Beatrice Institute Podcast

In April of 2019, the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) of the Southern Baptist Convention published a document called “Artificial Intelligence: An Evangelical Statement of Principles.” Armed with the belief that God has created humans with both the ability to invent new technologies and the wisdom to answer new dilemmas those technologies raise, the document outlined basic principles to guide a Christian ethical approach to advances in AI. In a cultural moment when many Christian voices express anxiety over the effects of the digital world on faith, community, and identity, the tone of this document was one of hope, acknowledging the dangers of advances in technology while professing that “nothing we create will be able to thwart [God’s] redemptive plan for creation.”  In this episode, Jason Thacker, lead drafter of the document and director of the Research Institute for the ERLC, further explores the intersection of theology and digital technology with Gretchen. Together they consider the meaning of discipleship in the 21st century, the ways that our identity is (and isn’t) formed by technological advances, and the “big” questions that underlie ethical issues relating to data privacy, digital surveillance, and more. Jason seeks to help root the Church’s approach to AI in a posture of wakefulness and hope, alert to the impact of timeless questions on current issues and equipped to engage with them as members of a digital age. 

In the United States, deaths of despair—from alcoholism, drug abuse, and suicide—have risen sharply in the past decades. Many countries have recognized levels of social disconnection so high that they have become a public health crisis; both Japan and the U.K. have appointed Ministers of Loneliness in the hopes of answering this need for community and connection. But awareness of this growing crisis in human well-being does not easily translate into knowing how to fix it—or if we can fix it at all. Theologian Brendan Case sits down with Grant to discuss the various ways that society can foster—or hinder—the well-being and flourishing of its members. Case is Associate Director for Research with the Harvard Human Flourishing Program, where he helps foster dialogue between the humanities’ long and rich tradition of contemplating human happiness with the evidence-based research of the empirical and social sciences. He brings this unique expertise to the conversation as he and Grant discuss some of the many strands in our social weave that may contribute to or hinder the living of meaningful lives.  Educational methods, religious participation, cancel culture, and the desire for knowledge all come into play as they ask—what is missing in our current understanding of human happiness? Can we have all we hope for, or can some goods only be possessed at the cost of others? 

Join Ryan and Gretchen as they interview each other and explore a variety of topics together: from digital wisdom and genealogy, memory and wonder at the mystery of creation, incorrupt bodies and corrupt code, and the Impossible Burger. 

The birth rate in the United States is the lowest it’s ever been. Between rising costs of living and anxiety about humanity’s impact on the environment, people are having fewer children than ever. And yet surveys indicate that we still want babies, and want them in larger numbers than they’re being born. Demographer and pro-natalist Lyman Stone joins Grant to discuss why this desire doesn’t translate into a higher birth rate, why that matters, and what we should do about it.

From weaponized drones to dancing robots, artificial intelligence has become the locus of many hopes and anxieties about humanity’s future. In the face of rapid technological development, finding the golden mean between utopian daydreams and dystopian forecasts can seem an impossible project.  Robert J. Marks—professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Baylor University, and Director of the Walter Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence—sits down with Gretchen to dive into this question. He walks through the history of both the development of AI, and the evolution of how we think and talk about it. He reminds us that it is the very human qualities that AI can’t replicate which bring it into being and give it purpose— our natural intelligence, creativity, and common sense. While any new technology comes with its own dangers, he contends that it is up to those who use it to make ethical choices, and that Christians specifically are called to make sure that those choices are based on the rock of God’s law rather than the shifting sands of community standards. Join Robert and Gretchen as they discuss AI, what it can and can’t do, and our relationship to it.

Over the past year, the debate over how to address racism and systemic inequality has been at the forefront of many people’s minds. Theologian Jonathan Tran argues that the concept of race emerged as a “fig leaf” to cover the naked evils of slavery and racism, rather than as something essential to our identity as human beings. Because of this, seeing race as core to identity risks perpetuating injustice. How can we find ways to talk about identity and difference that don’t assume race is essential to who people are? Jonathan joins Ryan to discuss this and a broad array of themes relating to race, identity, and their relationship to power, all connecting back to the stories we tell ourselves about who we are, how those stories come to be, and the ultimate story of redemption.

Micah Redding, a computer programmer by training, a follower of Christ, and now the executive director of the Christian Transhumanist Association, joins Gretchen to discuss the history and future of transhumanism, the impact of artificial intelligence, and the role of Christians in this technological age. Together they ask, “Can Christians embrace transhumanism on their own terms?”

Amy Adamczyk joins Grant to discuss some of the most contentious topics in American culture. Why are Catholics, mainline Protestants, and Jews so bad at transmitting their faith to their children? Why have attitudes on abortion not liberalized over time the way views on homosexuality and marijuana use have? What can we learn from comparing Chinese and American attitudes toward abortion? Amy is a professor of sociology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and the Programs of Doctoral Study in Sociology and Criminal Justice at City University of New York. In addition to her award-winning Cross-National Public Opinion about Homosexuality and her co-authored Handing Down the Faith, Amy is currently completing a book that examines cross-national opinions on abortion.

Anne Carpenter joins Ryan to discuss the intersection of history, tradition, art, and theology. What is the difference between ressourcement and genealogy? Are art and theology the same thing? What can video games teach us about theology? How can everyday Christians contribute to renewing the theological tradition? Anne is associate professor of theology at St. Mary's College of California and has recently completed Nothing Gained Is Eternal: A Theology of Tradition, forthcoming from Fortress Press.