Does God suffer with AI?

AI in Action

Patricia McAlernon

Last month I was invited by a colleague to attend a presentation given by Sean Galligan entitled ‘The Cavan Orphanage Fire, 1943, Remembering the 35 children and one adult lady (80) who died’. The event was hosted by PEACEPLUS who have already donated some money to go towards the cost of a permanent memorial to the children and one adult who lost their lives that fateful night of February 23rd, 1943, in the St. Clare’s Dormitory.

Sean delivered the talk with emotion in his voice and he connected with myself and all the other people in the room. Following the talk the attendees were taken to the site of the fire and we were shown the wall where a memorial would be located.

Why did so many children and one adult die that night? Some will ask where God was when so many were suffering and needed his help. Does God suffer with us? It reminds me of an assignment I had to complete during my theology studies at St John’s Nottingham many years ago. ChatGPT or Claude, technology based on AI technology, were not available to help me with my assignment. Nowadays, some religious organisations are using AI to increase their congregation and others to help write their sermons. Some ministers believe using AI to prepare their weekly sermons prohibits delivering a Godly message to their congregation which comes to them via the Holy Spirit. Others believe AI is a gift from God, should be used ethically and is a useful tool to find relevant verses in the Bible for a themed sermon. Leviticus 10:1-3 refers to “unauthorized fire” or “strange fire”. Perhaps some Christians and other religious people may interpret this as a warning not to use AI technology as a replacement for God and to avoid conversations with chatbots for their spiritual needs. In any case, we don’t need to go through any person or technology to have a conversation with God.

On the night of the Cavan Orphanage fire apparently the victims were told to recite prayers to deliver them from their suffering. There were no advanced fire alarms or sensor systems driven by AI to warn them of a fire starting on the floor below their dormitory. AI technology was not available to automatically unlock the doors to allow them to escape. There were no AI-powered cameras to identify the exact location of the fire. Mobile phones connected by Wifi were not available to automatically contact the fire services. Nowadays, in technology advanced countries, fire services use AI to predict fires in forests and populated areas using LIDAR equipment. The AI model is trained using data gathered from past fires to include wind measurements.

AI used correctly can save lives. Unfortunately it couldn’t help the 35 children and one adult in the Cavan Orphanage Fire in 1943.