13 Oct SHOULD WE EMBRACE AI?

Artificial intelligence
can now perform
sophisticated tasks
that once required
substantial human
effort. Its rapid
adoption and ongoing
development promise
enormous benefits while raising concerns
about human responsibility and dependence
on technology. Should Jews embrace AI or
should we be wary of its growing capabilities?
I. Hashem’s World Is Ours to Develop
The Torah describes human beings as created
in Hashem’s image and commands us to
“fill the earth and subdue it” (Gen. 1:28).
This command grants humanity authority to
harness natural forces and develop the world
through intelligence and creativity.
Rav Ya’akov Ariel (cont., Israel) explains
this responsibility through Rabbi Akiva’s
encounter with Turnus Rufus (Tanchuma,
Tazria 5). The Roman official asks which
are superior: Hashem’s creations or human
creations. Rabbi Akiva responds by comparing
stalks of wheat with finished bread. Human
labor transforms the wheat into something
more useful. Rav Ariel understands this as
demonstrating that Hashem expects humanity
to improve creation (Halachah Be-Yameinu,
pp. 139–140). The Torah describes Hashem’s
work as “asher bara Elokim la’asos, that
Hashem created to do” (Gen. 2:3), which the
Sages understand as a world requiring further
human action (Bereishis Rabbah 11:5). We
fulfill this mandate through our creative
activity.

Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik, the Beis Ha-
Levi (19th cen., Belarus), develops a similar

idea in his commentary to Lech Lecha (Gen.
17:1). Hashem’s name Sha-dai reflects
His declaration of “Enough!” to creation
(Bereishis Rabbah 46:2). Hashem could have
created wheat that naturally develops into
bread and flax that becomes clothing. Instead,
He deliberately stopped these processes
before completion, leaving humanity to finish
them.
His great-grandson, Rav Joseph B.
Soloveitchik (20th cen., US), describes
Adam I, meaning Adam as he appears in
the first chapter of Bereishis, as the majestic
personality who fulfills Hashem’s command
to subdue the earth through scientific
discovery and technological mastery. Such
accomplishments express the dignity of
human beings created in Hashem’s image
(The Lonely Man of Faith, part I, sec. D).
Artificial intelligence represents an especially
impressive exercise of this creative capacity,
with potential benefits in almost every area of
life.

However, you can object from the prohibition
against kilayim, the mixing of species.
Ramban (13th cen., Israel), commenting
on Lev. 19:19, explains that combining
species interferes with Hashem’s established
natural order. Rav Samson Raphael Hirsch
(19th cen., Germany) similarly understands
certain commandments as forbidding us
from disturbing the integrity of creation (The
Nineteen Letters, no. 11; Horeb, no. 327).
These views might offer a note of caution
before introducing something as radical as AI
into daily life.
However, Rav J. David Bleich (cont., US)
argues that even if these explanations are
accepted, specific prohibitions cannot
establish a universal ban against changing
nature (Judaism and Healing, pp. 135–
141). Indeed, Ramban himself recognizes
humanity’s broad authority to develop
creation (commentary to Gen. 1:28). Rav
Ariel likewise emphasizes that we cannot
impose prohibitions the Torah did not
establish.
AI’s ability to perform impressive tasks
therefore does not make its development
an improper interference with creation. It
represents another application of humanity’s
divinely-given intelligence.
II. Beyond the Letter of the Law
Even when halachah permits an activity,
does that mean we should pursue it? Just
because something can be done does not
mean that it should be done. Rav Yitzchak
Shilat (cont., Israel) develops a distinction
learned from Rav Gedaliah Nadel (20th cen.,
Israel). The reason for a commandment, the
ta’am ha-mitzvah, explains why Hashem

issued it. Its underlying idea, the ra’ayon ha-
mitzvah, identifies the core of what the Torah

commands us to implement. Understanding
that idea helps determine the commandment’s
halachic scope beyond its mere technical
parameters. We must observe the letter of the
law while remaining attentive to the values
expressed through its commandments.
Rav Ariel develops a related distinction
in Halachah Be-Yameinu (pp. 140–141).
He explains that humanity must complete
creation without distorting it. Innovation that
corrects deficiencies or prevents suffering
serves a constructive purpose. Creating
something new merely because it is possible
may be undesirable.
He compares technological progress to
driving a car. We should take advantage
of modern transportation while retaining
control and knowing when to apply the
brakes. Similarly, AI’s capabilities should
be evaluated according to their purposes and
consequences.

