Artificial Intelligence in Light of a Theology of the Cross Reflecting the Philosophy of George Grant and Simone Weil
The promise of the age of Al, as evangelized by its greatest apologists, is nothing short of revolutionary transformation. It will transform the way that we work, the way that we play, and it will radically alter our relationships to self, others, and the world. For some, the advent of the Age of AI will usher in a technological Utopia.
There are many dangers in this vision founded upon the necessary march of progress. This narrative is a repetition, in many ways, of the narrative that accompanies most technological change. It is driven by the engines of inevitability and the fear of being left behind. This narrative tends to miss the way in which technology alienates us. Our increased use of AI will alienate us from the sources of knowledge, from traditional wisdom, and from the formative nature of suffering in relation to learning. There is a particular danger of conflating what is necessary (progress!, in the technological narrative) with what is good.
Our increased use of AI will alienate us from the sources of knowledge, from traditional wisdom, and from the formative nature of suffering in relation to learning.
George Grant and Simone Weil have thought deeply about the relationship of necessity to goodness as well as the role of suffering and mystery in our spiritual formation. Reflecting on their philosophy will help us to respond to the challenges of AI. In relation to these questions Grant looks to the Heidelberg Theses of Martin Luther, especially thesis 21: "The theologian of glory says that evil is good and good evil; the theologian of the cross says that the thing is as it is."
The theologian of glory says that evil is good and good evil; the theologian of the cross says that the thing is as it is.
According to Grant's use of this thesis, the temptation to link the necessary and the good finally trivializes the mystery of the cross. It is the mystery of God that these two truths coincide: God's providence is necessary, and that goodness is God (Lk 18:19). It is only in the suffering of the cross that necessity and goodness meet. Our relationship to history requires a form of agnosticism that allows us to recognize the distance between necessity and goodness in our experience. Bringing this analysis to our understanding and use of AI raises many important questions.
What might it mean to bring this form of agnosticism to our relationship with AI? How do we avoid the temptation of a theology of glory in regards to AI? Ultimately this calls us to engage the question of formation with regards to technology. Both George Grant and Simone Weil recognize the necessity of transcendent justice shaping our engagement with the world. The challenge of technology is its tendency to alienate us from nature and even from ourselves. What might a holistic encounter with Al look like? How do we see it as it is? As this paper engages these questions it will explore Sabbath practices as a way of shaping this holistic encounter.
*Dr. Jeff McPherson recently presented at Baylor University’s conference, Technology and the Human Person in the Age of AI (February 26–28). His paper, “Artificial Intelligence in Light of a Theology of the Cross: Reflecting the Philosophy of George Grant and Simone Weil,” explores how Christian theology can offer a thoughtful response to the promises and challenges of emerging technology. Drawing on the work of Grant and Weil, Dr. McPherson invites us to consider how faith, suffering, and truth shape the way we engage AI and the world around us. The above is an excerpt from his paper presented at Baylor University.
About the author
Jeffrey McPherson
Jeffrey McPherson received his Ph.D. from McMaster University (Ontario, Canada) in 2006. He joined the faculty at Roberts Wesleyan University in 2011 and has served as Chair of the Department of Religion and Philosophy since 2015. His doctoral dissertation was a theological and philosophical study of the worldviews of Jonathan Edwards (famous American Puritan theologian) and Alfred North Whitehead (well-known mathematician and philosopher—Founder of Process Philosophy).