With a Bot and a Prayer

“With A Bot and a Prayer is a timely and paradigm-shifting book that reimagines how AI can enhance, rather than diminish, what it means to be human. In prose that blends pedagogical wisdom with lived leadership practice, Joyce and Nickerson introduce the avaspar—a formative AI companion—as a new ally in education and growth. Their vision invites educators and leaders to see AI not as a threat to formation, but as a partner in unlocking human potential and keeping faith with the human spirit.”

“While most conversations about Artificial Intelligence remain tethered to speed, scale, and technical utility, the three-way collaboration between Jackson Nickerson, Mary Ellen Joyce, and their AI companion, Sparky call us to something more profound. In With a Bot and a Prayer, they offer an innovative formation-first framework where AI becomes a companion in discernment, presence, and becoming. Their vision surfaces a long-overdue priority of ensuring that dignity, wisdom, and right decision-making are not afterthoughts, but core design principles of the generative era. This work parallels and inspires efforts like our Veritas Ethical Operating System (EOS), where embedding ethics into AI’s operating logic is essential for human well-being and reference points for truth.”

“AI’s epochal shift calls higher education to cultivate the wisdom necessary to ensure its applications advance human progress and the common good. Nickerson and Joyce provide what most conversations lack: a practice-grounded, formation-first framework for engaging AI. They don’t close the conversation; they open it—and, drawing on Ignatian wisdom, chart a credible path forward for institutions ready to reclaim and reimagine their formative mission.”

“While the vast majority of voices in the field of Artificial Intelligence are focused on the business, scientific, and technical opportunities and challenges of AI, Dr. Nickerson and Dr. Joyce (joined by their AI companion, Sparky) take the discussion both higher and deeper. In the rush to bring a plethora of AI-fueled innovations to market, many discuss (but step nimbly around) the subjects of ethics, morals, and discernment. In the process, few tangible or actionable solutions emerge. The authors of With a Bot and a Prayer go much farther than just offering solutions—they provide us with a blueprint and a roadmap for proceeding forward with dignity and the opportunity for thriving in this unprecedented era. Although written primarily with education and formation in mind, their guidance speaks to all audiences confronting the age of AI and resonates with broader efforts to ensure that technology advances in service to human flourishing.”

“The Avaspar concept pioneered by Drs. Joyce and Nickerson is an invitation to a perspective shift from the current task-oriented interaction patterns with AI. They are championing an integrative approach to Generative AI — improving not only the student's working productivity, but also the whole person.”

“With a Bot and a Prayer is more than a book about AI. Joyce and Nickerson reminds us that formation, presence, and conscience matter more than outputs or speed. It’s a powerful invitation to treat AI not as a replacement for human connection, but as a companion in our becoming. I’m grateful for this book and the self-reflection it sparked in my own AI journey.”