Náboženská společenství se shodla na naléhavé výzvě přesměrovat AI od zisku k životu

16.9.2025
POCHEON-SI [Světová rada církví]

Faith leaders from six continents have issued a theological response to artificial intelligence and the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), calling for a "spiritual revolution" to counter technology's role in deepening global inequality. The World Council of Churches, with five major Christian communions, released a theological communique following a consultation in South Korea where 45 church leaders, theologians, and academics examined AI through the lens of justice and faith.

The consultation ran from 27-29 August in Pocheon-si, South Korea, organized by the New International Financial and Economic Architecture, a joint initiative of the World Council of Churches, World Communion of Reformed Churches, Lutheran World Federation, World Methodist Council, Council for World Mission, and United Society Partners in the Gospel.

"Scripture proclaims that humanity is created in the image and likeness of God. This dignity is irreducible. It cannot be replaced by data, commodified by algorithms, or rendered disposable by automation," the communique states. "Whenever AI reduces people to consumers, gig workers, or raw data, it violates the imago Dei and denies the sacredness of life."

The theological document warns that AI technologies, emerging within global capitalism's profit-driven framework, are creating what faith leaders call a "digital empire" that perpetuates colonial patterns of exploitation. As AI rapidly expands worldwide, industrialized nations and multinational corporations race to dominate this field, widening the gap between those who profit from AI and those exploited by it.

Faith leaders stressed that the challenge of AI "is not only economic or technological; it is also spiritual and theological." While acknowledging that technology can improve lives through medical advances and education, the communique warns that current trends threaten to eliminate tens of millions of jobs while creating precarious, poorly paid positions without basic labor rights.

Consultation participants highlighted the environmental costs of AI development. "Despite its digital appearance, the 4IR is deeply material," the communique notes. AI hardware requires minerals extracted through destructive practices that pollute ecosystems and endanger workers, including child labourers. Data centres consume massive amounts of electricity and water, often in regions where communities lack access to clean water or stable electricity.

The consultation participants called for action on multiple fronts. Churches should create global platforms exploring digital technology's impacts, defend ecological integrity against AI extractivism, and produce teaching materials about AI ethics. Governments must promote ethical AI governance grounded in transparency and accountability, ensure data sovereignty and equitable access to digital tools, and safeguard workers displaced by automation.

The tech industry receives specific recommendations: develop AI for the common good, include marginalized voices in design processes, and provide technologies to the Global South at reduced cost to bridge wealth gaps between nations.

"The question is not whether technology has a place in God's world, but how to convert that which is being used for the death-dealing logic of Empire to the service of life abundant," the communique states.

The New International Financial and Economic Architecture envisions an "Economy of Life for all" and this response represents a major faith-based examination of artificial intelligence and economic inequality.


Read the full theological communique and action plan here: https://oikoumene.org/resources/documents/nifea-consultation-theological-communique-and-action-plan-the-fourth-industrial-revolution-4ir-and-artificial-intelligence-ai-impacts-on-global-inequality-and-faith-rooted-responses

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