AI can simulate a teacher, but it can’t shepherd a soul
Across America, education is changing at a pace few could have imagined even a decade ago.
Artificial intelligence is being deployed to train machines to teach our children. School systems are embedding gender ideology and political agendas into their curriculum with little regard for parental input.
At the same time, traditional values are being pushed to the margins, and our students are caught in the middle.
We’re witnessing a moment that demands urgent attention: Will we preserve the soul of education, or surrender it to machines and ideologies that don’t know the human heart?
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The recent announcement that Microsoft, OpenAI and Anthropic are launching an AI-powered "teacher training academy" is a sign of what’s coming. At first glance, it sounds innovative, maybe even helpful. But the deeper question is this: What is education really for?
Education is not merely about delivering information. It’s about shaping lives. At its best, it forms character, teaches discernment and prepares students to serve their communities with integrity. That kind of formation can’t be automated. It requires a relationship. It requires mentorship. It requires people.
At Southeastern University, we’re not anti-technology. In fact, we’re actively exploring ethical ways to use AI to serve students and improve access to learning.
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But we draw a clear boundary: AI can assist educators, but it must never replace them. Because no machine, no matter how advanced, can love a student, model virtue or guide a young adult toward a life of purpose.
We believe every student is made in the image of God, and that shaping a soul requires more than a circuit board.
The deeper danger in this shift isn’t just logistical, it’s philosophical. When we hand over the role of teacher to algorithms, we’re also handing over the power to decide what gets taught, how it’s taught and what values are emphasized. In an era where AI is already reflecting and amplifying ideological bias, that should concern every parent and educator in America.
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Are we prepared to let unelected tech companies, with their own worldviews and profit motives, determine how future generations learn, think and believe?
This is about more than machines. It’s about the mission of education itself.
We must reclaim education as a deeply human, deeply moral enterprise. We must elevate teachers, not replace them. We must ensure that classrooms remain spaces where students are not just informed but transformed, not just prepped for a career, but prepared for a calling.
Now is the time for Christian colleges and universities to lead boldly. We must protect the relational core of learning, model truth-seeking without compromise, and remind our nation that the formation of a soul can’t be outsourced.
Let’s use technology, but never be used by it. Let’s build an educational future that reflects the dignity of every student, and the responsibility we have to shape them with wisdom, courage and conviction.