GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Calvin University is hosting a three-day conference on artificial intelligence and announced a new Center for Faith and Technology. The Wisdom in the Age of AI Conference 2026 runs Oct. 8 through Oct. 10 on campus, and the new center will be part of the school of engineering and computer science.
AI conversations at the conference
The conference brings a variety of experts from across the country to discuss AI and its impact on daily life, including its use in higher education and disruptions to the job market. Alexander Nelson, a junior at Calvin University, said, “I know what I’m capable of and I want to make sure that I’m getting the best of my education that I can and not try to use that as a crutch.” Nelson also noted the technology’s effects on hiring: “My field is HR and I’m already seeing AI being implemented in interviewing processes and you see the diminishing product of people actually doing interviews,” he said.
Organizers said recent warnings from top AI researchers and executives about risks and calls for a slowdown in development have kept AI in headlines. Derek Schuurman, director of the new center and a computer science professor, said, “I think even computer scientists are surprised at the pace of change, how effective some of these tools are at tasks. And so I think that computer scientists have been kind of, you know, left puzzled by how well these things are working and many of them don’t really understand under the hood how these things work.”
New Center for Faith and Technology
The university used the conference to announce the Center for Faith and Technology, which will explore emerging technologies along with their advantages and challenges. “The Center for Faith and Technology is going to be focused on thinking about a winsome, credible Christian voice to engage emerging technologies of the day, bringing insights from many different disciplines, philosophy, theology, computer science, the social sciences, in order to think about what responsible action looks like as these technologies unfold,” Schuurman said.
David Smith, a professor of education at Calvin University, highlighted the conference’s interdisciplinary aim: “It affects healthcare, it affects the arts, it affects education, it affects technology itself, computer science,” he said. “So the idea behind the conference is to gather people from all of those areas and have kind of a simultaneous conversation to cross-fertilize people’s thinking about what we can do well with AI and what we should maybe think twice about.” The conference is expected to draw about 600 people and ends Saturday.
