Today, I had the opportunity to address a conference at Pepperdine called “Wisdom, Tradition, and AI.” In conversation with voices from from the Christian and Muslim communities, I was asked how Judaism views AI based on where we find ourselves in between Yom Kippur and Sukkot. Who should we trust, the builders of AI or the builders of our booths, Sukkot?

As a fellow faith leader said, “Human beings are created in the image of God, and AI is created in the image of human beings.”

Just days after Yom Kippur, we enter a booth, a fragile temporary dwelling that we pray stands for the next eight days. We leave our homes, our devices, and our strong edifices and enter into nature where we do not have control.

To answer that question, I shared with the gathering the image of Sinai Temple’s Neila. 

Not one empty seat, thousands of souls together with tallitot over their heads blessing each other, flags of Israel in the air as we concluded with the ancient declaration of faith, Shema Yisrael. 

I cannot remove the image of young families lining up in the hallway this week to purchase a lulav and etrog, where we will recite, hodu ladonai ki tov, God we thank You for your everlasting kindness. 

And I know next week, so many of us will gather to dance with the Torahs at our Niv Raviv (z”l) Simchat Torah Festival to conclude the holy day season. The day we remember the horrific event of October 7th, we will take the Torahs from the ark and dance again. 

The builders of AI can replicate each of these experiences in ways we can never imagine. Yet the people in the sukkot, the people in our pews, and the people dancing with the Torah, you and me, we cannot fill our souls with human connection with the push of a button. We need the embrace, the smile, the tears, and the acknowledgment that God has instilled with us wisdom.

Today, I had the opportunity to address a conference at Pepperdine called “Wisdom, Tradition, and AI.” In conversation with voices from from the Christian and Muslim communities, I was asked how Judaism views AI based on where we find ourselves in between Yom Kippur and Sukkot. Who should we trust, the builders of AI or the builders of our booths, Sukkot?

As a fellow faith leader said, “Human beings are created in the image of God, and AI is created in the image of human beings.”

Just days after Yom Kippur, we enter a booth, a fragile temporary dwelling that we pray stands for the next eight days. We leave our homes, our devices, and our strong edifices and enter into nature where we do not have control.

To answer that question, I shared with the gathering the image of Sinai Temple’s Neila. 

Not one empty seat, thousands of souls together with tallitot over their heads blessing each other, flags of Israel in the air as we concluded with the ancient declaration of faith, Shema Yisrael. 

I cannot remove the image of young families lining up in the hallway this week to purchase a lulav and etrog, where we will recite, hodu ladonai ki tov, God we thank You for your everlasting kindness. 

And I know next week, so many of us will gather to dance with the Torahs at our Niv Raviv (z”l) Simchat Torah Festival to conclude the holy day season. The day we remember the horrific event of October 7th, we will take the Torahs from the ark and dance again. 

The builders of AI can replicate each of these experiences in ways we can never imagine. Yet the people in the sukkot, the people in our pews, and the people dancing with the Torah, you and me, we cannot fill our souls with human connection with the push of a button. We need the embrace, the smile, the tears, and the acknowledgment that God has instilled with us wisdom.

As we concluded our panel discussion, a Christian professor of AI, who is working to help paralyzed incurables move again through technology, quoted our common text, the Book of Genesis. When we complete our work, will God say the same words now that were repeated when the world was created?

It was good.

May the work of our souls create good work in the year ahead.