Artificial intelligence is going to make online theological & pastoral education obsolete by 2030. That’s a bold claim (feel free to remind me that I got this prediction wrong!), but likely to come to pass. Online theological education as it is currently deployed may continue to exist by that year, but it will be hopelessly and clearly dated and on its way out.
There are currently two kinds of online theological education. The first developed to provide pastoral education where it was previously absent. This approach is aimed primarily at the developing world or countries with infant churches that lacked their own institutional resources. The second kind of online theological education developed as an alternative option for constituencies that formerly attended classes in-person or residentially. Both kinds, but especially the alternative model, are going to find themselves out competed by AI education.
Read Full Article »