AI Policy and Disclosure
Even the most tech savvy among us would agree that sometimes it feels like tech innovations are moving faster than we can understand! Certainly new tech is in use before we’ve had time to discern any potential harm or other unintended consequences it may cause.
The 81st General Convention created an interim body (Task Force on Artificial Intelligence and Intellectual Property) to “[consider] the relationship of The Episcopal Church with generative AI, including but not limited to: The use of generative AI in writing and preparing sermons and liturgies; The use of generative AI in hiring; The use of generative AI in writing theological and academic works; The use and potential misuse of The Episcopal Church’s copyrighted materials; and Investigation of best practices with regard to generative AI from various sources, including other Christian denominations and nonprofit organizations;” to be completed by the 82nd General Convention.
However, we know that the AI challenges we face today are very different from the AI challenges we’ll face in 2027 at the 82nd General Convention. And this issue is complex! Environmental concerns, concerns about truth and accuracy, concerns about equitable access to income-generating tools, and on and on and on!
Our church will stay engaged with our senior diocesan staff and will update our policies as they evolve.
For now, however, here are some things that are true:
- We do not use AI-generated video, photos, or graphics. All the graphics and photos you see are done by members of our parish who, for the most part, are not professionals in this field.
- No parish publications – online or hardcopy, including letters, statements, social media posts, and emails – use AI generated content.
- There are a few members of our staff who use AI-powered scheduling and task management tools.
- In our effort to make our online presence as accessible as possible in our limited amount of working time, we might use a tool to generate alt text for photos; however, no alt text is saved that has not been reviewed and, in most cases, edited by a staff person. Our videos on Facebook and YouTube do have captions which are generated by AI-powered tools within their services. We do not review or correct them.
We will continue to update this page as our understanding of this issue evolves.