This conversation took place at Theology Beer Camp 2025 on artificial intelligence, moderated by Michael Morelli with Ben Chicka and Noreen Herzfield, and it’s one of the most grounded conversations I’ve heard about AI from a theological perspective. Noreen has this incredible background in computer engineering before becoming a theologian, and she’s not buying the Silicon Valley hype. They talked about how AI trained on human feedback becomes sycophantic and biased, how the whole AGI-by-2027 promise is already falling apart, and why the AI bubble is probably about to burst. But the hopeful part is this: they argued that AI can’t replace the actual human connection that changes lives – the teacher who hands you the right book at the right time, the older person who shares a cassette that transforms you. Ben made this beautiful point about how we’re all here because of little encounters that were mustard seeds, and AI can’t replicate that kind of formation. Plus there was a computer programmer in the audience who basically said “there’s no intelligence here, it’s just yes/no questions” and everyone was like, exactly. It’s neither artificial nor intelligent – it’s just code.
Join us at Theology Beer Camp 2026!Noreen L. Herzfeld is Reuter Professor of Science and Religion at St. John’s University and senior research associate with ZRS Koper. A theologian and computer scientist, she is the author of several books, including The Artifice of Intelligence: Divine and Human Relationship in a Robotic Age and In Our Image: Artificial Intelligence and the Human Spirit. You can check out her previous visit to the podcast: Artificial Intelligence, God, & the Limits of Perfection
Benjamin J. Chicka is Lecturer in Philosophy and Religious Studies at Curry College in Milton, MA. He is a philosophical theologian whose work connects classical American pragmatism, process theology, and ground-of-being theology. Such bridge-building between supposedly incompatible positions reflects his conviction that intrareligious pluralism is as important as interreligious pluralism for the future of theology. Previous podcast visit: Theology & Video Games
Michael Morelli is Assistant Professor of Theology & Ethics and Program Manager, Life-Long Learning at Northwest Seminary & College (a founding member of ACTS Seminaries, and affiliate of Trinity Western University). He holds a PhD in Theological Ethics from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, is the author of Theology, Ethics, and Technology in the Work of Jacques Ellul and Paul Virilio: A Nascent Theological Tradition (2021), and editor of Desert, Wilderness, Wasteland, and Word: A New Essay by Jacques Ellul and Five Critical Engagements (2023). He publishes and presents on a variety of topics within the fields of theology, morality, culture, politics, and technology. He has also worked in local church ministry and continues to serve the church in a lay capacity. Previous podcast: Jacques Ellul & the Technological Society
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