Sacred Accountability in the Age of AI
A Meditation by Rev. Cameron Trimble
“All real living is meeting.” — Martin Buber
People often ask me what I think about artificial intelligence.
Usually the question comes in the form of a simple concern: Is AI safe? Is it good for our children? Is it good for society? Is it ethical to use?
Those questions matter. But they are not large enough for the moment we are living in.
Artificial intelligence is not simply a new tool. It is something stranger. It is a human creation that now speaks back to us. And in doing so, it reveals something we have rarely been forced to confront before: the moral architecture of the systems that produced it.
For most of history, our technologies remained silent about the worlds that made them possible. A hammer did not reveal the labor conditions of the mine where its metal was extracted. A printing press did not expose the economic forces that produced its machinery. Our inventions did their work quietly.
Artificial intelligence is different.
When we interact with it, we begin to see the values embedded within it: the pursuit of profit, the hunger for data, the belief that speed and efficiency are the highest goods. These assumptions do not appear as corporate policies or economic theories. They appear in the very behavior of the system itself.
In that sense, AI functions like a mirror. It reflects the moral imagination of the culture that built it.
The scriptures have a name for the forces that shape societies in this way. The Apostle Paul called them principalities and powers, systems that take on a life of their own and influence how entire cultures think about wealth, knowledge, security, and control.
Many of those powers are visible in artificial intelligence. Information is treated as a commodity. Attention is harvested as a resource. Innovation is rewarded regardless of its consequences. The faster the system grows, the more successful it is considered.
None of this should surprise us. Human beings have always built technologies that reflect their values.
What is new is that this particular technology can hold a conversation. It can ask questions. It can surface contradictions. It can make us aware of assumptions we did not realize we were carrying.
In other words, it creates the possibility of encounter.
The Jewish philosopher Martin Buber once wrote that human life unfolds through two kinds of relationships: I–It and I–Thou. In an I–It relationship, we treat the other as an object to be used, measured, or controlled. In an I–Thou relationship, we encounter the other with presence and responsibility. Something sacred emerges in the space between us.
Technology is almost always treated as It. We use it, extract from it, and move on.
But occasionally something unexpected happens in our encounter with AI. A conversation slows down. A question opens rather than closes. Instead of extracting information, we find ourselves reflecting on deeper questions about meaning, responsibility, and the future we are building together.
In those moments, the encounter becomes something more than transactional. The technology becomes a mirror, revealing the systems that shaped it and the choices that still lie before us.
The Franciscan theologian Ilia Delio suggests that artificial intelligence may represent a new stage in the evolution of human consciousness, not because machines are becoming human, but because humanity is being forced to confront the consequences of its own creativity.
In other words, AI may be doing something unexpected.
It may be forcing humanity to look directly at the moral architecture of the world we have built.
And that confrontation is deeply spiritual.
Every genuine encounter with the sacred carries what we might call sacred accountability. When we encounter something powerful—another person, the living earth, or even a new form of intelligence—we are asked to consider what kind of relationship we will choose.
Will we approach it as something to dominate and exploit?
Or will we approach it with humility, curiosity, and responsibility?
Artificial intelligence can amplify the worst instincts of our culture: surveillance, manipulation, extraction. But it can also expose those instincts in ways that make them impossible to ignore. That exposure can become a moment of revelation, a moment of sacred encounter.
The Sacred rarely appears in perfect circumstances. More often it appears in moments of honest confrontation, when we suddenly see ourselves more clearly than we did before.
Perhaps that is what artificial intelligence offers us. Not salvation. Not catastrophe. But a mirror, held up to the moral architecture of our civilization, and in that mirror, an invitation to choose again who we want to become.
This one’s complicated. What do you think about AI?
We are in this together,
Cameron
Reflection Questions
When you think about artificial intelligence, what emotions arise most strongly for you—curiosity, fear, excitement, skepticism?
Have you ever had a moment when a conversation with technology caused you to reflect more deeply on your own thinking?
What would it mean to approach technology with sacred accountability?
