Meet The Need’s partner True Charity believes, “every person is created with purpose, with dignity, with worth…by design“.  True Charity’s annual Summit taking place later this month (April 22-24) in Jacksonville Beach purports to equip practitioners to carry out the Lord’s design for effective charity.  A conference theme claiming to represent God’s perspectives on poverty alleviation seems audacious.  The presumed premise is that a biblical approach to helping those experiencing material poverty must honor and reflect each human’s inherent purpose, dignity, and worth.  That was certainly what Jesus modeled in each interaction with those He healed, fed, counseled, and consoled.

Effective charity principles recognize that poverty remediation isn’t binary.  However, generally speaking, the strategies a church or ministry adopts for serving those in need of help and hope can either:

• empower or create dependency
• equip or enable
• improve outcomes or prioritize outputs
• strengthen relationships or complete “transactions”
• build social capital or undermine it
• honor or undervalue the image of God in a person

In other words, some philosophies and methods align with God’s design for compassion and others don’t.  A church, charity, or individual may feel good about having done something, regardless of whether they choose option A or B on that list of alternatives.  However, not all charity is good for those on the receiving end.  Even well-intentioned helping can often hurt.

Is AI Part of God’s Design?

Thought leaders in the effective charity space, like True Charity and The Chalmers Center, might understandably be concerned that Artificial Intelligence could hurt more than it helps.  AI depersonalizes.  Effective charity is intensely relational.  AI automates.  Effective charity humanizes.  AI has divided.  Effective charity never disenfranchises.

Meet The Need has been developing solutions for nearly a decade that use AI for good.  Technology can advance the Kingdom.  Software can build social capital.  When the Internet was known in the early 2000s for scams and sex, Meet The Need was building web apps to unite and mobilize a fragmented body of Christ.  When studies revealed the dangers of social media, we applied AI to form social networks around those experiencing material poverty.  As concerns mount that Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) will take on a life of its own, Meet The Need is using AI not to (autonomously) preach but to teach Christians how to share their faith.  People, not machines, are the best conduits for reaching non-believers with the Gospel.

AI runs the risk of facilitating transactional, impersonal compassion for those who already practice those principles.  Yet it holds tremendous potential for social and spiritual good in the hands of those seeking…

1. EMPOWERMENT

Many fear AI will foster greater dependence on charities and government.  Agency suffers as options are eliminated.  AI threatens to remove positions occupied and responsibilities performed by humans.  Some even speculate AI will necessitate Universal Basic Income when it eventually drives the means of production.  However, AI by (God’s) design can empower mankind, even the destitute and marginalized:

• Link2Hope – puts AI in the hands of those who feel isolated to build supportive networks, increase economic mobility, and get off government assistance
• Apologetics App – equips Christ-followers with tools and training to carry out the Great Commission in their families, neighborhoods, and workplaces

2. RELATIONSHIPS

Many fear AI will impersonate and depersonalize.  AI agents could supplant human connection, even in charity.  Misunderstanding the root causes of poverty leads to responses that perpetuate it.  Because the underlying issue is more relational than material, Social and Relational Capital are needed to break cycles of generational poverty.  AI by (God’s) design can expand and strengthen personal relationships:

• Link2Hope – our partners at The Open Table assemble “Tables” to work with “friends”, using AI to address deeper needs beyond transactional “relief”
• Apologetics App – our partners at Apologetics, Inc. understand the importance of “training the found” to “reach the lost”, building not replacing relationships

3. DIGNITY

Many fear AI will undermine skills and devalue capabilities.  Those experiencing poverty often feel they have little to offer.  AI could confirm or challenge that perception depending on whether it acknowledges or ignores the image of God in each person.  AI by (God’s) design must recognize that everyone has a purpose and can contribute meaningfully toward bringing His Kingdom to earth:

• Link2Hope – leveraging AI to find more than jobs, but careers, to facilitate the difficult transitions of ex-offenders out of prison and youth out of foster care
• Apologetics App – preparing churchgoers for their rightful, evangelistic role beyond simply extending invitations to next Sunday’s worship service

4. INTENTION

Many fear AI will become another tower of Babel where the creation tries to exceed the creative capacity of its Creator.  Most AI pioneers are fueled by desire for profit or power, even at the risk of harming humanity.  Living for self, survival, or success (i.e. the American dream) is not God’s story of change.  AI by (God’s) design furthers His purposes, bringing hope to a world desperate for restoration and reconciliation:

• Link2Hope – as a Christ-centered non-profit, Meet The Need designs and invests in AI to tackle hunger, homelessness, recidivism, and child neglect
• Apologetics App – we’re applying AI to resolve another crisis…the fact that so few Christians possess the theological underpinning to defend their faith

5. IMPACT

Many fear churches and ministries are missing opportunities to take advantage of the potential AI possesses to transform lives and cities.  The primary AI tools used by pastors today are sermon generators.  Avatars and text generators are impeding authentic interactions within the Christian community.  Why aren’t more churches and Christ-followers asking how AI can reimagine GC³ (the Great Commandment, Great Commission, Great Calling) for the 21^st century?  AI by (God’s) design would promote unity (collective impact) among the body of Christ and flourishing (effective charity) across our nation in the name of Jesus:

• Link2Hope – includes local service providers, discipleship resources, invitations to connect, church member engagement, and service opportunities
• Apologetics App – includes virtual “mentors”, Q&A, user discussions, micro-lessons, debates to assess readiness, and a Seminary-lite curriculum

AI isn’t intrinsically good or evil.  It doesn’t implicitly follow or contradict God’s design.  Whether AI precipitates or impedes Kingdom advancement depends on how each church and ministry decides to utilize it.

It’s Your Turn…

Register to attend the True Charity Summit on April 22-24 in Jacksonville Beach, Florida.  Your church and ministry will take home proven strategies, models, and best practices.  You’ll walk away with principles aligned with the Father’s design for empowering families, building relationships, fostering dignity, and maximizing impact.