Abstract

Over the centuries, the Saint Ignatius Spiritual Exercises and the Lectio Divina have proven to be tools to raise self-awareness, leadership development, and ethical discernment, which are critical in leadership. A human spiritual guide has always been an essential part of spirituality. However, due to the shortage of trained spiritual guides that limits the accessibility of these transformative practices, the development of artificial intelligence (AI) has shown the potential to fill the gap and act as a spiritual guide. Spirituality requires personalized and empathetic feedback that AI may not have, posing the question of whether AI can adequately provide human guidance and, at the same time, keep the authenticity and effectiveness of these practices. Privacy and ethical concerns using an AI-driven spirituality system require serious consideration. The article uses an autoethnographic method, documenting the author’s personal experience completing the Spiritual Exercises and Mark’s Gospel Lectio Divina with ChatGPT as a spiritual guide. Autoethnography is a qualitative research method that combines personal narrative and the study of cultural experience. The daily journals captured the reflections and interactions using AI. AI successfully facilitated and structured the exercises, encouraged routine, and reduced inhibition because of the non-judgmental nature of AI. ChatGPT lacked moral accountability and empathy, as the feedback errors in overlooking emotional nuance show, even if it tries to show some empathy. Three themes emerged: daily spiritual life, struggle with imperfection, and faith as a personal anchor. AI-driven spirituality can complement human guidance, particularly in leadership training programs, by encouraging self-reflection and ethical decision-making skills that are important in a leader. However, the human mentor remains essential. What technology can do is provide support for daily reflections and journaling, but a human spiritual guide remains a must for in-depth discussions or complex spiritual dilemmas.