A Framework for Understanding and Implementing AI Ethically in Bible Translation

A framework for the ethical role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Bible Translation is presented here as an application of a thesis for the general understanding and ethical use of AI, proposed recently by Andy Crouch at the Praxis Redemptive AI Forum.

Building on A Redemptive Thesis for Artificial Intelligence - A call to repair and redeem through AI, six grounding assumptions provide context for the ethical understanding of AI in Bible translation:

1. The enduring image
2. A pattern of deceptions
3. Very good and also very distorted
4. As consequential as the Internet — or electricity — or agriculture
5. Asymmetrical risk—even without a singularity
6. The fantasy of the superhuman

and six redemptive directions provide guidance for the ethical use of AI in Bible translation:

1. Redemptive AI will inform but not replace human agency.
2. Redemptive AI will develop rather than diminish human cognitive capacity and extend rather than replace education.
3. Redemptive AI will respect and advance human embodiment.
4. Redemptive AI will serve personal relationships rather than replace them.
5. Redemptive AI will restore trust in human institutions by protecting privacy and advancing transparency.
6. Redemptive AI will benefit the global majority rather than enrich and entrench a narrow minority.

A range of use cases exploring the implementation of ethical AI in Bible translation will be assessed by the application of a "Redemptive Thesis for Artificial Intelligence" framework as a rubric.


Crouch, Andy. A Redemptive Thesis for Artificial Intelligence - A call to repair and redeem through AI. https://journal.praxis.co/a-redemptive-thesis-for-artificial-intelligence-ff7dafdd01b5.
Accessed 11 March 2025.