AllThingsNew.Tech Podcast

Join Paul Taylor as he talks with Pete Shull, a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Shanghai JaoTong University. Pete works with artificial intelligence for medical applications. Paul and Pete will talk about what it means to be human as robots grow in capability and some cultural differences in tech expectations between China and the US.

Pete Shull is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Shanghai JaoTong University. He received his Ph.D. from Stanford University in 2012, where he studied real-time sensing/feedback, human movement training, and biomechanics.

Happy New Year! Thanks to all of our listeners for tuning in last year, and we are excited for what's coming up at ATN this year.

Our first episode in 2021 features a conversation with Nathan Barczi, executive director at MIT's Octet Collaborative. He is also a former economist-turned associate pastor at Christ the King Presbyterian Church. In this episode, ATN host Paul Taylor and Nathan delve into a wide variety of topics encompassing faith, technology, and science. Join them as they talk about the Christian perspective on creation, Nathan's work with Harvard Medical School's pgED project, and the role of Christianity in shaping technology ethics--both in academia and industry.

Nathan Barczi has served as Associate Pastor at Christ the King Presbyterian Church since 2014, where he was awarded the John Stott award from the Creation Project at the Henry Center, a grant that supported him and his congregation in a year exploring the doctrine of creation in an age of science with eminent scientists and theologians.  He is a cohort facilitator for the Boston Fellows, and a fellow of the Center for Pastor Theologians.  His Christianity Today article about his work with Harvard geneticists exploring the bioethics of gene editing won an Evangelical Press Association Award. Prior to serving in full-time vocational ministry, he was an economic consultant for The Brattle Group and an assistant economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.  He holds a PhD in theology from the University of Nottingham and a PhD in economics from MIT.  He did his undergraduate work at Stanford University in his native Silicon Valley.  He lives with his wife (another Bay Area native) and three children in Somerville, Massachusetts.

We're happy to share a new podcast episode with Angelo Blancaflor, Intervarsity USA's evangelism communications manager and ATN's newest team member (welcome, Angelo!). ATN host Paul and Angelo have a fascinating conversation about digital ministry in the current pandemic. What is digital ministry? How do we use technology for evangelism, ministry, and outreach--for example, for college students? How can communities adapt to our predominantly online existence, in order to connect meaningfully with one another? We hope you enjoy exploring these questions and more! 

Angelo Blancaflor serves as the Communications Manager for InterVarsity’s Evangelism department, where he creates online evangelism resources and training for thousands of college students around the country. He is the co-conference chair of PassionTalks 2020, which hosts humble dialogue around pressing issues in the world. Angelo lives in Chicago, IL with his wife, Alison. You can follow him on instagram @evangeloism.

We're excited to share a new episode with ATN host Paul Taylor and our guest Nona Jones, head of faith-based partnerships at Facebook. As an advocate of digital ministry, Nona is passionate about building faith-based communities online. In their conversation, Paul and Nona talk about how technology is shaping church and ministry (especially relevant in this pandemic!). They also share thoughtful ideas around how Christians can think about digital platforms, such as social media. Tune in for their insights and stories!  

Nona Jones is a rare combination of preacher, author, business leader, entrepreneur, pastor and success strategist with more than fourteen years of executive leadership experience across multiple sectors.

Nona has been profiled by ESSENCE Magazine as an “Under 40 Woman to Watch” and Florida Trend Magazine as one of Florida’s “30-Something All Stars.” She is currently President of the Gainesville (FL) Chapter of The Links, Incorporated and serves on the University of Florida Digital Advisory Council. She most recently served as Secretary of the Florida Juvenile Justice Association Board of Directors and on the Georgia Statewide Human Trafficking Task Force. She is a graduate of Leadership Florida and the Presidential Leadership Scholars Program, a unique leadership development initiative led by President Bill Clinton and President George W. Bush. For more about Nona, visit her website: https://www.nonajones.com/.

