The Church of England is reviewing its investments in Big Tech amid concern that artificial intelligence undermines “the very idea of God”.

The Telegraph can reveal that the Church has launched a year-long review of the “increasingly controversial” area that will call on prominent investors, ethics specialists and theologians to help determine whether its £12bn investment fund should back the likes of Amazon, Facebook and Google.

A spokesman confirmed the work, saying the Ethical Investment Advisory Group was “trying to make sense of the issues” to make decisions “grounded in theology and distinctly Anglican but also practical. Some argue that tech has brought enormous benefits to society but others note a growing realisation of the limitations and downsides”.

Christian theologians are grappling with an array of new ethical and philosophical questions posed by AI.

A source close to the Church’s review said some are worried that the technology is “akin to playing God”.