The “moral weight lies not in what AI is, but in what our use of AI is doing TO US…The pressing ethical question is no longer: ‘Does AI deserve to be treated well?’ It is rather: ‘Is one training oneself to be the kind of person who speaks and acts in a way consistent with the renewed image of God?’”

At a recent colloquium I met a brilliant and energetic young scholar, Sam Ha, who is presently the theological librarian and curator at the Meeter Center in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Despite his youthful appearance, Ha has completed his doctoral studies (only his dissertation remains) and also serves on faculty at Calvin Theological Seminary. One of his practical studies is “Learning from John Calvin: Church History for Preachers.” At the recent Calvin Studies Society Colloquium, he presented on the topic of Calvin, Creation, and AI—a timely study to be sure.

Sam began by denying that his presentation was written by AI or that this would not be another “WWCD” retrieval (“What Would Calvin Do”). His paper (a future chapter, so watch for his work) was largely practical. He summarizes the problem as exploring whether human cognition is still unique or whether AI challenges humanity’s matchless ability. If AI can mimic human speech or writing, then are we in danger of becoming little more than a sophisticated system?

As we already have witnessed stunning advances in AI, this question is no longer futuristic. According to Ha, Calvin’s doctrine of creation helps with three insights:

1. First, Calvin argued that human beings have a duty to look after the creation as it is God’s gift.
2. For Calvin, creation is a gift from God, and we are not simply to consume or abuse that creation. Instead, “We are to exercise ourselves in meditating on his goodness and paternal care” (Calvin on Genesis 1:29-30)
3. More specifically, the action of ruling the earth is not viewed as an opportunity for unrestrained exploitation, but for genuine care.

According to Calvin’s view of creation as summarized above, our interaction with AI may be “morally irrelevant.” Notwithstanding, Ha contends that it is not that simple, nor is Calvin that useless.

Calvin’s focus on human uniqueness (the image of God) typically addresses the imago Dei in others as the ground for how we assign human dignity. Ha reports Calvin’s view (from Inst. 3.7.6): “We are not to consider that human beings merit of themselves but to look upon the image of God in every human person, to which we owe all honor and love.” If that is the end of the issue, then there would be little need to treat AI with more importance than any other tool. Ha sees the traditional reading as emphasizing the “one who receives the respect.”

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