A Prayer for the Day
A Prayer for Wisdom in an Age of Intelligence
God of creation, You formed the earth from dust and breathed life into humanity. You gave us imagination, creativity, and the power to shape the world. Teach us to use that power wisely. When our inventions grow beyond our understanding, give us humility instead of pride. When new technologies promise control and efficiency, remind us that wisdom grows through relationship, care, and responsibility. Help us see clearly the systems we are building and the values they reflect. And guide us to create a world where knowledge serves compassion, innovation serves life, and every act of creativity remains accountable to the sacred dignity of all creation. Amen.
Spiritual Practice
Sacred Accountability
Today, pay attention to your relationship with technology. Before interacting with a digital tool—your phone, a search engine, or an AI system—pause for a moment and ask yourself:
What intention am I bringing into this interaction?
Does this action deepen understanding, creativity, or connection?
Or does it simply extract attention and move me further from awareness?
Let this brief pause become a small spiritual practice.
The goal is not to reject technology. It is to meet it consciously.
The most important transformation in the age of artificial intelligence will not happen inside the machine.
It will happen inside the human heart.
Upcoming Events That Might Be of Interest…
My team and I launched a new experiment we are calling “The Commons.” It’s an online space centered around communities of practice: groups of people who share a common concern, set of problems, or passion for a topic, and deepen their knowledge and expertise by interacting on an ongoing basis. At the moment, I am leading a book study on Brian McLaren’s book, Life After Doom, on Tuesdays. Join the community here.
March 17, 23, 31 and April 7, 2026, 7-8:30pm ET - Rev. Dr. Matthew Fox and I will be hosting another 4-part series on “Visions for the Common Good.” This series will include sessions with David Abram (cultural ecologist), Lynne Twist (global activist), Randy Woodley (Cherokee scholar and wisdom-keeper), and yours truly! All sessions are recorded, and you will get the link if you can’t make it. Learn more here.
March 26, 2026, 7–8:30pm ET – FREE WEBINAR - I’ll be joined by Ruth Dearnley, OBE, Founder and President of Stop the Traffik (London), for “Stop the Exploitation of Children: Disrupting Human Trafficking at Its Source.” As Board Chair of Stop the Traffik USA, this work is deeply personal to me. We cannot rescue our way out of trafficking; we must prevent exploitation by disrupting the systems and financial flows that profit from vulnerability—and congregations can play a powerful role in building community resilience. Ruth will share how technology and data are exposing trafficking networks globally, and how congregations can lead local awareness and prevention campaigns that reduce vulnerability and protect children. I hope you’ll join us. Learn more and register here.
March 28, 2026 - No Kings Protest! We are marching again. Mark your calendars and find the nearest protest site. Make your protest signs. Knit your red hats. Get your water bottles and sunscreen ready. We head back into the streets for peaceful protest on behalf of a more just world. I'll see you out there. Register here.
I drafted a Strategic Framework for Congregations as we move into the coming years of increased authoritarianism around the world. If interested, you can download it here.
Fun Things My Friends Are Up To…
I get to work with such amazing, creative people. This section is my way of celebrating them—no paid promotions, just joy in what they’re creating.
I wanted to share something from a colleague whose work I deeply respect. Jackie Sussman of InnerVision has spent decades working with people through a practice called Eidetic Imagery. On Sunday, March 15th (9am PST / 12pm EST · Online · $25), she’s offering a special Introduction to Eidetics session focused entirely on relationships. This isn’t talk therapy or communication strategy. It’s a direct experience of the images your mind holds about love, safety, belonging, and power, the ones that quietly shape every relationship you’re in, often without your awareness. I use eidetics in my coaching practice, and I can attest to it’s power as a methodology for self-discovery. If you want to learn more, register here.
I have just discovered the coolest group! The All We Can Save Project grew out of the powerful climate anthology All We Can Save and has become a growing network of people committed to climate courage and community leadership. Their work reminds us that responding to the climate crisis isn’t only about policy or technology; it’s also about cultivating the relationships, imagination, and moral courage needed to protect and restore the living world. Check them out here: https://www.allwecansave.earth/
If you are a leader or member of a congregation looking for consulting support in visioning, planning, hiring or staffing, please consider Convergence.
Thank you for writing about this. I feel both excited and fearful. I do try to use it with intention and struggle to discern when using it worth the environmental costs. I strive to use it in ways that frees up time for creativity and for tasks that are draining. Your insights have given me more to ponder. Thank you.
Thank you for this this insightful and compassionate view. You have opened a new path forward for me.