Spirituality in the Age of AI (ON ZOOM)

We are now entering a brand new era in which the convergence of the internet and the computing power available to us has accelerated our knowledge -- and that shift is having huge implications for spirituality. With artificial intelligence dramatically increasing our scientific knowledge, the faithful must ask ourselves: how can the church be relevant today? When people question why they need God, when technology can literally provide the answers for which we used to pray ... what should our answer be? How do we use AI in a way that’s beneficial to people’s spiritual development?

Join us for a morning of discovering the current state of AI technology and what it could mean to our spirituality in terms of growth, challenges, and opportunities in the years ahead. This gathering will include input from the presenter, time for reflection, and facilitated small-group conversation.

About the Presenter:

Elzar Simon, or Dodjie Simon to friends, is the Senior IT Director for Global Infrastructure at New York University, a multi-billion-dollar university ranked among some of the most prestigious research universities in the US. Prior to joining NYU, Elzar was Vice-President of AIG and was part of the team that pioneered enterprise data management in the largest insurance company in the world, headquartered in Manhattan, near Wall Street. He has over 35 years of global IT leadership experience in various industries/sectors, including international container seaport and shipping operations, logistics, finance, federal government, healthcare, IT, and higher education.

Elzar is an author of two books on artificial intelligence titled AI Hacked and AI Hacked 2, which are distributed globally by Amazon. Elzar has delivered lectures on AI to various universities across the United States and abroad, including Harvard University, Brandman University (which is now University of Massachusetts Global), the University of the Philippines, and Ateneo De Manila University. He has also delivered AI lectures to professional organizations and institutions like FINEX (Financial Executives), the International Association of Financial Executive Institutes (IAFEI), the Filipino American Society of Architects and Engineers (FASAE), and the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital Medical Alumni Society in America (UP-PGH MASA). He has also delivered lectures on Artificial Intelligence to top executives of large corporations such as the China Banking Corporation Board of Directors and executives, as well as the SM Prime Holdings Board of Directors and officers.

Elzar is married to Dr. Elisa Simon, who works as a psychiatrist at a forensic hospital in Southern California. They are the parents of three children: Joshua John, Elisha Paul, and Ysabel Grace—all graduates of prestigious universities in New York.