On July 25-26 2024, the Museum of the Bible and AI and Faith held a conference titled “Generating Wisdom: Artificial Intelligence and the Bible.” Speakers came from both humanities and technical backgrounds to address the opportunities and challenges posed by using AI in biblical translation and interpretation, as well as the application of biblical wisdom to AI as a technological and cultural phenomenon. AI and Faith was well represented at the conference, with members attending and speaking. Below are summaries of the talks given by each speaker along with a few highlights. More information on the conference and speakers, as well as links to individually recorded talks, can be found here.
On the morning of the first day, we heard talks from Cassie Weishaupt, Ryder Wishart, Randall Tan, and myself (Marcus Schwarting) on how AI is used in the Bible translation process and how it can be leveraged effectively. In my estimation there are two forces that, while not at odds, would lead to different applications of AI: a sense of evangelistic urgency and a sense of caution. The former grapples with the reality that people are dying every day without having the chance to accept Jesus Christ. Therefore, we ought to use AI to quickly translate and deploy Bible translations around the world1 . The latter recalls times when translation mistakes and clear misinterpretations have led to heresy, division, and even violence. So given the difficulties of using AI reliably, we ought to leverage AI only in the most limited contexts (if at all). These two forces, and their implications, permeated the talks and the panel discussion in the first session.
On the afternoon of the first day, we heard from Elizabeth Robar, Mark Graves, Sara Wolkenfeld, and David Zvi Kalman under the theme of applying ML/AI methods to study sacred texts. Elizabeth Robar examined the sorts of tasks AI should be used for, and how local communities can benefit from using AI in their own language to engage with sacred texts. Mark Graves used an unsupervised topic modelling approach to assess the statistical differences and similarities among books of the Bible and drew a number of interesting connections from topics highlighted by the model2 3 . Sara Wolkenfeld considered some of the ethical and practical tradeoffs of incorporating AI into studying sacred texts such as the Torah, the Mishnah, and the Talmud. Finally, David Zvi Kalman spoke on how Jewish texts might be “conversed with” using generative AI tools, and the potential benefits and detriments of doing so.
On the morning of the second day, we heard from Melanie Dzugan, Marius Dorobantu, Daren Erisman, and Douglas Estes on how theological and philosophical principles might be applied to future AI development. Melanie Dzugan explores different perspectives from information ethics and its bearing on AI developments. Marius Dorobantu breaks down the biblical notion of the imago dei and, in contemplating a hypothetical scenario of human-level AI, what makes humankind distinct from machines4 . Daren Erisman offered a biblical response to large language models through the narratives of the tower of Babel and the post-resurrection Pentecost. Finally, Douglas Estes5 contrasts ancient ideas of the apocalypse with current AI developments, and how AI may be a means of fulfilling apocalyptic scenarios.
Overall, I thought that the conference at the Museum of the Bible was a great success. I had the opportunity to meet many collaborators in person that I had only ever seen over a video call. Personally, I find it encouraging to hear from so many bright, thoughtful people who share a love for Christ and a passion for artificial intelligence. A big thanks to Wesley Viner and others at the Museum of the Bible for making the conference run so smoothly, despite extenuating circumstances. A big thanks also to representatives from AI and Faith and the ASA who partnered with the Museum of the Bible to put this conference together. I look forward to seeing how the conversations and connections made at this conference will bear fruit in the months and years to come.
