AI x Faith

What happens when machines begin to speak, respond, and even “care” as we do?Explore the profound questions at the heart of today’s AI revolution with theologian and computer scientist Noreen Herzfeld. Drawing from her acclaimed book, The Artifice of Intelligence, Herzfeld will examine how artificial intelligence challenges our understanding of human uniqueness, the image of God, and what it means to love our neighbors in an increasingly digital world.Rather than asking whether AI can truly think or feel, Herzfeld reframes the conversation around the core of Christian faith: relationships, embodiment, and responsibility. With clarity, humor, and real-world examples—from chatbots to care robots—she will demonstrate how emerging technologies are subtly reshaping our relationships and why Christians must pay attention to these shifts. Noreen Herzfeld is Director of the Benedictine Spirituality and Ecotheology Program at St. John’s School of Theology and Seminary and Senior Research Associate at the Institute for Philosophical and Religious Studies (ZRS) in Koper, Slovenia. She is the author of The Artifice of Intelligence: Divine and Human Relationship in a Robotic World (2023), In Our Image: Artificial Intelligence and the Human Spirit (2002), and Technology and Religion: Remaining Human in a Co-Created World (2009). She also serves on the AI Research Group for the Centre for Digital Culture of the Vatican Dicastery of Culture and Education, for which she co-wrote and edited Encountering AI: Ethical and Anthropological Explorations (2024).Greg Cootsona joins the discussion with Noreen Herzfeld after her lecture. Greg is the executive director of AI and Faith and is a lecturer in Comparative Religion and Humanities at California State University, Chico, where he has worked collegially and successfully alongside colleagues in other faith traditions in a secular academic setting. He is a leader and regular participant in the American Academy of Religion unit on Science, Technology, and Religion. Greg co-founded and is Associate Director for Science for the Church, a nonprofit designed to bring science to Christian congregations as a resource for spiritual growth. He is also an ordained Presbyterian Church (USA) pastor and serves as Pastor of Discipleship and Care at Bidwell Presbyterian Church in Chico, California, having previously served at the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York City.This event was recorded live at Upper House on March 11, 2026.  Send us Fan MailUpper House Commons gathers the university community for spiritual, intellectual, and vocational formation.We explore big ideas and engage in conversations that matter within arts and humanities, justice and society, leadership and vocation, science and technology, spiritual formation, and theology. Whether you are a student or faculty member at UW–Madison or beyond, working in the marketplace, or serving in the church, we see you as part of our university community. Gather with us for one of our programs —our “commons”— each a pasture for shared spiritual, intellectual, and vocational formation.Head over to our events page to see what's coming soon, or mark your calendar for these upcoming programs.Find out more slbf.org/upperhousecommons