AI, Humanity, and the Image of God (www.aiandour.faith)

This essay—part of a monthly newsletter connecting theology and AI—argues that the biblical concept of imago Dei (“image of God”) supplies useful ethical benchmarks for assessing AI’s impacts. The author digests Karen O’Donnell’s work and outlines three historical theological readings: the substantive (Augustine/Aquinas) locates the image in human intellect and self-knowledge; the functional (rooted in Genesis and Gerhard von Rad) sees humans as God’s stewards exercising responsible dominion; and the relational (O’Donnell, Trinitarian theology) locates the image in mutual, self-giving relationships. The piece notes how modern science complicates strictly intellectual accounts of human uniqueness, and emphasizes stewardship and relational accounts as robust alternatives. Mapping these traditions onto AI, theologian Calum Samuelson’s view—that AI amplifies rather than transforms human tendencies—yields three concrete evaluative questions: does AI strengthen or erode human reasoning (substantive)? does it improve or degrade our stewardship of the natural world (functional)? does it foster or undermine genuine human relationship and self-giving (relational)? These complementary questions shift attention from abstract capability debates (e.g., AGI) to how AI shapes what it means to be human, offering practical moral metrics for designers, policymakers, and ethicists concerned with human flourishing.