What is the good that we are actually after? Every time we agree to a promise of efficiency – from adopting the use of machines in farming environments to wearing devices on our bodies that collect data – we submit ourselves to something much larger than what we can immediately see. The question is, how are those promises actually delivered, and what are their unintended costs? Part 2 of this AI series looks behind technology’s curtain, seeking to better understand how trust and honour ought to be built into the considerations we make when it comes to engaging with technology and Artificial Intelligence.
Summary
Central to this discussion around the use of Artificial Intelligence is the notion that virtue is not intrinsically baked into the technologies that are currently available to us. Given this fact, how do we – as consumers of all this technology – begin to consider how to use tech responsibly, with honour, and oriented towards the good? Further, how can we peel back layers of all that is bright and shiny in front of us so that we can see, with clear eyes and clear minds, the ulterior motives behind Silicon Valley’s technological masterminds? Pete and Jason continue to unpack their thoughts regarding what honourable use of technology can look like, urging listeners not to lose sight of the good, and not just for ourselves but for our neighbours as well. They paint a picture of what we might actually be after: a society filled with thriving human beings, unmastered by machines, humbly living embodied experiences. Pete and Jason round out the discussion by making a case for the type of environments that we need to foster in order to engage with technology with carefully discerned intentionality.
Speakers Bio
Pete White is the founder of Vocatio, an organization focused on restoring character and calling to the center of human life. Drawing from a wealth of life experiences – from his work as a carpenter in blue-collar environments, volunteering in homeless shelters, to nearly two decades as a therapist in private practice – Pete encountered the deep brokenness of the human experience in lives oriented away from the heart of God. He witnessed firsthand the fractures caused by addictions, poverty of mind, body, and spirit, broken relationships, and crises in identity and authenticity. His encounters have ignited in him a deep desire to see healing and wholeness, steeped in love, to the world around him. Today, Pete accompanies individuals and organizations in the process of clarifying purpose and life-calling, recovering their vocation as life-as-craft.
Bio retrieved from Vocatio.
Jason Jensen is the founding partner and CEO of Glass Canvas. He has set the tone for radical pursuit of the way of Jesus in every area of our business, leading with vulnerability, intentionality, and pursuit of the human heart. His personal mission is to help increase the accompaniment capacity of the Church, and he does so with his gifts of being with individuals and leaders to help draw them into an integrated Christian imagination. Jason leads the formation direction and overall vision of Glass Canvas.
Noteworthy quotes
“Our conventional response to all media, namely that it is how they are used that counts, is the numb stance of the technological idiot. For the 'content' of a medium is like the juicy piece of meat carried by the burglar to distract the watchdog of the mind." - Marshall McLuhan, The Medium is the Message
“Human nature will be the last part of Nature to surrender to Man.” - C.S. Lewis, The Abolition of Man
Resources for you
The Weight of Glory
by C.S. Lewis
Order from Amazon
Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man
by Marshall McLuhan and Lewis H. Lapham
Order from Amazon
The Abolition of Man
by C.S. Lewis
Order from Amazon
Timestamps
02:10 How to think vs. what to think
02:55 The goal is maturing in how to think properly
04:52 Amputation from the past – and limiting the future
05:20 Discernment and the law of unintended consequences
07:28 Being anchored by story-telling, story-making, and story-living
09:30 Using AI responsibility: is it possible?
09:50 Observations on efficacious users of AI
10:45 Have we become more productive?
13:50 People-centered stories
15:40 What is “the good” that we are after
16:20 Begin with honour as a foundation to trust
18:00 Our neighbours are “enspirited” beings
19:10 The locus for inspiration
21:44 What does honour require of you?
27:00 Distracting the watchdog of the mind (McLuhan)
33:27 What does responsible use of technology look like?
34:55 Tethered scrupulosity
38:15 Technology’s cost vs. benefits
40:58 Virtue is not intrinsic in technology
42:32 The best parts of life are embodied
43:12 Playground principles still apply
45:54 To merely do more – but why?
47:47 Glorified gambling addicts
52:05 Re-collection of our memory
53:35 Joe Rogan’s metamorphosis
55:05 The making of a god
56:12 The people and the product
58:43 Is there goodness to be found?
01:00:04 Attention is a moral act
01:04:03 Characterological problems of the West
01:09:50 In the presence of somebody’s absence
01:13:15 Trust issues and society’s spell
01:16:48 How to face the technological apocalypse
01:21:43 A shared confession
01:26:56 Holding it communally… in neighbourhoods
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