Special Report - May 2025

Artificial intelligence is already changing the world. In the next several years, experts believe the AI revolution will prove even more transformational to daily life and work than the introduction of the internet three decades ago.

AI is changing Bible translation movements, too. In this special report, we bring coverage and links from the Missional AI Summit. The annual event, held in April 2025 near Dallas, Texas, brought together ministry and technology leaders to grapple with the question: Where is this all heading and what does it mean for God’s mission?

Stories

• ‘That’s what good tools do’: AI is accelerating Bible translation by eliminating ‘drudgery’ and empowering local teams.
• AI and sign language: A new world has opened, and translation is accelerating rapidly.
• From a tech pioneer: Christians ‘have to show up’ for AI, in ways they didn’t for the dawn of social media.
• ‘We’ve come very far, very fast’: A tech observer outlines AI’s rapid advancements, where we are heading very soon and what it means for the workplace and ministry.
• About this series: Fittingly, we used AI to help us report this series. We explain how, and with what tools. We particularly would like to hear from you about the quality of the various translations, which were also done with AI. 
• Plus, we offer links to full-session videos from the Missional AI Summit.

Reflection

COMING SOON: Taeho Jang of Global Bible Translators (GBT) in South Korea has been actively engaged for years in AI-aided translation and helping translation teams. He reflects on how AI is changing the work of mother tongue translators in initial drafting. He also emphasises that human oversight and authority, guided by the Holy Spirit, must always control the Bible translation process.

Podcast

The Journey Podcast features an interview with James Poulter, one of the keynote speakers at the Missional AI Summit.

Resources

In April 2025, Jim Killam, managing editor for the Wycliffe Global Alliance, hosted an online training session looking at some of the free AI tools available today. This video is available on YouTube and may be helpful to administrative teams looking at how AI can help with daily tasks.

Coming soon: Guest commentary about how one Wycliffe Global Alliance organisation is working with AI, and the opportunities and challenges they see.