Artificial intelligence (AI) will change the world. But how might it change us as humans and as people of faith?
Attendees will have an opportunity to explore those questions at the 2024 Fall Convocation at Perkins School of Theology. With the theme, “Faith in a Digital Age,” the event takes place November 14-15 at Hughes-Trigg Center, 3140 Dyer Street, on the campus of SMU. Online registration is open now through November 1, 2024.
“With the advent of AI, I think people are worried about the loss of human agency and volition, particularly as it relates to how we are formed spiritually and engage with community,” said Bart Patton, Assistant Dean of External Programs and Church Relations at Perkins School of Theology. “Many pastors and leaders are already using AI as a time-saving tool. But they’re also wondering, ‘If AI is accomplishing things that humans accomplish, what does it mean now to be human?’”
This year’s Fall Convocation features two full days of lectures, breakout sessions and panel discussions as well as time for worship. Guest lecturers are author Cole Arthur Riley and Noreen Herzfeld, a professor of science and religion. Artist Jennifer Monet Cowley will create art on-site during the program.
Riley is a writer, poet, and the author of the New York Times bestsellers, This Here Flesh: Spirituality, Liberation, and the Stories that Make Us and Black Liturgies: Prayers, Poems, and Meditations for Staying Human. Her writing has been featured in The Atlantic, Guernica, and The Washington Post. Riley is also the creator and writer of Black Liturgies, a project that integrates spiritual practice with Black emotion, Black literature, and the Black body.
Herzfeld is the Nicholas and Bernice Reuter Professor of Science and Religion at St. John’s University and the College of St. Benedict, Collegeville, Minnesota. She holds degrees in Computer Science and Mathematics from The Pennsylvania State University and a Ph.D. in Theology from The Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley. Herzfeld teaches courses in both the department of computer science and the department of theology at St. John’s University and the College of St. Benedict, reflecting her two primary research interests—the intersection of religion and technology, and religion and conflict. Various topics include computer theory, computer ethics, religion and science in dialog, the spirituality and politics of Islam, and religion and conflict.
“Dr. Herzfeld is a premiere scholar on Christianity and AI,” said Patton. “I think this program will offer some unique perspectives that attendees can’t get anywhere else.”
During the event, Dallas-based artist Jennifer Monet Cowley will also create an original piece of art, interpreting the topic of “Faith in Digital Age.” Cowley works in a variety of media: colored pencils, pastels, gouache, acrylic, watercolors, and collage. As Curator at Dallas’ African- American Museum at Fair Park, she assembled several groundbreaking art exhibitions.
The Convocation begins with Opening Worship at 10 a.m. Thursday, November 14, and concludes on Friday, November 15 at 2:30 p.m. with Closing Worship. Participants may choose to attend either day or both. The registration fee is $120 for the entire event, including lunch on both days. Attendees may register for a single day for $75. CEUs are available for an additional fee of $15.
For more information and to register, visit the event page here.