By the Rev. Rowan Larson (they/them), Chair of the UTO Grant Committee
AI has become a buzzword in tech, education, and cultural circles in the last year. Every app, it seems, from Google to Adobe, wants you to use its AI tools to make your work better or easier or faster. I’m here to tell you that for UTO grants, we would prefer that you don’t use AI to craft your grant application. There are a few reasons for this.
The Episcopal Church has not yet come out with guidelines on ethical use of AI (though there is an interim body working on recommendations to be shared for the next General Convention in 2027), and it’s a tool that has serious climate and ethical concerns. The energy and water required for each ChatGPT query is much more than you think it might be. And generative AI that is trained on large language models often is trained on written work that was used without the author’s permission.
But the most important reason is that we want to know why YOU are passionate about whatever project it is that you’re applying for, not what AI thinks will best answer our questions (to its own definition of best). We think that gratitude grows from authentic human relationships, and hearing your voice in your application is important to us!
If you’re worried about not sounding polished or not sure you’re answering the questions we ask, I recommend reaching out to Heather Melton, our staff officer, or attending the grant “office hours” to ask for help. We love to help our grant writers and can’t wait to hear your ideas and dreams from your heart and without AI.