I was working in Christian publishing the first time I heard the phrase “impulse buys.” I was very confused. Wasn’t this “Christian” publishing? Why would we support “impulse buying”? Isn’t self-control a fruit of the Spirit?

As I listened, I learned that the term referred to all those kitschy knick-knacks at the cash register in the Christian bookstore. Things like “Testa-mints” and WWJD Bracelets that you would beg your mom to buy you. Why? Because you were a child and you lacked self-control.

Of course, when you were a child you acted like a child, but now that you are an adult, and . . . well, those temptations are still there, but you’ve put childish ways behind you. Right?

In the idealism of my 20s, that’s what I thought. Yet, here was a Christian business executive doing everything they could to put those temptations in front of Christian consumers. Needless to say, I could hardly contain my ethical disdain. Clearly, I wasn’t made to be a Christian business executive. Or maybe it was them who wasn’t.

This week’s newsletter includes a podcast episode on “the technological impulse,” a term coined by Dr. Keith Plummer, to refer to our very human drive to make something of the world that God has made. Others say that creativity is even a part of being made in God’s image—we are “co-creators” with God. Plummer argues that this creative impulse is a good one, and honestly, I agree.

But if our impulses remain merely impulses, then we are like those kids who can’t resist the Testa-mints at the cash register. If we thoughtlessly adopt every new technology, we’re hardly better than a child. No, we need to shape those impulses into something more . . . well, mature.

Of course, as adults, it’s not wrong to snag a candy bar at check out once in a while. But that impulse is, hopefully, filtered through a more refined sensibility shaped by self-awareness and self-control. Let’s call it “technological intention.”

Having “technological intention” is what I think we need to develop—by developing our technological sensibilities, by growing more technologically mature. We need to mature beyond technological impulses and move toward technological intentions. (I know Dr. Plummer agrees.)

Part of having “technological intention” means taking the long view of technology and faith. That vision should precede, not follow, the technology we adopt. That’s a sensibility I try to cultivate with Christianity Tomorrow: To see technology in the light of eternity, not efficiency.

This mindset also is what drove Jacques Ellul—another article this week. He said we need to assess technology with spirituality in mind, not just efficiency. Sure, AI might help us be more efficient, but will it help us be more Christian?

That’s the question I wanted my publishing colleague to be asking too. Maybe “impulse buys” are good for business, but I doubt they are good for humans. The more we can shape our technological impulses into technological intentions, the more we see technology in light of eternity, the better we’ll be at building systems that enhance, and don’t stunt, our spiritual lives.

Enjoy this week’s newsletter!

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In his October post, “Machines of Loving Grace,” Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei imagined “How AI Could Transform the World for the Better.” This kind of optimistic outlook will be very familiar to anyone who has spent time in Silicon Valley.

That said, cracks have started to emerge in some of these utopian visions (Bitcoin being one symptom), especially when we watch billionaire leaders deploy their systems for their own benefit. When they—and we— find themselves faced with tipping the balance—ever so slightly—toward others or toward themselves, they will likely choose their own benefits first. What will it hurt? It’s so small. But a succession of small, selfish choices programmed into the tech—these harden into systems that benefit some first and impoverish others.

In earlier eras, these hard imbalances took the form of institutions, policies, and legislation, and they disempowered various groups along the way. You can certainly think of a few.

Of course, Jesus presented a different picture of power and poverty—he gave up all power, consistently choosing to benefit others over himself. And he did it all the way to the end. Leaving his throne above all creation, he descended and descended and descended, lower and lower, until he gave up his very body to be killed.

“Machines of Loving Grace” sounds like a hopeful note amid fears of tech dystopianism. But any such machine is built by “People of Loving Grace,” who, when faced with those small choices, when faced with tipping the balance toward self or others—ever so slightly—choose to follow Jesus down down down. Only then will they begin to build systems that lift others up up up.

Building such systems that impoverish ourselves can sound scary. “Will I have enough if I build systems that impoverish myself?” And if our hope is in the systems we build, then we are right to be afraid. But as Christians, we know our wealth does not rise and fall on our tech systems.

When Christian technologists trust that it is God from whom every good gift comes, then we can build in ways that impoverish ourselves. We can build machines of loving grace because our blessing and benefits come not from our tech, but from our God.

So when we build, our giving comes from God’s wealth to us, from the abundant lives we’ve received from God. In that light, with those gifts, our building becomes the systems of blessing, a flow from God’s abundant life through our own lives and into the lives of others.

