The Faculty of Theology and Religion at the University of Oxford was recently awarded a £1.6m John Templeton Foundation grant to support ‘God and the Machine‘, a new research project exploring artificial intelligence through theological enquiry.  

Based at the Faculty’s Ian Ramsey Centre for Science and Religion and led by Principal Investigator Dr Lyndon Drake, the project will bring theological scholarship into close dialogue with the technical realities of AI.  

Co-investigators on the project include Regent’s Tutorial Fellow in Theology, Dr Tim Middleton, alongside Prof Mark Harris, Prof Andrew Davison, and Prof Joshua Hordern.  

Dr Middleton said: “I am delighted to be contributing to this vital project. In particular, I am looking forward to investigating – in collaboration with others – some of the philosophical and theological issues raised by the use of AI technologies in climate and environmental science.” 

Principal Investigator, Dr Drake, said: “I am very pleased that Dr Middleton is part of this project, with his exceptional track record in theological research, combined with his scientific expertise. I am especially looking forward to his work on AI and epistemology, which is one of the most exciting and unexplored areas of theological engagement with AI.” 

Alongside scholarly publications, the project leaders plan to produce educational and other resources to bring findings into conversations with churches, technology developers, and wider society. Its ambition is to make theological research a substantive contribution to understanding and guiding AI’s role in scholarship and contemporary life.  

Read more about the project, the grant, and the Faculty here. 

The project is being made possible through the support of grant#63871 from the John Templeton Foundation.