Device & Virtue

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When’s the last time you got a handwritten letter, or stared out the window, or went on vacation without checking email? Did the Internet kill the good ol’ days, or is this just nostalgia talking?

Chris and Adam dive into the book 100 Things We Lost to the Internet and explore the difference between true wisdom and mere wistfulness. Tech has become the de facto symbol of progress, but is everything new a true advancement? How could we know the difference.

Among the 100 Things We Lost are…

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THREADS is the all new social network launched by the founders of Facebook, and it launched big and fast—over 100 millions accounts in the first week. Chris reflects on how social networks work like societal mirrors, and reflect some of the same issues that vexxed the early Christian church.

Short Circuit episodes skip the argument—Adam or Chris grab the mic on their own for a more personal reflection on technology & faith. These shorter entries are a bonus to our full-length Device & Virtue episodes. Enjoy!

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This month, Apple announced the new Vision Pro headset. 10 years from now, will we look back and say it changed our life? Can we ever know whether something is a Flop or the Future?

Think about it. When they first came out, did folks know that the electric refrigerator or the microwave oven would change modern life as we know it? How about when Apple launched the iPhone? Sure—today we think about that as a turning point in history. But then?

Discerning and predicting new tech is hard. You’ll find naysayers and you’ll find worshippers from the first minutes it appears. Who’s right? And how would we know?

“In the same way that Mac introduced us to personal computing, and iPhone introduced us to mobile computing, Apple Vision Pro will introduce us to spatial computing.” …“The first Apple product you look through, and not at.” — Tim Cook

Watch the 2 hour event (Apple Vision Pro begins at 1hr 20min)

“Every once in a while, a revolutionary product comes along that changes everything” — Steve Jobs

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“Minority Report” was just a movie, right? Well, not anymore. Beat cops from Los Angeles to London are using Artificial Intelligence to forecast tomorrow’s murders. Is every crime predestined?

Artificial Intelligence is everywhere, including the police station. From forecasting burglary to heading off homicides, predictive policing is more than 10 years old, and your city is probably already using it. 

What is predictive policing, and what should Christians think about it? Chris and Adam unpack the ethics of prediction and beliefs about predestination. They look some of the risks that come with crime statistics, and the solutions that don’t merely reduce crime but actually increase justice. 

Plus, if you’ve ever used Google Analytics, stick around for the Bible story of David’s census

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Welcome to Device & Virtue, Season 9! 

Leave Us a Digital Voicemail!

Starting this season, *in these show notes* and at deviceandvirtue.com, you can leave us a digital voicemail. 

We’ve been arguing the wrongs and rights of technology and faith for 4 years. We think it's time you spoke up. If you’ve ever wanted to hear yourself featured on a podcast, this could be your debut! 

There will be a link in the show notes for every episode of Season 9! Tap through and start recording!

Tell us...

- something we should discuss in season 9

- a technology and faith dilemma that you have

- a Vice or Virtue that we should do

...90 seconds or less.

We’ll see you soon with our next episode on AI Cops and the world of predictive policing!

Thanks for listening!

Adam & Chris

https://www.deviceandvirtue.com/talk-back

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Christians used to be known as "people of the book." Do we lose something big if we become the "people of the screen"? From Moses to Gutenberg to YouVersion App, we’re talking the digital bible with our guest John Dyer.

Chris talks with John about his newest book People of the Screen. We explore how evangelicals created the digital Bible and how it is shaping Christians interpretation of scripture today. In his research, John found that people read print and digital Bibles at different times depending on where they are and what they’re doing.

We cover a lot of ground:

If your Bible reading ever leaves you feeling judged or confused, John’s research illuminates some surprising reasons why that might be the case. 

What’s the future of print Bibles? Find out what John thinks will happen as the Christians go deeper into digital. Plus, hear about John’s latest Bible project: the Y’all Version. 

John Dyer is Vice President for Enrollment Services and Educational Technologies & Assistant Professor of Theological Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary. 

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“Hey Chat GPT, write a script for a podcast arguing the wrongs and rights of technology and faith…”

Could AI write that? The shocking answer is… it’s close. Maybe a full yes. The revolution of Artificial Intelligence chatbots got a rocket boost in the last months when on Nov 30, 2022, OpenAI released a language model called ChatGPT, which can interact in a conversational way. The results were heads above what we’ve experienced with Siri or Alexa, immediately launching fears and possibilties.

