Advent reflections on broadening our imaginative engagement with AI. Read more
Advent reflections on broadening our imaginative engagement with AI. Read more
Some medieval wisdom for the machine age. Read more
Radical hope for the future is the great secret and power of the apocalyptic imagination. Read more
This dog has something to teach us about being human. He appears in Blade Runner 2049, a great movie, IMHO. One of my favorite scenes is the climactic moment when the two protagonists finally meet. The next-gen “replicant” LAPD officer “K” (Ryan Gosling) has been searching for his mysterious predecessor, “Deckard”, the original Blade Runner (Harrison Ford). It’s a classic setup for a high-anxiety contest to discern whether they will be friends or foe. Fear ignites the tensions of fight... Read more
The apocalyptic imagination provides a conceptual and narrative framework for reconciling our utopian hopes and dystopian fears. Read more
Previously, I introduced the phenomenon of The Robloxian Christians (TRC), a church that exists in the virtual world of Roblox. We considered the impactful mission and dramatic growth of TRC; both would be the envy of any brick-and-mortar church. Later, we reflected on the question of if, in fact, TRC is a “real” church, which immediately begs the question of what “real” means. This led us to the thought of French philosopher Jean Baudrillard. His notion of hyper-reality describes a... Read more
A recent set of articles in The New York Times adds an interesting twist to the discussion of digital divides in our society—and highlights the need for a greater focus on formative practices related to digital technologies. Earlier this year I wrote about digital divides here and described three types of divides: divides related to access, literacy, and wisdom. When most people speak of a digital divide, they are referring to inequitable access to good computers and internet connections. While this... Read more
Fake news is as old as politics (which is as old as humankind), but the problem got a lot worse during the 2016 elections. This was a key issue for Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg when he faced congressional inquiry earlier this year. Mr. Zuckerberg assured Congress that his company would and could fix the fake news problem with A.I., if not today, then at least during the next five to 10 years. This sounds like a “fight-fire-with-fire” strategy. If technology... Read more
If we are unaware of and inattentive to the forces beneath the surfaces of our enveloping digital devices, we risk having our agency compromised by autonomous agents. Read more
Before its fall in the first century, a new vision of the city—and of a new technological order—emerged in Jerusalem. Read more
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