AI and Gardening

© RM Bancewicz

The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.                                                                                                  Genesis 2:15 (NIV)

Regardless of our job or role in society, we are all, at our core, gardeners – cultivators of the world. I am not much of a literal gardener myself, but I know that gardening consists of fulfilling two equally important tasks: releasing potential and maintaining the conditions of flourishing.

Our core purpose is to ‘work’ the garden of the world, releasing its abundant potential for all to enjoy. Alas, extraction and exploitation have been a dominant story in our world. We are equally called to ‘take care of’ the garden, fostering the conditions of flourishing and fruitfulness with reverent care.

Throughout history, humans have crafted tools. From spears and ploughs to steam engines and computers, tools have increased human force and capability. We have used them both to work and to exploit the garden of the world, to nurture and to undermine the conditions of flourishing.

With the arrival of increasingly capable AI systems and other so-called frontier technologies, our fundamental purpose remains the same. As in the past, we can release potential and nurture ‘the life of the world’, rather than exploit our neighbours and extract from creation. Yet the challenge is steeper because of the unprecedented power of our latest tools.

How might you use a powerful AI assistant to bless others and bring out the best of them? If you are, say, a teacher, you might use AI to help craft an engaging lesson that will stretch and delight your pupils. If you work in the corporate sector, an AI assistant might help finally organise your life and release precious time to give to your church community, family and friends.

Father God, please help me to discern what I can do to help ensure that AI and other cutting-edge tools are used to release rather than extract potential, to nurture rather than destroy the conditions of flourishing for all your creatures. Amen.

Nathan Mladin, Theologian, Theos

This post is from The Works of the Lord: 52 biblical reflections on science, technology and creation, edited by Ruth Bancewicz (Bible Reading Fellowship, 2025), £10 from The Faraday Institute shop