Artificial Intelligence in Theology and Spirituality: Foundations, Contrasts, and Proposals for its Implementation

Abstract

This qualitative and reflective study addresses the foundations, contrasts, and proposals of artificial intelligence in theology and spirituality from a critical and proactive perspective. Using content analysis (contributions from the Magisterium and UNESCO) and inductive coding, the findings reveal a profound contrast between the two perspectives. Theology conceives of the human being as a personal, relational, and integral reality endowed with dignity, freedom, conscience, and openness to transcendence, living in community, seeking goodness and truth. In contrast, AI tends to reduce the human being to a functional and instrumental being that only processes data, ignores history, and promotes cultural exclusion and digital colonialism. It is emphasized that human intelligence is a gift from God that integrates experience, abstraction, emotion, morality, and spirituality in order to interpret reality. AI, on the other hand, only reproduces and performs specific tasks. Although it surpasses human intelligence in data analysis, it lacks experience, understanding, and theological reflection. It is concluded that AI offers valuable tools for theological-biblical research, proclamation of the Gospel, religious formation, liturgy, and pastoral ministry; however, its implementation requires critical thinking, discernment, ethics, human supervision, and measures to avoid errors, biases, and hallucinations.