AI is the new Church Organ

When the pipe organ first entered churches, not everyone welcomed it.

Today we think of the organ as sacred. Majestic. Holy even. Its sound echoes through cathedrals, weddings, funerals and some of the most profound spiritual moments in Western history. Originally many religious leaders deeply distrusted it.

The organ did not begin in the church. Early forms of hydraulic organs were used in the Roman Empire for arenas, banquets and public entertainment. They were associated with spectacle, excess and emotional manipulation.

To some early Christians, the instrument represented everything worship should not become. The objections sound surprisingly familiar.

Critics associated organs with:

• pagan entertainment

• theatres

• drunken feasts

• secular culture

• emotional excess

Some clergy believed worship should centre only on the human voice. Simplicity was viewed as purity. Introducing instruments into sacred spaces felt dangerous, distracting and spiritually compromising. The concern was not really about the instrument itself. It was about fear of what the instrument represented.

And now, centuries later, we are having the same conversation again.

This time about AI.

Artificial Intelligence has entered the modern workplace, creative industries, education systems and even coaching conversations much like the organ entered the church — carrying associations people are unsure about.

Some see innovation. Others see corruption.

Some see empowerment. Others see replacement.

Some see possibility. Others see the loss of something deeply human.

AI is currently associated with:

• misinformation

• manipulation

• plagiarism

• fake imagery

• job loss

• emotional disconnection

• intellectual laziness

• mass production

And understandably, like the early organ, AI did not emerge from “sacred” spaces. It emerged from commercial, technological and competitive environments. It was not created specifically for education, counselling, coaching, leadership or human development.

Yet now it is arriving there.

And many people are asking:“Does this belong here?”

History suggests this is a very human response to disruptive tools.

Almost every major innovation has first been viewed with suspicion:

• organs in churches

• printed books

• recorded music

• calculators

• the internet

• online learning

• social media

The first reaction is often not curiosity. It is protection.

Protection of identity, protection of tradition, protection of quality, protection of what feels human. Sometimes those concerns are valid.

Technology without wisdom can absolutely become destructive.

But history also shows something else.

Eventually society stops asking:“Should this exist?”

And starts asking:“How do we use this well?”

The organ eventually became one of the most powerful instruments ever used in worship. Not because the instrument itself was holy, but because humans learned how to use it meaningfully.

AI may follow a similar path.

The real question is not whether AI is good or evil.

The real question is: Will humans use it well?

Will it amplify wisdom or amplify noise?

Will it deepen human capability or replace human responsibility?

Because tools do not determine outcomes alone.Humans do.

Perhaps AI is not the enemy some fear it to be.

Perhaps it is simply the newest instrument humanity is learning to play.

And like the organ before it, the early noise surrounding it may tell us less about the technology itself and more about humanity’s complicated relationship with change.

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Marina Shearer

DIRECTOR PROFILE Coaching Ltd

marina@profilecoaching.co.nz

BSc.psychology

Diploma Professional Coaching

Certified Practitioner and Accreditation Coach

Marina Shearer is a seasoned leader, educator, and innovator with over 30 years of experience across various industries in New Zealand. Holding a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the University of Canterbury and a Diploma in Professional Coaching from the Southern Institute of Technology, she has dedicated her career to empowering others. As the Director of PROFILE Coaching NZ, Marina specialises in certifying coaches and HR professionals in psychometric profiles, enhancing their ability to understand and develop talent effectively. Her passion for teaching and commitment to personal growth have made her a respected figure in the coaching community.  Marina facilitates the PROFILE Coaching Coaches Collective and the NZ Coaching Collective, places where professional coaches connect, collaborate and grow.