Are Machines of Loving Grace Really Possible? Simon Cross, Bishop of Oxford Join Teams<https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/33952528401344?p=dou1LPoYN9L4xT0rZE> Format: 35 min talk + 25 min Q&A Title: Are Machines of Loving Grace Really Possible? Abstract: This talk explores why it remains so difficult to translate high-level ethical principles for AI into concrete technical practice. Using Dario Amodei’s Machines of Loving Grace as a starting point, I examine the conceptual gap between ethical ambition and the operational realities of contemporary AI systems. By tracing connections between love, grace, and moral agency, the talk highlights fundamental differences between human beings and machines, and considers how these differences shape what ethical principles can meaningfully require of AI. Framed within a broader sociological and philosophical context, the discussion reflects an explicitly Christian metaphysical perspective, offered as a comparative lens for engaging with dominant secular and normative approaches to AI ethics. Bio: Dr. Simon Cross works on artificial intelligence for the Bishop of Oxford and parliamentary unit of the Church of England’s Faith in Public Life unit. His role encompasses the policy, regulatory, theological, ethical, and contextual aspects of ‘AI’. He briefs and advises the twenty-six Anglican bishops in the House of Lords on international governance and UK specific digital policy and legislation. He guest lectures and presents internationally on the practical and theological aspects of AI, and represents the Church of England among an active consortium of UK civil society organisations researching, advocating, and lobbying for good digital regulation and the common good. His perspective on ‘AI’ draws heavily from an undergraduate degree in theology; a master’s degree in science and theology at Durham University that explored the theological strengths and weaknesses of Einstein’s aphorism “God does not play dice with the universe”; and a DPhil from Oxford exploring the theological metaphysics of scientific perspectives on divine action. A former airline pilot, he has practical experience of the ways in which automation can equally augment or undermine human agency and believes ‘AI’s most pressing questions all cluster at the intersection of science, philosophy, theology, and ethics. Subscribe to future talk announcements: Anyone outside Bell Labs can receive talk announcements by subscribing to the mailing list. To subscribe, send an empty email with the subject line "Subscribe RAI” to daniele.quercia@polito.it