"Ethical problems are like birds. We're surrounded by birds all the time [...] but you don't necessarily notice them. If you want to notice that they're around, you have to choose to notice them."

Our newest episode features Brian Green, the director of technology ethics at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University. In their conversation, ATN host Paul Taylor and Brian explore a complex yet significant topic of technology ethics: what it is, how it's related to the Christian perspective, and why it's important. They also talk about ways that the tech industry can apply ethics when building technology (including for AI and space exploration!). Listen in for these great points of discussion and more.

Brian Patrick Green is the director of technology ethics at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics. His work is focused on the ethics of technology, including such topics as AI and ethics, the ethics of space exploration and use, and the relationship of technology and religion (particularly the Catholic Church). He teaches AI ethics in the Graduate School of Engineering and formerly taught several other engineering ethics courses. He is co-author of the Ethics in Technology Practice corporate technology ethics resources. 

Green is a member of the Safety-Critical AI working group at Partnership on Artificial Intelligence to Benefit People and Society. He also coordinates the Center’s partnership with The Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose, the Hackworth grant program, the Technology and Ethics Faculty Group, the Environmental Ethics Fellows, and several other initiatives. Additionally, he has been published, interviewed, or mentioned in media including America, The Atlantic, The China Global Television Network, CNN.com, The Daily Beast, IEET, Nature, and NBC Bay Area.

His background includes doctoral and master's degrees in ethics and social theory from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, and his undergraduate degree is in genetics from the University of California, Davis. Between college and graduate school, he served for two years in the Jesuit Volunteers International teaching high school in the Marshall Islands.

How should Christians think about artificial intelligence (AI)?

Our latest episode explores this intriguing question with ATN host Paul Taylor and guest Tom Kehler, co-founder and CEO of Crowdsmart. An AI pioneer, Tom has a long history of work in technology dating back to some of the earliest formations of AI in the 1980s. At Crowdsmart, he leads the development of AI that makes better and unbiased predictions of investment success.

Tune into this episode to hear Tom's insights into theology and AI; his personal journey from wanting to be a missionary to finding his calling as a technology executive; and wisdom for Christian technologists looking to ground their work in faith. We hope you enjoy the conversation! 

Tom Kehler is the Co-founder & CEO of CrowdSmart, with over 25 years of experience as an entrepreneur and general manager in software and related businesses.

Prior to CrowdSmart, Tom founded Informative, a startup that helped major brands (LEGO, P&G, NBC, Intuit, among others) to engage consumers, improve loyalty and build their Net Promoter Score. Informative sold to Satmetrix in 2007. Prior to that, Tom was CEO of Connect, an eCommerce company, which he took public in 1996. Prior to that, Tom helped build IntelliCorp as CEO and led the company to an IPO in 1983.

Tom received a Ph.D. in electrical engineering and applied physics from Drexel University.

Episode 11 features Sherol Chen, software engineer at Google Stadia and founder + CEO of PassionTalks. An avid gamer, Sherol is passionate about using artificial intelligence to tell stories in game design. In this episode, ATN host Paul Taylor and Sherol discuss how creating games points to the biblical creation story; the challenges Christians face in gaming; and the power of storytelling--all while bonding over their favorite games. We hope you enjoy listening to their fun, insightful conversation!

At Google, Sherol has advocated for Machine Learning for Cloud enterprises, worked in Research at Google Brain for Machine Learning in Music and Creativity for project Magenta, and built algorithmic search results for YouTube. She's taught Artificial Intelligence for Stanford and around the world in Kazakhstan, China, India, Chile, and Peru. Her PhD work is in Computer Science, researching storytelling and Artificial Intelligence at the Expressive Intelligence Studio. Currently, Sherol is working on applied research in AI-enabled believable characters for the Stadia gaming platform at Google.

Sherol is also a founding member of the Google Inter-Belief Network and serves as an inaugural steering committee member for the Google Christian Fellowship. Her most meaningful entrepreneurial accomplishment to date is the band she founded in grad school, appropriately named the Terminal Degree Jazz Band. Sherol is also the founder and CEO of Passion Talks International, encouraging the voice for faith-driven excellence and academic curiosity for over a decade. All her opinions are her own and do not represent her affiliated institutions.