III. The Risks of Artificial
Intelligence
One danger of AI is that it may
weaken the intellectual abilities
it was designed to assist. Rav
Ariel writes elsewhere that
advanced technology and
scientific knowledge must
serve humanity without taking
its place. He warns against
allowing technology to become
a golem that rises against

its creator (Halachah Be-
Yameinu, p. 124).

AI can help professionals
automate complex tasks and solve difficult
problems. Yet someone who routinely
accepts AI-generated conclusions without
understanding them may gradually lose the
habit of independent analysis. Technology
should strengthen human judgment while
leaving responsibility for important decisions
with human beings.
Rav Yisrael Rozen (21st cen., Israel) is
concerned about the devaluation of human
worth. He interprets the Tower of Babel as
a warning about technological arrogance.
The builders initially achieved something
useful by manufacturing bricks as substitutes
for natural stone. Their success eventually
encouraged an ambition to challenge heaven
(Be-Chatzros Beis Hashem, pp. 132–135).
Rav Rozen cites Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer
(ch. 24), which describes the builders
mourning a fallen brick while ignoring
the death of a worker. Their technological
project had become more important than the
people carrying it out. AI presents a similar
danger when efficiency and competition
take precedence over human welfare.
Workers may be displaced without sufficient
consideration of their circumstances and
human relationships may be replaced by
automated interactions simply because
machines are cheaper.
Another danger is spiritual. Rav Rozen
highlights the emotional influence of
technology. Technological power can
encourage people to feel overly powerful
and increasingly independent of Hashem.
The Tower of Babel illustrates how human
achievement can become a source of
arrogance. AI may intensify this temptation
as machines perform increasingly impressive
tasks. Yet greater technological capability
does not necessarily produce greater wisdom
or moral development.
IV. Technology in the Service of Faith
Rav Rozen explicitly rejects withdrawing
from technological civilization. He instead
advocates harnessing its achievements for
constructive religious purposes, invoking

Moshe’s declaration, “For we must take of it
to serve the Lord our G-d” (Ex. 10:26).
Technology can inspire religious wonder.
Rambam (12th cen., Egypt) explains that
contemplating Hashem’s extraordinary
creations inspires love and awe of Him
(Mishneh Torah, Hilchos Yesodei Ha-Torah
2:2). Rav Rozen extends this principle to
technological achievements, which reveal the
remarkable possibilities embedded in creation
and humanity’s capacity to discover them.
Rav Rozen concludes with Rav Avraham
Kook (20th cen., Israel), who explains in
“The Shofar and the Trumpets” that the
shofar symbolizes nature while the trumpets
represent human technology. Both belong
within religious life when directed toward
divine service and improving the human
condition. AI can similarly become a means
of improving human life while inspiring
gratitude for the intelligence Hashem granted
humanity.
V. Conclusion
Jewish tradition offers substantial grounds
for embracing artificial intelligence. Hashem
created a world that human beings are expected
to develop, and technological creativity is
an expression of that responsibility. AI is
therefore a fulfillment of an important part of
the human mission.
However, permission to develop and use
AI leaves us responsible for evaluating
its applications. We must ask whether it
strengthens our abilities or weakens them,
whether it serves people or subordinates
them to technological objectives and whether
its benefits in specific applications justify
its consequences. Technical possibility and
halachic permissibility cannot be our only
standards.
Hashem gave humanity the intelligence to
create extraordinary technologies. He also
gave us the responsibility to decide when and
how to employ them. Our task is to innovate
and expand responsibly, finishing the work
Hashem left incomplete while remembering
that He, too, knew when to say “Enough.”