram Deo [in the presence of God].

When AI designers or users consider biblical norms and virtues, they realize that just because something can be done doesn’t mean it ought to be. AI ought to be shaped by the biblical norms of love and care and should contribute to shalom, which theologian Cornelius Plantinga has described as “universal flourishing, wholeness, and delight, . . . the way things are supposed to be.”

Can AI be trained to be virtuous?

As I argue in a recent Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith essay, “AI cannot be a moral agent and therefore cannot genuinely be virtuous.” However, the ways AI systems are designed can nudge humans toward repeated practices and habits that assist humans with virtue formation—or misdirect them to encourage certain vices. Virtuous programmers can strive to design AI programs that are trained to mimic certain virtues or behave in accordance with virtue.

Our faith can motivate us to apply Christian virtues to our technical work as a way to be faithful stewards and to show love for our neighbors. Our faith can also help us seek fruitful areas in which to use AI and avoid areas that would bring harm. That is why I am interested in the practical work of exploring exemplars of normative AI and in pedagogical practices for forming character and virtue in Christian computer scientists.