Instructor: Jonathan Barlow
The topic of artificial intelligence, previously a locus of philosophical speculation and fodder for science fiction, has moved to the center of contemporary debate about what it means to be human. The post-Christian West, having conceived of humans primarily as homo sapiens now faces a formidable cognitive rival in highly capable AI. Optimistic tech barons now marshal massive computational engines, poised even to revive nuclear power, in the quest to build machines whose intelligence is measured on a scale that runs beyond humans toward a theoretical “superintelligence.” Recent successes in AI have revived the secular soteriology of transhumanism and raised doubts about the enduring need for human labor. In a time when many anxiously ask, “What are humans for?”, the church has a fresh opportunity to exercise reasonableness, gratitude, and hope in the face of epochal change. In this Theopolis Institute course, we will learn to situate AI wisely within Scripture’s story of creation, fall, and redemption. Designed for pastors, teachers, and laypeople, the course will consider contemporary AI through the lens of Christian theology, with particular focus on creation, language, theological anthropology, theology proper, ethics, idolatry, and eschatology.
Location
Third Presbyterian Church, Birmingham, AL, 617 22nd St. S.
Cost.
$250 (15% discount available for Theopolis partners)
$125 Student Rate (high school & college students)
*Includes dinner/feast at Leithart home “Beth Elim” on Friday evening
About the Instructor
Jonathan Barlow is Associate Director of the Data Science Academic Institute and an assistant teaching professor at Mississippi State University. Previously, Barlow was Associate Director for Software Architecture and Development at NSPARC, a data science and digital government research center. Barlow received his Ph.D. in Historical Theology from Saint Louis University and his Master of Divinity from Covenant Theological Seminary. He serves as a PCA ruling elder at Grace Presbyterian Church in Starkville, Mississippi.
Register HERE.
Theopolis Institute admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies or scholarship programs.
*This requirement was added in July 2016. For those who entered the Certificate Program earlier than that date, the oral examination is voluntary.