AI Advancements May Point to Jesus, Says Google Developer

At the Missional AI 2025 summit held at One Community Church in Plano, Texas, over 500 participants from 100+ organizations across 30 countries gathered to explore the intersection of AI and faith. Themed “AI Collision — Shaping the Future Together,” the three-day event brought together technology experts, ministry leaders, and innovators to discuss AI’s potential impact on church missions, Bible translation, and human identity.

A highlight of the summit was a panel titled “The Sweet Smell of Data,” where developers Daniel Wilson and Jacob Bullock discussed how AI is enhancing Bible translation. Rather than replacing human translators, Wilson emphasized AI’s supportive role, explaining that the models are designed to reflect how translation teams work—capturing their decisions, style, and voice. Bullock added that AI should be seen as “fertilizer,” not a substitute for Spirit-led translation efforts. Its purpose is to reduce manual burdens and allow more focus on spiritual engagement and community-led translation work.

Attendees were also introduced to XRI’s offline AI translation tool, which allows Bible translation in remote or hostile environments without internet access, addressing both safety and accessibility.

In a keynote address, Richard Zhang of Google DeepMind challenged Christian technologists to lead ethical conversations around AI. Zhang noted that as reasoning capabilities become cheaper and more accessible, it could prompt a societal shift toward humility and spiritual seeking. “As intelligence gets cheaper,” he stated, “it’ll humble us… it’ll all point to Jesus.” He believes this emerging “reasoning revolution” could push humanity to reflect more deeply on identity, faith, and being made in God’s image.

Missional AI 2025 showcased not only technological breakthroughs but also a renewed focus on the Church’s calling in a rapidly evolving digital age, including AI and faith. For more details, refer to the original article on Christianity Daily.