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There’s plenty to read and watch here this week. So I’ll let you get to it.

Enjoy this week’s newsletter!

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The first article this week was a deep dive for me.

I’ve been building custom chatbots for organizations for a while now, and this was a good gut check. The writer Luke Plant makes a hard case against using them for Christian apologetics, but he doesn’t throw them out entirely.

Then I discovered, on the FaithTech Slack, members having a robust discussion about the article. Truth be told, it was a lot of talking past each other (and a little bit of soapy drama tbh). Nothing yet that you would call a systematic evaluation of Christian chatbots.

So I began to outline what I see as the pros and cons for Christian chatbots. Here’s what I came up with . . .

• Pro: Ease. Talking with a chatbot is easier than doing “the hard work of researching and finding good, reliable sources” about the Christian faith. That ease makes it more likely that more people will ask and explore their faith questions, rather than giving up.

• Con: Falsehoods. The information chatbot users get will be an “average” of the content that’s in the dataset. It might be better information than the worst, but will also be worse than the best information. That said, there is no such thing as an “average” truth. Truth isn’t the “average” probability from a collection of works.

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Should Christians abandon Facebook? Or social media in general? This week features one article arguing that Meta’s recent policy changes make its platforms less hospitable to Christian values. Similarly, after Elon Musk made similar changes on Twitter last year, many others abandoned ship. So what are we to do? (Anothe…

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Life, death, and immortality. From beginning to end, this installment has us covering the arc of human life. Plus forays into cults and electric cars, because why not.

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Spend any time in Christian tech circles and the opposing viewpoints will boggle your mind. Shouldn’t people with a shared belief system have the same views about technology? Far from it. This week’s newsletter is a microcosm.

We have one article advocating for cell phones in schools and another opposing…

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We just can’t seem to resist reinventing Jesus for our times, whether it’s Caravaggio, Warner Sallman, or the Jesus Film. Today it’s “Deus in Machina.”

The creators of “Deus in Machina” likely knew about Father Justin, the chatbot priest that got defrocked in under 30 hours. But that didn’t stop them. Of cour…

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Our technology is more human than ever, and makes us less human in the process. That’s what many seem to be saying.

Recent research adds to our growing awareness that AI isn’t simply biased—it’s ideological. Meanwhile, numerous voices—4+ in this newsletter alone—worry about the …

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Highlighting the negative effects screens have on individuals and their faith, Brad East proposes the concept of a “screen-free church,” a vision for Christian community and worship that minimizes the role of digital devices.

East kno…

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Should Christian Higher Ed Be Worried About AI?

David Kotter, dean of the School of Theology at Colorado Christian University, says that while AI has been overhyped, it also has potential to revolutionize the field of higher ed. So much so, Kotter says, it can’t be ignored.

Kotter offers six suggestions for incorporating AI tools into higher ed…

• Use your…

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The definition of an authentic video game is nuanced and varies depending on …

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Parasocial relationships are defined as one-sided connections in which a viewer or follower feels a bo…

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Jackson and his fellow researchers examined the robot…

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Christians may face real contradictions with Artificial Intelligence. Researchers at UChicago say that automation may be a real factor in the decline of religion in the last century.

Meanwhile, some Christian colleges—after their fair share of hand-wringing—are bullishly pushing forward with critical adoption, but adoption nonetheless. Are they embracing something that will ultimately undermine, not only their institutional credibility, but also their religious belief?

This question is worth pondering as you read this week’s articles. Share your thoughts in the comments—hopefully without the toxicity. ;)

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Levy also asked his opinions about Jesus and Silicon Valley.

Near …

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We humans have a tendency to embellish stories and imagine memories. AI’s “hallucinations” are its own attempts to form a coherent picture of information, filling knowledge gaps with plausible guesses or predictions. Again,…

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Local Amish distributors are selling thousands of e-bikes each year. The popularity of e-bikes among the Amish has made the county a testing groun…

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Researchers Dr Jennifer George and Dr Rachel Siow Robertson point to this story as evidence that digital systems are rarely designed for joy. Rather, many u…

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The Archdiocese of Milan started the process for Acutis’ sainthood in 2012, which involves collecting evidence of his sacred work. The process of becoming a saint is lengthy, careful, and bureaucratic, including local bishop approval and recognition from the Pope.

Bef…

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