AI Policy & 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!
Senior diocesan staff are engaged in cooperative conversations about what an adaptable and agile “promising practices policy” for AI use in diocesan work could be. Once we have clearer ideas, we’ll make recommendations to appropriate governing bodies.
For now, however, here are some things that are true:
- We do not use AI-generated video, photos, or graphics. As Episcopal Communicator Jason Franklin (who, incidentally, is the contractor we hired to guide our branding team in the Transition Leadership Team framework) recently said, “AI is a tool, not a creative engine.”
- No diocesan publications – online or hardcopy, including letters, statements social media posts, and diocesan 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 do 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 diocesan staff person. By the same token, transcripts and captions for videos are generated by AI-powered tools within our video editing software, but they are always corrected by a human (so those grammar errors you see – allllll human).