Young adult caucus ponders grasping faith in an AI world — and finding hope when things look hopeless
A PC(USA) pastor is among those to address a workshop at the 27th Council of the World Communion of Reformed Churches
CHIANG MAI, Thailand — In a world where algorithms increasingly shape human interaction, young adults gathered at the World Communion of Reformed Churches’ 27th Council to ask what faith looks like in a digital age — and how to hold on to hope when despair seems to dominate the headlines.
Faith and technology
On Wednesday morning, about 30 young adults aged 18 to 35 came together to wrestle with questions of faith, technology, and purpose. Leading the conversation was William Gibson, a candidate for ministry in the Church of Scotland and a PhD candidate in Theology at the University of Glasgow.
Gibson invited participants to reflect on how digital tools — including artificial intelligence — affect their faith lives. “What concerns and what hopes do you have about digital tools and platforms?” he asked, prompting lively small-group discussion. One participant reflected that “digital platforms, including AI, influence how we think, instead of the other way around.”
Gibson shared his own experience of using technology to build community, describing how he and his wife started a house church that began as an online discussion group. “Eventually, that virtual connection became a strong, in-person community of about 40 people,” he said.
He then posed a deeper question: Can social media itself be a form of Christian witness?
A young adult from the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan offered a moving example. After a barrier lake overflowed and flooded homes in eastern Taiwan, her congregation used Instagram and Facebook to coordinate clean-up efforts. “Social media can be a kind of witness when we use it wisely,” she said. “It lets people see there is a link between church and society.”
When the discussion turned to artificial intelligence, Gibson acknowledged its practical benefits — speed, accessibility, and cost-effectiveness — but also noted its ethical challenges, especially its impact on labor and the environment.
“The proclamation of the church is our creative, collective task together,” Gibson said. “It’s about observing the world, learning from it, and responding to God’s act of creating. Our proclamation requires a creative response to politics, nationalism, patriarchy and war.”
He emphasized that what is at stake is not only faith but humanity itself. “The central question,” he said, “is about our humanity — our capacity to create and imagine. The process is just as important as the end result.”
Participants reflected on how faith can counter the performative tendencies of the online world. “Our witness should recognize that we all have different gifts,” one said. “We’re not in competition for the most likes.” Another added, “The digital world pushes values of self-glorification. We should be authentic, not performative.”
What does hope look like in these hopeless days?
Later that morning, Rev. Sabrina Slater, a PC(USA) pastor at Christ the King Fellowship in Spencer, New York, led a session centered on hope. “I’m confident God will be with us and has something to offer us,” she said. “I’m excited for that.”
Slater invited participants to introduce themselves and reflect on what they brought to their time in Chiang Mai. Then, she posed a challenging question: What are the hopeless things we see around us?
The responses came quickly — injustice, violence, polarization, corruption, poverty, colonization, genocide, war, apathy, starvation, and the climate crisis, among others.
Reflecting on Jeremiah 4:22–28, especially verse 27 — “The whole land shall be a desolation, yet I will not make a full end” — Slater noted, “We named so many things that tell us the Earth is in desolation, and yet we’re here. Scripture says ‘not to a full end,’ and that gives us this space.”
In small groups, the young adults turned to other texts — Genesis 1:27–2:3, Ecclesiastes 3:1–8, and Matthew 11:28–30 — and shared their reflections. One participant called the gospel reading “an invitation to rest in Jesus and partner with him in the work he has for us.”
“There is still work to be done,” Slater said, “but it’s OK to pause. One way we can hope is to seek God, ask God for hope, read scripture, tell stories, and listen to where God is in our midst.”
Her final words carried the tone of both challenge and comfort: “Be curious about where people are finding hope — and listen to those stories.”
The Rev. Jihyun Oh, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and Executive Director of the Interim Unified Agency, is leading a PC(USA) delegation at the 27th Council of the World Communion of Reformed Churches’ meeting in Chiang Mai, Thailand. More stories are available here and here.
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