Last month my team and I read an impactful article on Artificial Intelligence. You can read it yourself at the link above – it will take 15 minutes. It’s quite eye-opening! A.I. is working its way into our lives. In my ministry context when I see an article talking about an entire A.I. University it should at least make me spit my coffee! What could InterVarsity’s mission ever possibly be in an A.I. university!

That’s a little extreme, Tim. Maybe you’re getting ahead of yourself? Toward the end, the article did deliver on its hook – what an actual artificially intelligent university might look like. But well before we get to something that far out, the presence and impact of A.I. on university education IS being felt pervasively. Even if I see few changes in my my four-state area, I’m very convinced changes are well underway at a swift pace. When you read the article these are the kind of lines jumping out from the shadows as you read:pit

• Everything is about to change!
• A.I. will continue to assert itself into the classroom forever altering the relationship between students and professors.
• Prepare for an ever-widening chasm between technologically advanced colleges and those that are cash-starved and slow to adapt.
• A.I. will be used to increase enrollment.
• Over the next decade A.I. will decimate faculty ranks through attrition and displacement.
• Teaching Assistants and Graduate Assistants will be the first casualties of A.I. displacement.
• Personalized A.I. agents will be assigned to new students (in place of their human academic advisors).
• By the end of the the decade, A.I. agents will incorporate avatars.

“A.I. agents will allow for truly lifelong learning. Undergraduates will be able to take the entirety of their college education with them on a portable, scalable block-chain – every syllabus, every text, every assignment, every interaction with every professor, every grade, every lecture, every experiential activity, every email – and an A.I. agent that can mine that vast repository as needed.” p.72

Some things kind of make you chuckle at first till you realize “Hey, that could actually happen!” Our target audience in GFM are faculty and grad students. In the article A.I. seems like a cool new virtual assistant avatar for undergrad students, but in actuality it’s a disruptive force that could replace the very need for student driven graduate research projects. A force decimating faculty jobs! The University of Michigan actually has agentic virtual teaching assistants! I wonder what InterVarsity is thinking about how this impacts our mission?

I’d LOVE to hear from you!

Is there a great source you’ve discovered as you’ve been learning about Artificial Intelligence? Have you thought much about a theological interpretation of the trends? What are your questions about A.I. and the university? What should InterVarsity staff be asking ourselves about our mission? Grad Faculty Ministry aims to “be a redeeming influence among the people, ideas and structures of the university and professions?” Will we seek to dwell in “digital spaces” like when covid pushed us there? Will we attempt something outrageous like disciple-making staff avatars? I can’t believe I dared to ask a question like that. I’m honestly put off by rumors of staff members using A.I. to draft prayer letters to donors or write talks on how to have an effective quiet time!

Meanwhile, I am realizing how extremely ignorant I am of all things A.I. I could keep faking it (talking about A.I. without ever using it for anything practical). I could demonize it and keep it at arms length. I could blindly keep letting it creep into my world while ignoring it. But here’s how I’m currently trying to get a grip on it:

1. I’m going to read everything I can on A.I. and education for starters.
2. I’ll keep processing what ministry and mission means in light of changes coming at us.
3. Faculty members are really significant people to consult with. They are in the crosshairs of the issues more than anyone else in our ministry. Lots of coffee gonna get spilled on this topic!
4. Keep asking the question: What does it mean to be a person created in God’s image?
5. Medicine and Artificial Intelligence interests me greatly! I’d welcome your thoughts or suggestions of what to read/explore.

A word about year-end finances before I go buy my firecrackers!

Thank you so much for your incredible faithfulness and generosity. Most of you know that I have been working really hard to get better funded. Two years ago I sketched out a plan to position myself on IV’s pay-scale where my hours and job description place me. I have a little chart sitting here on my desk that I sketched in February of 2023. It showed I needed to increase my annual salary by 21.5 % in order to get fully funded. As this fiscal year wrapped up June 30, that goal was finally met! The past two years have been really fruitful in terms of new donors and increased giving from current donors. Thank you so much for your part in that!

“Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.” (2 Co 9:10-11 NIV)

If you get an extra minute after looking at that incredible article, hit the email reply below and send me your thoughts! Have a great weekend!