Orthodox Christian Ethics and Artificial Intelligence: Anthropological and Theological Challenges
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24193/subbto.2025.1.04Keywords:
Artificial Intelligence, Orthodox Theology, Personhood, Orthodox Christian ethics, AI EthicsAbstract
In an era increasingly shaped by Artificial Intelligence (AI), Orthodox Christian theology is called to engage critically and constructively with the ethical, spiritual, and anthropological challenges posed by this technological transformation. While AI excels in data processing and simulation of human behavior, it fundamentally lacks personhood, freedom, and spiritual discernment—elements essential to the Orthodox understanding of the human being as created in the image of God. This article explores how Orthodox theology, grounded in the patristic tradition, offers a distinct framework for evaluating AI: one that upholds human dignity, relationality, and the sacredness of embodied and sacramental life. Rather than rejecting AI, the Orthodox approach calls for discernment—embracing technology as a tool for ministry and human flourishing, but resisting its use when it undermines communion, spiritual depth, or the mystery of divine grace. The question is not whether AI will change the world—it already has—but whether this change will align with the vision of the Kingdom of God. Orthodox Christianity offers a prophetic voice in the digital age, proposing that true transformation comes not through algorithms, but through theosis—our journey toward divine likeness through love, prayer, and communion with God and neighbor.
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