Adam and Chris explore what ChatGPT can do, and talk about the implications for society and faith. What does this change for the future? Are we witnessing one of the biggest tech moments of our lifetime?

Bonus this episode: find out if Chris can pronounce the word 'specificity.' (Spoiler Slert: it’s rough)

This version of ChatGPT is text only, but for our podcast, we used another AI product called Descript to generate an artificial voice to read ChatGPT’s parts. And guess what? OpenAI is one of the investors in the Descript product—one we use regularly for our podcast production.

Starting as a non-profit, in 2019 Microsoft invested more than $1 Billion dollars, and in January 2023, after ChatGPT exploded, they upped their investment to $10 billion.

What is my future?

As a language model, I do not have the capability to predict the future. I can provide information and answer questions based on my training data, but I cannot predict events that have not yet occurred. It's best to consult with experts or make your own plans for your future.

SEE THE REST OF THE CHATGPT EXAMPLES AT DEVICEANDVIRTUE.COM

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Device & Virtue friend & author John Dyer jumps on the podcast talking about the 10 11 year updated edition of his book From the Garden to the City. Wow, a lot changes in a decade! Ten years ago, nobody knew what Zoom was, and online church meant having a Facebook page. No matter how fast tech changes, John Dyer says it still has a place in the story of God.

Adam asks John about

And don’t miss the end where we debut our special guest segment, Settle This Argument Between Adam & Chris.

Adam & Chris think John Dyer is one of the best voices writing on technology & faith. Dr. John Dyer is the Vice President for Enrollment Services and Educational Technologies & Assistant Professor of Theological Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary. Channeling Eric Liddell, John likes to say, “When I code, I can feel God’s pleasure.” This desire to glorify God by showing how our creativity is an important aspect of our role as image bearers, drives John’s work and teaching. A former youth pastor, he enjoys working with students to see how the biblical story brings insight and clarity to the ideas found in science, sociology, and culture. John is married to Amber, a literature and philosophy professor and has two lovely children.

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Who hasn’t heard about Twitter these days? With all the controversy, Adam & Chris are talking about how private tech becomes a “public square”—and does Twitter have a future in 2023?

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Stained glass, digital photos, or a pile of rocks. Today, we join the co-hosts of the Embedded Church podcast and talk about how the church builds memories. It’s a podcast inside a podcast.

Memories help people establish identities and build communities, and physical places are fertile ground where memories take root. But are new digital spaces uprooting our memories, or giving them new soil to grow in? 

As Christians, God consistently calls us to remember all that he has done and the ways he has been faithful. How can we root our memories in physical places and digital spaces, and cultivate the benefits of both? 

We asked our friends Eric Jacobsen and Sara Joy Proppe, the co-hosts of the Embedded Church podcast, to help us sort this out. Call it a podcast playdate.

Hear stories of churches that have established creative practices that both embrace lament and celebrate God’s healing. If your church wants to build memory and community through digital and physical spaces, check out this episode!

Learn more about the Embedded Church podcast on their website and on Instagram. Listen on Apple, Google, Spotify, and everywhere else.

Eric O. Jacobsen is the Lead Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Tacoma Washington. He is the author of numerous books and articles exploring the connections between the Christian faith, local community, and the built environment. He has a PhD in Theology and Culture from Fuller Theological Seminary and is a member of the Congress for the New Urbanism. He is married to Liz Jacobsen and has four amazing children (Kate, Peter, Emma, and Abraham). Follow him on Twitter.

Sara Joy Proppe (‘Pro-pay’) is a speaker and consultant who started Proximity Project as a way to integrate her faith and work. She seeks to educate and equip churches to be strategic stewards of their properties for the common good within the contexts of their neighborhoods through avenues of placemaking and real estate development. Her professional expertise includes urban planning, real estate development, and placemaking. She has a Masters in Community Planning from Iowa State University and is a member of the Congress for the New Urbanism. Follow her on Twitter.

Sara Joy mentioned Biola’s Advent devotionals. You can check them out here!

Chris mentioned Laurence Scott a couple times. His book The Four-Dimensional Human is an acute reflection on the human experience of digital spaces. Learn more here.

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