Atla Annual 2024

The emergence of artificial intelligence presents an unprecedented disruption to both the present and future of learning. In theological education in particular it presents a unique opportunity to embrace tendencies and capacities that have long been essential to our work but have been limited by the power of our tools and time.

In this presentation we will take a deep dive into what is described as "ensemble" tools. These are artificial intelligence tools that leverage both the generative and computational capacities of AI to transform the way that we access, understand, leverage, and innovate from the nearly immeasurable ocean of learning and expertise that is already with us.

Understanding how these tools can and should be strategically incorporated into our research and learning, particularly as we learn to expand into non-adjacent areas of inquiry (e.g., religion and medicine, religion and law, religion and political science, etc.), is essential to the future of theological education and theological libraries.

This workshop presents a framework for this kind of engagement, initial recommendations about policy for institutions, and an introduction to "stacking," a methodology by which user's can cultivate the compounding power of AI tools in their work. This workshop will also build upon the insights and presentations that are shared during the regular portion of the conference.

There is but a brief window for theological education not only to reach its full potential as a transformative force in higher education and the world, but also for shaping the future of human learning and expertise far beyond our disciplinary boundaries.

The philosopher Eric Hoffer captures this beautifully: "In times of change learners inherit the earth; while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists."

This is our moment.