Pastor Foltz is Pastor Emeritus of Saint James Lutheran Church in Gettysburg, PA and author of the the Frontline Study content.
A number of people have asked the same kind of question my good friend Myron poses in the following paragraph. I’ll try to find an answer. “I have been wrestling with how to define the culture that is under siege by AI and just what exactly is the threat. It seems to me that culture, […]
When I started this series, I was still determining exactly where I was going. Then, I was supplied with an example every week that led the way. Last Tuesday, it was the ad introducing Apple’s new iPad Pro. It was immediately withdrawn when people objected to its content. However, I think it accurately conveyed how […]
My son and I wrote about artificial intelligence about 30 years ago. At that time, scholars discussed its effects on society. Some felt we were entering a transhuman stage in evolution. Our group was more concerned about warning that too much reliance on AI would lead to significant losses, especially in the arts and ethics. […]
I want to return to Ira‘s observation that we are talking about many different understandings of artificial intelligence because it is basic to what I am finding. The individuals to whom I talked certainly did not share the same concept, but neither did the articles or studies I read. Some referred to any task performed […]
Before addressing Ira’s observation that society– and we ourselves– are talking about many different understandings of artificial intelligence, I’d like to look at important recent events while they are fresh in our minds. They clearly contrast the present state of human and artificial intelligence in a way that highlights the contributions and threats of AI. […]
My limited knowledge of artificial intelligence is pretty much based on conversations with a computer engineer friend 30 years ago. He described his work as developing software to make a machine think like a human. I’m not sure he ever totally agreed with me, but after a while, I suggested he had reversed his task. […]
So far, I’ve looked at global technological systems to understand the major developments in human evolution taking place around us. You could also use artificial intelligence. Again, people seem to sense its impact but have difficulty explaining exactly what that is. We are amazed when we read something written by a machine, but we are […]
Several years ago, I attended a peace church conference. Surprisingly, I did not find a lot of emotional piety but rather profound thought, even when asked questions such as “Is there a better way to preserve the community than shunning?” However, I was most impressed with a discussion about the need to make cooperation the […]
Rebuilding culture is not something that is consciously done. You don’t gather people to design a culture. It naturally develops over many years as guidance for a group’s life. In an oral society, culture is the lifestyle and customs resulting from living together geographically. These are enforced and sustained by leaders, group pressure, and foundational […]
I’ve been implying that we must build new or rebuild old cultural values lost by relying on technological systems. This assumes a very loose definition of culture as shared meanings and purposes that bind us together and guide our social relationships. The loss occurs when technological systems provide what we need or think we need […]
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