Analyzing the impact of artificial intelligence on theology with Sean O’Callaghan and Paul Hoffman
Air Dates: July 21 – July 27, 2025
The history of humanity is the history of individuals making decisions, sometimes collectively, and sometimes individually. New artificial intelligence, AI, brings a new player into the mix: machines capable of making decisions alongside or instead of their human counterparts. Sean O’Callaghan and Paul Hoffman grapple with the theological implications of this new technology.
Sean O'Callaghan is an associate professor of religious and theological studies at Salve Regina University, where he also serves as a coordinator of the AI Initiative. He previously served as director of the Ph..D.. program in humanities and technology and is currently a faculty member in that program. He received his Ph.D. in systematic theology from the University of Liverpool in 2008.
Paul A. Hoffman is an associate professor in the department of biblical and religious studies and director of the Preministerial Scholars Program at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. He previously served as a senior pastor and is the coauthor of “Preaching to a Divided Nation,” named an Outreach 2023 Resource of the Year. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Manchester.
On this episode of “Story in the Public Square,” O’Callaghan and Hoffman discuss their new book, “AI Shepherds and Electric Sheep: Leading and Teaching in the Age of Artificial Intelligence,” which was published earlier this year. The two focused on the impacts that artificial intelligence could have on learning and theology and O’Callaghan assessed, “we’ve deliberatively thought through issues and got them down, and now we’re relying on a machine to do it for us.”
“Story in the Public Square” broadcasts each week on public television stations across the United States. In Rhode Island and southeastern New England, the show is broadcast on Rhode Island PBS on Sundays at 11:00 a.m. and is rebroadcast Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. Check your local public television listings for airtimes near you! An audio version of the program airs Saturdays at 8:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. ET, Sundays at 2:30 a.m. and 9:30 p.m. and Mondays at 4:30 a.m. ET on SiriusXM’s popular P.O.T.U.S. (Politics of the United States), channel 124. “Story in the Public Square” is a project of the Pell Center at Salve Regina University. The initiative aims to study, celebrate and tell stories that matter.