What if artificial intelligence is allowing us to reward our own bad behavior? At what point is the need for the sort of efficiency AI promises to provide driven by our skewed priorities, broken systems, and unwillingness to address our problems through non-technological means?
I don’t doubt that AI will help humans move beyond where we could go individually or together in certain arenas. Like other technological platforms, AI will have benefits. As we look at the various ways AI models are being used, we need to consider in a robust fashion who is benefiting from these new technologies and, perhaps more importantly, how they are benefiting.
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For instance, Rand found that “more teachers than other working adults reported burnout, and about half as many teachers reported feeling resilient to stressful events compared with other working adults.” A CBC News story reinforces the issue of teacher burnout by describing the challenges of Canadian teacher Jessica Reid who “until recently…was overwhelmed by her workload as an elementary school teacher…while also raising three young kids of her own.”
The piece highlights the growing use of AI, particularly platforms like Eduaide and ChatGPT, to lighten the administrative roles of teachers and provide tools to enhance the teaching and learning experience. Eduaide is framed as a “tool to help eliminate teacher burnout and make high-quality teaching resources universally accessible.”
AI to the rescue. Or maybe not.
While “teacher burnout” is often cited as the problem, author Alexandra Robbins suggests, “I believe ‘teacher burnout’ is a myth — and the term should be ditched.”
She goes on to conclude, “Instead of asking teachers to do the impossible and calling them ‘burned out’ when they can’t, school leaders should fix the underlying causes — school climate, staffing numbers, and resources — not just to prevent employee demoralization, but because that’s how a proper workplace should operate.”
While the efficiency offered by platforms like Eduaide may allow teachers to manage unrealistic loads, they also allow school systems to move forward without making any of the reforms Robbins suggests. If teacher burnout is a symptom of organizational dysfunction, it is possible that the system will simply recalibrate to “take back” the efficiencies AI is providing teachers. Worse, the school systems may decide that the best way to handle “school climate, staffing numbers, and resources” is to further leverage technology by employing fewer and fewer of those pesky human teachers.
AI is consistently presented as a solution. In some cases, it may be. Yet, we should not dismiss the possibility that AI is treating near-term symptoms while masking deeper problems. Those who are feeling pain at the moment are happy to have even some momentary relief. They may or may not be thinking about the long-term impact of the solution because they only know that their lives are more manageable.
While we are right to be concerned with the state of education, Christians need to consider how AI adoption may cover up similar problems in the church. Before jumping to the conclusion that the church needs technological solutions, we should take a step back and ensure we are not masking the challenges we should be addressing.
For instance, a 2021 Lifeway Research study identified “developing leaders and volunteers” (77%), “fostering connections with unchurched people” (76%), and “people’s apathy or lack of commitment” (75%) as the top three “ministry and personal issues…most pastors recognize as a need.”
None of these problems lend themselves to an AI solution, yet various AI platforms have been developed to make sermon preparation more efficient. Interestingly, in a 2014 survey, Lifeway found that “pastors of effective churches spend 22 hours in sermon preparation each week versus four hours for pastors of comparison churches.” If sermon preparation is a marker of stronger pastoral leadership, why are we trying to make it more efficient?
The data indicates that pastors need people, not technology. As Barna reports, pastors feel a fair amount of stress, are concerned about political divisions in their congregation, and feel “lonely and isolated.” Our pastors don’t need AI; they need dedicated individuals who are willing to volunteer, committed to serving their local congregations, able to set aside political differences for the cause of Christ, and available to provide friendship and support.
We shouldn’t demonize AI. It will solve certain problems. At the same time, we shouldn’t default to AI as the solution to every problem.
We have to avoid our tendency to misdiagnose our situation because when we fix the wrong problem, we don’t provide a real solution. Ease and efficiency generally sound good. Yet, however helpful AI may end up being, we can’t use AI as a means to ignore the problems that will require time and effort to solve.
We should not pretend deeper issues don’t exist because AI has alleviated one symptom or another because we can’t outsource the task of loving our neighbor to AI. After all, bearing one another’s burdens requires time and effort, not ease and efficiency.
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James Spencer earned his Ph.D. in Theological Studies from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He believes discipleship will open up opportunities beyond anything God’s people could accomplish through their own wit and wisdom. As such, his writing aims at helping believers look with eyes that see and listen with ears that hear as they consider, question, and revise the social, cultural, and political assumptions hindering Christians from conforming more closely to the image of Christ. James has published multiple works, including “Christian Resistance: Learning to Defy the World and Follow Christ,” “Useful to God: Eight Lessons from the Life of D. L. Moody,” “Thinking Christian: Essays on Testimony,” “Accountability, and the Christian Mind,’ and “Trajectories: A Gospel-Centered Introduction to Old Testament Theology.” In addition to serving as the president of the D. L. Moody Center, James is the host of “Useful to God” a weekly radio broadcast and podcast, a member of the faculty at Right On Mission, and an adjunct instructor with the Wheaton College Graduate School.
