First Response
You’re in it right now. Start here.
Take a breath. The situation in front of you is new in form but old at heart — and you already carry the pastoral wisdom it needs. This guide helps you find your footing, check for safety, and choose a posture.
If someone is in immediate danger: in the U.S., call or text 988 for suicidal or emotional crisis, or call 911 for immediate danger. Your local safeguarding, reporting, and emergency policies always take precedence.
The four pastoral levels at a glance
Green
Generative & nourishing use
AI enriches practice; agency and boundaries remain intact. Posture: collaborative, affirming presence.
Yellow
Subtle displacement
The tool is becoming a default crutch, displacing reflection or relational effort. Posture: reflectively curious presence.
Amber
Agency erosion
Agency is being surrendered to the algorithm; epistemic isolation sets in. Posture: agency-inviting, reality-anchoring presence.
Red
Acute danger & harm
Immediate physical, financial, legal, or severe functional harm. Posture: direct protective stance, enacted through ALGEE.
The levels describe engagement, not people — vocabulary for your discernment, never labels to assign to a person.
Go deeper
Framework
The Four Pastoral Levels
A triage framework for AI-related pastoral conversations
Green, Yellow, Amber, Red: four postures for discerning what kind of AI-related situation has arrived and how to respond — from affirming healthy use to direct protective action.
Guide
Grief
The loss underneath the technology
Grief shows up with any significant change — even ones we welcome. Locating yourself, and your people, on the continuum from orientation through disorientation to new orientation.