Body, incarnation and artificial intelligence — on the concept of humanity, presence and the embodied human

Artificial intelligence can write, answer, imitate voices, and create images. It can simulate conversation, presence, and understanding. But what does it mean for our view of humanity that more and more human expressions can be technologically imitated?
In Christianity, humans are not primarily information, consciousness, or language, but an embodied being: created, vulnerable, dependent, and connected to others.
The lecture revolves around how AI relates to our understanding of humanity, embodiment, spirituality, and dignity — and what theology can contribute to the conversation about artificial intelligence.
Johanne Stubbe Teglbjærg Kristensen is an associate professor of theology at the Department of Systematic Theology, University of Copenhagen. She works with systematic theology as embodied theology, with the embodiment of God in Christ, and with the Christian concept of humanity.
Human in an Artificial Age At Eliaskirken, we gather for a lecture series titled Meaning, Faith & Ethics about the questions that shape our lives, our communities, and our way of being human. In 14 lectures in the autumn of 2026, we focus on artificial intelligence.
AI is no longer just a technological phenomenon of the future. It is already part of our everyday lives, our language, our work, our relationships, our imaginations, and our choices. This raises big questions: What happens to our attention, judgment, and responsibility when machines can write, answer, sort, create images, imitate voices, and perhaps even give us an experience of presence?