Move over, pastors. New research reveals your counseling and pastoral care may no longer be needed. A new study shows that congregations might increasingly be turning to AI to deal with their spiritual needs and help with personal growth. The research shows 1 in 3 adults now believes AI's spiritual guidance is just as trustworthy as that of a pastor.
Read More(ANALYSIS) History shows that at every moment of profound technological change in our communication systems, incidents targeting Jews or other minority groups go up dramatically. This era’s technical innovation is unprecedented — but unfortunately, hate speech now travels around the globe almost instantly.
Read MoreThirty years ago, a woman was found dead by the side of the road in Arizona. Today, her body has still not been identified. To find out the strange reason why, I spoke to Hannah Feuer, a reporter at Forward.
Read More(ANALYSIS) From Enheduanna to Plato and Aristotle, ancient thinkers viewed writing as a deeply human act that expresses experience and transforms audiences. AI may generate convincing text, but lacking thought, emotion and lived experience, it may produce something closer to “generwriting” than true writing.
Read MoreThe Big Idea for this podcast? The social-credits system shifted into high gear the year after China, in 2018, launched sweeping new regulations to crush religious activities that lacked formal government approval. Digital technology is at the heart of China’s efforts to control the beliefs of its citizens.
Read MoreIn 1968, the three Apollo 8 astronauts, while the world focused on their Christmas Eve effort to orbit the moon, read the opening verses of Genesis, beginning with: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.”
Read MoreBoth U.S. Protestant pastors and churchgoers have a mixed view of artificial intelligence, according to a Lifeway Research study. They aren’t completely opposed to it, but they have concerns about how AI is implemented and its potential influence on Christianity.
Read More(ANALYSIS) For two decades, Christian television channels produced in the United States and Europe have made their way into Iranian homes. Some of this programming echoes apocalyptic ideas from American figures promoting the war, drawing on scriptural interpretations long present in evangelical teachings.
Read More(ANALYSIS) When the movie “Her” debuted in 2013, its plot felt like science fiction. The protagonist, Theodore, is a jaded man with no vigor for life. He comes alive after talking daily with his AI chatbot, with whom he falls in love. Today people actually report being in relationships with AI companions.
Read More(ANALYSIS) When Rational Sheep opened for business two-plus years ago, there was a huge signpost just ahead for people interested in debates about technology, smartphones, social media and screens-culture issues in general. We were getting close to the release of Jonathan Haidt’s “The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness.”
Read MoreChurch leaders across the United States are increasingly embracing technology as a vital part of ministry — even as concerns about authenticity, privacy and spiritual impact continue to shape how digital tools are used, according to a new report.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Imagine a world where crimes are stopped before they even take place. Science fiction has imagined this world, most famously in the 2002 film “Minority Report,” where society can predict criminal acts and allow authorities to intervene in advance. Thanks to AI, this dystopian reality could be coming to your neighborhood in the not-so-distant future.
Read MoreWhile most “Crossroads” podcasts focus on religion angles in major news stories, this week’s episode focused, you guessed it, on a short news “brief.” The problem is that we are talking about a brief about a Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod story that, if the details had been accurate, was worthy of an A1 feature.
Read MoreAs Holocaust survivors age, organizations are turning to AI-powered avatars to preserve their testimony. An interactive version of survivor Sonia Warshawski, created with StoryFile, allows students to ask questions about her life and experiences. Supporters call it the future of Holocaust education, while critics question its ethical and emotional limits.
Read MoreWhile reading some of the outraged commentary about the spectacular staff cuts at The Washington Post, I keep thinking of the immortal words of King Theoden of Rohan, when facing dark waves of evil during the Battle of Helm’s Deep. All together now: “How did it come to this?”
Read More(ANALYSIS) I’ve been thinking a whole lot about social isolation recently. It’s probably because it’s this unspoken concept in a lot of the work that I do and many of the questions that I’m asked about religion in the United States. I swear I bring up Robert Putnam’s “Bowling Alone” about twice a week when I’m doing interviews or giving presentations about data on religious attendance.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Pope Leo warned that, “The stakes are high. The power of simulation is such that AI can even deceive us by fabricating parallel ‘realities,’ usurping our faces and voices. We are immersed in a world of multidimensionality where it is becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish reality from fiction.”
Read MorePope Leo XIV cautioned against “overly affectionate” AI chatbots, warning they can manipulate emotions and blur lines between humans and machines. The discussion, covered by CNN and explored in the “Crossroads” podcast this week, raises broader questions about AI as quasi-divine. A “Harry Potter” quote underscores the perils of trust and unseen entities.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Let’s start with a question: Have you heard leaders in your congregation discuss any of this information in a setting that will reach active members, as opposed to special events that draw the “usual suspects” in the flock (maybe 10-20% of members) that attend just about everything?
Read More(ANALYSIS) When MLK said character should be a goal of education, he presumably meant that moral intelligence should be developed. Everyone (except the psychopath) has a sense of morality. That’s what Jefferson meant when he declared that all men are created equal. But how to develop moral intelligence is much debated.
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