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Tech disparities in the Christian world

When writing for the Outlook's March 2024 issue, Eric Nolin struggled to find women leaders in the Christian world working with AI. What does that say about the tech world? About the Christian world?

Photo by Alex Kotliarskyi on Unsplash

Over the past few months writing “Generative AI: Its innovation, implications and use in the Christian world” for the Presbyterian Outlook, I interviewed some incredible people working with artificial intelligence, and their stories have much to share about what AI might mean for us as a society and as Christians.

But if you read the article, you’ll notice something about me and my interviewees. We’re nearly all men.

While working on the piece, I tried to look for a diverse range of voices speaking on the subject. However, as I networked with people during my research, I was having trouble finding women leaders in the Christian world who were also working with AI.

It feels pertinent to acknowledge this disparity, and as another man, I am distressed about any part I played in perpetuating a male-centric narrative on such a pressing topic. I decided to take another look, and what I found, while not surprising, was concerning.

Depending on which survey you look at, only about 30% of the tech workforce is comprised of women. That means for every 10 people sitting around a table working on tech innovation, only three will be women. Black and Latin@ women in tech are even less represented, collectively comprising about 4% of the workforce.

The percentage of leadership positions held by women is also quite low. Inequality in the workplace is nothing new. Pay disparities. Lack of diversity. Microaggressions. Glass ceilings. These are concepts we’re familiar with. And the tech field, with its emerging focus on artificial intelligence, is plagued by the same issues.

With only 30% of those working in tech being women, the next intuitive leap assumes that there are even fewer Christian women working with AI.

With only 30% of those working in tech being women, the next intuitive leap assumes that there are even fewer Christian women working with AI.

This is concerning. The history of the Western world is filled with episodes where women and those who are non-White are left out of the decision-making process. And when they’re left out, nothing good ever comes of it. With the explosion of generative AI, we are on the cusp of another turning point in human history, and it appears men are still running the show.

But it doesn’t have to stay like that. The arena of artificial intelligence presents us with a new opportunity.

We might not be able to right the imbalance in the tech field, but as a Christian community, we can tend to our own house and set things right at our own table. The discussion around AI is a clean slate for us to come together and partner as the body of Christ as we discern the way forward. We need to have the conversation together.

The world is going to keep moving, and technological innovation is going to keep hurtling forward. As we, the Christian family, endeavor to engage with it, let’s see if there’s a way to do it differently than the world does. It doesn’t have to be 30% in our house. We can aspire for equal access to the table in the kingdom of God.

Women, if you’re out there working with or theologizing about AI, your voices matter.

Women, if you’re out there working with or theologizing about AI, your voices matter.

Men working with AI, look at who’s around you. Are there diverse perspectives informing your use of this new technology? Or are we caught in another feedback loop?

Artificial Intelligence is heady enough as is, no one voice can dominate the conversation. It needs to be a collective effort, a whole-body effort, of all Christian voices sharing space at the table together.

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