In episode 10, ATN host Paul Taylor discusses theology and blockchain with Jason Lee. Jason is Vice President of the NEM Foundation, a group which oversees a technology protocol for blockchain. Their conversation provides deep insights into the importance of blockchain, the rise of cryptocurrency (an application of blockchain), and the ways Christians can think about transparency, trust, and privacy. Tune in to learn more about these emerging (and exciting) technologies, as well as significant theological implications!

Jason is the Vice President for NEM Foundation, serving as Board of Director, Executive Committee and Council Member. As an advocate for emerging technologies, he was recognised as a Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia 2018 list-maker and had represented NEM Foundation in 30 cities over the past year as an advocate in his past role as the partnerships & strategic alliances director. He is based in Melbourne and was originally from Kuala Lumpur.

Note: Please be advised that this episode contains sensitive content.

Our latest episode features John Tanagho and Amanda Vohs from International Justice Mission (IJM). IJM is a nonprofit working with government and international law enforcement to combat online sexual exploitation of children (OSEC). In a powerful conversation with ATN host Paul Taylor, John and Amanda discuss their work at IJM and technology. Specifically, they delve into ways technology is used for good and evil; the benefits and challenges of creating more ethical technology; and the intricate connection between technology and human relationships. Listen in to hear more about IJM's work to set children free from OSEC, and how technology can promote a more just world for all. 

John Tanagho serves as the Field Office Director for International Justice Mission in Cebu, the Philippines where he leads the team to combat online sexual exploitation of children (OSEC) by partnering with government and international law enforcement to strengthen the justice system.  Through partnerships with law enforcement, prosecution and aftercare agencies, IJM supported the Philippine government in rescuing 560 victims, arresting 235 suspects and securing 73 convictions in OSEC cases (as of 2019). John is developing the next phase of IJM’s OSEC program through a global center to scale justice system solutions that protect children from OSEC globally, including through technology industry partnerships.  John speaks internationally and is interviewed by international media on OSEC.  Before joining IJM, John worked as a lawyer in Chicago for six years at a large law firm, specializing in complex civil litigation and white-collar internal investigations.  He received his law degree from Loyola University Chicago School of Law and undergraduate degrees in Philosophy and Psychology from Roger Williams University.

Amanda Vohs serves as the Director of Strategic Partnerships, and is responsible for building the network of partners that fuel the work of IJM. Before joining IJM in 2016, Amanda worked in sales and project management in the tech field throughout the US and globally. With a Master’s Degree in Conflict Resolution, she wrote her thesis in Uganda, focusing on the use of children in armed conflict. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and three children.

Happy New Year to all of our listeners!

We're kicking off the new year with a new episode featuring Victor Ho. Victor is CEO and co-founder of Fivestars, a company that helps local businesses by transforming transactions into relational experiences. To explore the theme of relationship, ATN host Paul Taylor and Victor talk about the difference between "personal" and "personalization" and technology's role in building relationships. We hope you enjoy this conversation.

Victor is the co-founder & CEO of Fivestars, a software startup on mission to help businesses and communities thrive by turning every transaction into a relationship. 50 million people use Fivestars to get rewarded at 14,000 local businesses with one rewards program. Local businesses use Fivestars to bring more customers into their stores. In 2019, Fivestars drove over $3 billion in local commerce across its network. Fivestars has raised $105 million from HarbourVest, Menlo Ventures, Lightspeed, DCM, Y-Combinator, and others.

Prior to Fivestars, Victor worked at McKinsey & Company, where he helped build customer engagement strategies for premiere Fortune 500 brands. He started his career as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs, is a CFA, and holds three degrees from the University of California, Berkeley, where he triple majored in Industrial Engineering, Rhetoric, and Business Administration. Victor also has a deep love for his wife Jessica, son Caleb, and sour candy.