Thinking Faithfully About AI: PLTS Hosts a Disputatio for Our Time

In a digital age that is always reforming, artificial intelligence (AI) has rapidly become part of everyday life—shaping how we work, learn, create, and make decisions. With both enthusiastic adoption and deep concern surrounding AI, faithful leaders are increasingly asking urgent questions: How do we live well in a world shaped by AI? How do we respond theologically? And how do we equip leaders to accompany people as they navigate ethical and moral decisions? Register here: admissions.callutheran.edu/register/AIDisputatio

To explore these questions, Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary will host a Disputatio on Artificial Intelligence on Wednesday, February 25, 2026, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. PST, offered online and in person at the PLTS campus in Berkeley.

Drawing on the medieval questio model, the disputatio invites participants into rigorous, faithful inquiry—raising multiple perspectives, testing assumptions, and resisting simplistic either/or answers. This tradition reflects a deeply Lutheran approach to discernment: careful distinction, communal wisdom, and theology rooted in lived discipleship rather than soundbite debate.

The day will include:

  • The central Disputatio on Artificial Intelligence

  • Community worship

  • Lunch

  • A variety of themed, generative conversations led by theology and AI experts

  • Engagement with voices from medicine, ecology, and higher education

A featured highlight of the day is the Elizabeth and Harvey Mohrenweiser Lecture, titled “Ethical Decisions at the Interface of Scientific Knowledge and Medical Practice Require Participation of Individuals of Faith.” This annual lecture addresses the moral and ethical crossroads where faith, science, and medicine meet. Dr. Harvey Mohrenweiser brings decades of experience studying genetic variation and its relationship to environmental exposure and disease—grounding the conversation in real-world ethical complexity.

For leaders across our synod—pastors, deacons, educators, and lay leaders—this gathering offers a rare opportunity to become, as the organizers put it, “bilingual in theology and technology.” At a time when AI is reshaping society faster than many institutions can respond, this disputatio offers tools for thoughtful, faithful leadership rooted in Lutheran theological tradition.

Registration is now open.

Register here: admissions.callutheran.edu/register/AIDisputatio

Grand Canyon Synod, Leader Resources, Region 2Brian FlatgardPacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, Artificial IntelligenceComment