Bradford Cathedral Asks How We Can Remain Human In An Age Of AI

On Friday 30^th October, Bradford Cathedral will host Re:Imagine Humanity, an open conversation about what it means to be human in an age of artificial intelligence, biotechnology and rapid technological change.

The event features theologian and ethicist Dr Nathan Mladin and is part of Bradford Cathedral’s wider Re:Imagine series, which explores some of the complex and contested questions facing contemporary society… but Re:Imagine is not about telling people what they should think or say. Instead, it seeks to create a space where people can become more confident about how they think and talk together when the issues are difficult, contested or emotionally charged.

In a public square that can increasingly feel fraught, people can easily retreat into private spaces where we only encounter those who agree with us or we divide into opposing camps where disagreement becomes anger. Re:Imagine seeks to occupy the space between the private and the public: a place where people can remain present to one another even when they do not share the same conclusions.

Re:Imagine Humanity will explore how technological change is challenging some of our assumptions about ourselves. What makes a person a person when technology can increasingly imitate human intelligence, empathy, creativity and communication? Can artificial intelligence genuinely create? What happens to our understanding of human dignity when biotechnology can alter, enhance or extend human life? And what might faith contribute to conversations about humanity in a rapidly changing world?

Dr Nathan Mladin says:

“The advent of Artificial intelligence is an opportunity for us to ask questions we perhaps should have been asking all along: what is the good life? what makes us human? And who are we becoming as technology reaches into ever more intimate corners of our lives? These are questions to explore together, especially now, when meaningful conversations across our differences can feel harder than ever.”

Revd Canon Ned Lunn, Canon for Intercultural Mission and the Arts at Bradford Cathedral, says:

“We are not trying to answer what we should think about artificial intelligence. We are interested in something perhaps more basic: how do we remain present when conversations become controversial? How do we listen without simply retreating, disagree without dividing and speak honestly without assuming that those who see things differently are our enemies? The public square needs people who have the confidence to do that. We hope Re:Imagine can be a place where that confidence begins to grow.”

The Re:Imagine series has previously explored interfaith conversations, global peace, environmental activism and migration, bringing together different perspectives through conversation, story and shared reflection. The conversations are designed not as lectures or debates, but as opportunities to encounter ideas and people that participants might not otherwise meet.

Re:Imagine Humanity at Bradford Cathedral takes place on Friday 30th October 2026 at 7:30pm. Tickets (£10 each + booking fee) can be found at: https://reimagine-humanity.eventbrite.co.uk