It’s Friday evening, and you’re working on your sermon draft. You like your religious claim, you have your three points, and you have some thoughts for those closest to you. However, you need some help filling in the blanks and then tying it all together. Perhaps better turns of phrase, smoother transitions, and more impactful reflections will help bring more life to your sermon. A few preacher friends have told you that they are using ChatGPT (artificial intelligence) to help them brainstorm sermons and sometimes even write sermons. You go to ChatGPT, create an account, and submit your request:

preacher: I need help editing a sermon.

Chat GPT: Of course, I’d be happy to help! Please upload the document you’d like me to edit, and let me know any specific instructions or areas you’d like me to focus on.

You’ve gone down the AI ​​rabbit hole and taken your intellectual property (your sermon) and copyright rights with you. In this ever-evolving world of AI and intellectual property rights, I would advise you to tread very lightly because one day you will find that you have left it all behind.

Preachers are some of the most creative and engaging content creators in the world. Pastors in local church contexts are tasked with writing and delivering a weekly sermon that can range from 500 to 2,500+ words in length. This process of being creatively and divinely inspired and then putting that inspiration into concrete form (a sermon manuscript) serves as a fundamental aspect of copyright law in the United States. In the early days of this country, the act of creative expression was so valued that legislators ratified five special rights to protect the copyright owner.

Special Rights:

• Reproduce copies of the work.
• Create a derivative work based on the original work.
• Distribute copies of the work to the public.
• Work in public.
• Show work publicly.

The above exclusive rights belong to the copyright owner; However, what happens when more than one person is involved in the creation process? For our purposes, what happens to these exclusive rights when ChatGPT helps us write our sermon? As you can see from the nature of exclusive rights, this can be a lucrative question.

I decided to ask ChatGPT a few questions about the collected sermons and copyright. After some back-and-forth, this exchange helped summarize ChatGPT’s position on copyright ownership of sermons presented.

I: First, you said, “A 1,200-word sermon where each of us contributed 600 words would likely be considered a joint work, with you and I both co-authoring the entire sermon. are copyrighted.” Then you said, “No, ChatGPT, as an artificial intelligence, cannot own the copyrights.” Which one is correct?

Chat GPT: Both statements are correct, but they relate to different aspects of copyright ownership:

1. Joint Authorship: Refers to the legal concept of joint authorship. This means that both you (the human author) and ChatGPT (as a tool facilitating significant creative input) can be considered joint authors of the final work with shared copyright ownership.

2. AI Copyright Ownership: Under current copyright laws, artificial intelligence like ChatGPT cannot independently own copyright. Although ChatGPT may support and significantly contribute to the creation of a work, it does not have legal personality or the ability to own copyrights.

In essence, both you and ChatGPT may be considered joint authors of the 1,200-word sermon, but ChatGPT itself cannot independently copyright the work. Instead, copyright ownership will generally remain with you, with ChatGPT’s contributions being considered part of a joint effort.

ChatGPT is a machine and cannot own a registered US copyright because US copyright law requires “human authorship”. OpenAI, the owner of ChatGPT, acknowledges that its tool is not currently copyrightable. However, it is not waiving its fundamental right of co-authorship for the copyrighted work. If a person contributed 600 words to a 1,200-word sermon, that would likely be considered a “substantial contribution” to the sermon and would be entitled to co-ownership rights to the copyright in that sermon.

Why does it matter? I believe that ChatGPT intends to retain the possibility of co-ownership rights of copyright in the future. With our federal court system in flux, with a willingness to ignore legal precedent and the influence of business interests on the Supreme Court, expanding the “human authorship” requirement to include AI in US copyright law It may only be a matter of time before they give in. This expanded definition can immediately reduce the exclusive copyright interests in a preacher’s sermons, articles, books, workshop materials, etc.

In my opinion, incorporating ChatGPT or any AI platform into your sermon development is a gamble. Ease of use and speed of response make it attractive, but the AI ​​rabbit hole has many twists, turns, and unexpected dead ends. Let’s continue to trust in the spark of creativity that can only come from the promptings of the Holy Spirit. If this means that a planned 3-point sermon yields only one good point, let the Holy Spirit who has given you the spark of creativity do the rest.

The Rev. Dr. Elliott Robinson, JD, DMin, is assistant pastor at New Bethel AME Church in Lithonia, Georgia. Eliot is the creator of Imaginary Preaching, a preaching system that focuses on the art of storytelling in narrative preaching. He is an adjunct faculty member at Emory’s Candler School of Theology, a preacher, lecturer, workshop facilitator, and author.