Central Lutheran Church - Elk River
Central Lutheran Church - Elk River
Faith in the Age of AI {Reflections}
Ever feel like the world is changing too fast to keep up? You're not alone. In this deeply reflective episode, I explore a profound interview between Stephen Bartlett and investor Raoul Paul that left me questioning what happens when artificial intelligence fundamentally transforms our world.
Paul's assessment of AI as "the single greatest innovation humanity has ever seen" (second only to splitting the atom) initially sounds alarming. He suggests AI will disrupt everything by eliminating knowledge scarcity—the very foundation of our economic system. When specialized knowledge becomes as freely available as water, what unique contribution can people of faith make?
This technological revolution presents an unexpected opportunity for spiritual communities. While AI excels at information processing, it cannot replace wisdom, spiritual formation, or the transformative practices at the heart of faith. As Richard Foster wisely notes, "The problem of the Western church is not a lack of knowledge or theology... it's a lack of formative practices." I explore how this distinction becomes even more crucial in an AI-dominated landscape.
The future likely involves less emphasis on information transfer from pulpits and more focus on cultivating wisdom through shared spiritual practices and meaningful community. While AI can discuss concepts like grace, forgiveness, and wonder, only humans can truly embody these qualities through lived experience and spiritual formation. When the winds of technological change blow fiercely, those with roots deep in timeless wisdom offer something irreplaceable—the capacity to stand firm and demonstrate an alternative way of being human in an increasingly artificial world.
Share your thoughts on faith in the age of AI! Have you experienced ways technology is changing spiritual practice? I'd love to hear your perspective on finding wisdom when knowledge is everywhere.
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What is up everybody? My name is Ryan and welcome to our Reflections podcast. I was on Instagram the other day and I heard this clip from an interview between Stephen Bartlett. Stephen Bartlett is this entrepreneur investor from he's English, has a podcast and a channel called the Diary of a CEO. It's pretty good, and he's interviewing a guy called Raoul Paul who's an investor, and he speaks on all kinds of issues about tech and recently AI, and so, if you haven't noticed, there's been massive developments in AI, which stands for artificial intelligence, and how it's being utilized and developed by people who are brilliant people, not just chat GPT. That's very one small facet of AI, but AI is the thing that actually will be.
Speaker 1:Many experts suggest this innovative thing that will disrupt the world in many, many ways, and I'm not an AI expert, nor am I a tech or, you know, a science expert, but I found this clip interesting because here's what Stephen Bartlett asks him. He asks Raoul Paul. He says, hey, how disruptive is AI going to be Like? How project forward, how disruptive? Because people are already suggesting that jobs will be lost over the course of the next really short while Jobs that can be done by AI. Humans will lose those jobs. It'll be a disruption, but how disruptive. And Raoul Paul answers and immediately it's sort of this unnerving answer. But he says look, I cannot stress enough that this is, like he calls it, the single greatest innovation that humanity has ever seen. Second, he would consider, would be the splitting of the atom. He thinks it's that innovative and it will disrupt everything and all that there is to be disrupted. It'll disrupt how we our economy in good and bad ways, how we function as human beings. It'll change everything, which is a bit unnerving.
Speaker 1:I don't mean to scare anybody, but this is where I really rely on some of the scriptures. There's one that Paul says hey, don't be anxious about anything, which, of course, is easier said than done, but don't be anxious about anything. But then everything you know, with prayer and thanksgiving, present your requests to God. So pray to God and give him your request, and the peace of God, which is above our understanding, will guard our hearts and minds. And so, in moments like these, I would encourage us, you know, as people of faith too, don't put your head in the sand. Read as much as you can tolerate about AI and the effects it has on us and that kind of thing, but also don't be driven by fear. And if it's too much, it's too much. But here's what I would say. He says it's actually the most innovative thing that humanity has ever seen, and he says this.
Speaker 1:He says everything up to this point, and especially the economy, is based on a scarcity of knowledge. So think about this why are lawyers paid so much? Well, because they have a certain set of knowledge points that nobody else has, and so they get paid a lot. They're valuable in that way For many reasons. I'm simplifying here but because there's a scarcity of knowledge, they have it. Many jobs like this, where there's a scarcity of knowledge and the ones that know certain things, are paid more, valued more in that way, because they know it. But with AI, that goes away, I mean knowledge becomes worth very little because it's so readily available for everybody to have. You can I mean, chatgpt is an unbelievable research tool, far greater than Google and Yahoo and these kinds of things, and again, chatgpt is not the only one. But the point is that knowledge will be readily available for anybody, and so knowledge that becomes like water we all can have it. And which makes me think this then, like how that affects us as people of faith.
Speaker 1:What might people of faith have to offer in a world that's maybe heavily influenced or is heavily impacted by AI? What can we offer in a place like that? And I would say this it's not knowledge, but it's wisdom and practice, because even though we might know all the things there are to know, faith isn't just about knowledge. Even before AI, we could Google all the things. There's plenty of books out there and theology. I love what Richard Foster says.
Speaker 1:The problem of the Western church is not a lack of knowledge or theology. We have all of that. Western church is not a lack of knowledge or theology. We have all of that already. It's a lack of formative practices and I'm reminded like church. Really, I think it'll become more and more or less and less about a transference of knowledge, like the preacher just giving knowledge up front or information, but rather the preacher, the pastor and the community engaging in certain kinds of practices, and you see this already happening.
Speaker 1:But people of faith, I think, have to offer a different way of being in the world, that is an alternative way of living than the ways of the world, or what Paul calls this present age, and that also includes wisdom. Look, we know lots of smart people, and intelligence and smarts does not necessarily equate to wisdom. I know lots of smart people who are actually quite dumb and unwise and behave like fools. You might call them CEOs or politicians in some cases. You know, and I know, lots of folks who don't have a degree and maybe don't think they're very smart, but are incredibly wise and deep, and folks go to them for advice and thoughts on life and practice and how to live and be a good father and be a good spouse and a good manager and all these kinds of things.
Speaker 1:So I think people of faith, when our roots are in the Jesus story and the ways of Jesus and the ways of God and we put those into practice Remember the end of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. He gives the Sermon on the Mount and at the end he says, hey, whoever puts these into practice will be like a person who builds their house on a rock and when the winds come it won't blow it down Rather than a person who builds their house in the sand when the winds come it'll blow it down, kind of thing. And so people of faith can be like that in an ever-changing, technologically advancing world that's changing overnight. Many times it seems like we can be folks who are immovable and unshakable, with our roots deep in God and the wisdom of the world, the deep foundational wisdom found in the ancient text of the Bible and in God himself, and we can be rooted in that and then be people who live these things out and put on display wisdom and beauty and wonder and grace and mercy and forgiveness.
Speaker 1:Ai can talk about these things, but deeply rooted behavior, practices and wisdom can only come, I think, from the depths of the human heart and the human soul. So that's what I would say. I think the one thing, as the the world changes, as AI, you know, in this scarcity of knowledge as it becomes more readily available in AI, the one thing you and I can still offer is wisdom and depth and profundity. And may our roots go deep in God and we live these things and may our practices be rooted in wisdom as well. So, all right, let me know your thoughts. All right, love you guys, peace. Hey, if you enjoy this show, I'd love to have you share it with some friends. And don't forget, you are always welcome to join us in person at Central in Elk River at 8.30, which is our liturgical gathering, or at 10 o'clock, our modern gathering. Or you can check us out online at clcelkriverorg Peace.
