Shanen Boettcher - Technology, AI, and Spirituality

Shanen Boettcher is a former general manager at Microsoft, product manager at Netscape, and now a PhD student at the University of Saint Andrews currently studying AI Ethics and Spirituality.

Shanen was recently featured in a New York Times Article titled, "Can Silicon Valley Find God?" He is a pioneer in this field and deftly explores two very disparate topics to deeper probe the pressing questions of our generation. 

In this interview we discuss how artificial intelligence can facilitate positive conversations about faith, the impact of faith/spirituality on health, as well as other interesting topics like the study of world religions and spiritual texts. We close with some advice for individuals looking to get involved in this sort of work. 

1:20 Introduction and Background

2:55 Why study world religions?

5:50 Looking back on the days at Microsoft

7:20 The research that led to a New York Times article

11:55 Should AI expose people to their existing religious beliefs or provide new perspectives from other religions.

17:00 Where does this research go from here?

20:10 Do interactions with AI have an impact on people’s religious beliefs?

27:18 Use of algorithms for answering existential questions

30:00 How can this research help people?

37:10 Preventing religious bias in AI systems

40:20 Will technology bring us closer or further from our spirituality?

49:55 What should AI say when you ask existential questions?

52:55 Does the source of the voice affect an individual's interpretation of the answer?

1:02:50 Advice for those in their 20’s

1:07:30 Do we need religion going forward?

1:13:45 A favorite spiritual text