Sam and Jony come to church
Technology - 050
“This is an extraordinary moment. Computers are now seeing, thinking and understanding. Despite this unprecedented capability, our experience remains shaped by traditional products and interfaces.” (Sam & Jony introduce io, 21/05/25)
Those are the opening words from the announcement of design group io’s merger with OpenAI. One of io’s founders is Sir Jony Ive, who is responsible for the form of some of the most successful technology products of the last 30 years through his close work with Steve Jobs at Apple. Now, he wants to do the same with Sam Altman, by designing new products for the AI generation. The laptops and smartphones of a previous technology period are to give way to more suitable products for those wanting AI models in their daily lives. Sam and Jony hope to achieve what companies like Friend, Humane, Rabbit and Plaud have failed yet to do, and give personal tech a new form. Will they succeed in integrating AI into the everyday? Maybe. But what I started wondering was this: if they do, what might an AI enhanced congregation mean for church worship services?
Translation is probably the most obvious way which comes to mind. UK churches, certainly in urban areas, can find that folk join their meetings for whom English is a second language or, sometimes, a barely known language. Flowing AI translation through ear buds would give them a much clearer connection into what’s happening during worship.
But what about translation for native English-speakers? There are big debates about how best to translate Scripture from its original Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. Some argue for dynamic equivalence to allow for natural flow in the target language; others for formal equivalence which tries to keep the language structure of the original text more intact. Will personal AI provide easy access to both as a user requests variations of the text for their own clarification and explanation?
Then there’s preacher-translation. Preachers are not equally gifted. Some don’t grasp the text well; some struggle to communicate clearly. Will AI be whispering an enhanced version of the sermon into some ears, with extra exegetical details, alternative readings, or additional applications?
And if such things become possible, what will the impact be on church life? Will it enhance the ability of Christians to share together in God’s word? Enable better spiritual conversations after the service? Deepen appreciation for the teaching that day? Or will it distract worshippers? Will it undermine pastors and put them under stress because they will be preaching to a congregation being advised by (virtual) Biblical experts? Indeed, will some congregants start to feel superior to the preacher, judging him for straying from common interpretation and getting carried away with his own ideas? Could AI damage church life and services such that they’re no longer places where the Lord, by His Spirit, meets with his people as a united body and speaks to them through his servant?
What do you think? In a little while, will churches need signs asking for AI to be turned off during the service, just as, now, people are asked to turn off their phones? What will you do if Sam and Jony come to your church?
Photo by Mohamed Marey on Unsplash
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Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language.