A few months ago, I published AI for Clergy, a book that grew out of a simple observation: nearly every rabbi, pastor, imam, and chaplain I meet is curious about artificial intelligence, but most are engaging with it like someone poking a suspicious casserole at a potluck. A little prod here, a little sniff there, and then the familiar refrain: “I’m not sure this is for me.”

Fair enough. Religion has been wrestling with new technologies for as long as we’ve been carving letters into stone. But AI isn’t just another shiny gadget. It’s a tool already shaping the psychic weather of the communities we serve. Pretending otherwise is like insisting the internet is a fad or that congregants aren’t secretly asking ChatGPT to write their wedding vows.

This moment isn’t about novelty. It’s about responsibility.

AI is Here — Whether We Want It or Not

I hear clergy tell me, “My congregants aren’t using this stuff.” Meanwhile, teens in confirmation class are generating midrash in seconds. Adults are drafting ethical wills with language models. B’nai mitzvah students are sneaking AI-generated divrei Torah into Google Docs like contraband comic books.

And people in real distress? They’re pouring their hearts into chat windows at 2 a.m., because the bot is awake when the rabbi isn’t.

That should make us sit up. Not because AI is replacing clergy — it isn’t — but because it has quietly become a pastoral........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)