FOR THE SAKE OF THE FUTURE CONFERENCE The Church, Robotics & A.I.

For the sake of the future conference.

A conference, especially for Christian leaders, to explore the theological, social and practical implications of advances in artificial intelligence and robotics.

God built into creation every technological possibility that could ever be devised, so no discovery or invention is a surprise to Him. The robotics and Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) of today are the most recent tools that can help us, or do harm, as they could in some cases change our view of what being human means. Margot James MP, the new Minister of State for Digital is taking steps to ensure there is proper ethical oversight in this area. It’s vital that the Church is involved with this! A recent positive article by the CEO of ABB, a leading supplier of robots for industry, said that instead of being concerned they could take control, ‘we must channel our energies into mastering robotics, A.I. and other technologies for better lives.’

Last year, we had thousands of orders for Dr Nigel Cameron’s new book The Robots Are Coming – Us, Them and God and received such positive feedback on how inspiring and helpful it is. It’s still available on Amazon UK or through CARE. On Friday 29 June, we are hosting a conference to explore the theological, ethical, social and practical implications of advances in A.I. and robotics and to discuss how the Church might respond. It’ll be held at the state of the art Knowledge Centre at the British Library in Central London, home to over 150 million items in most known languages and some of the world’s most precious treasures. If you’re involved in local church leadership or have a particular interest in theology, science and technology do take up the ‘early bird’ price by 3 May. There are special concessions for students and those retired from church ministry. Speakers already confirmed include Professor John Lennox, Dr Nigel Cameron, futurologist Dr Patrick Dixon and CARE CEO Nola Leach.

In God we trust

Human beings are incredibly important to our God of love, and that's why Christians have always been at the forefront of caring for others as part of their worship. We know that one day, when all of God’s purposes are accomplished, Christ will wind up history, creating a new heaven and a new earth. I firmly believe we must serve Him and care for others, as if His coming will happen today and yet to plan, as Dr Nigel Cameron says, as if that glorious event were still a thousand years or more in the future.

Lyndon Bowring, Excutive Chairman