This podcast examines whether artificial intelligence (AI) will amplify totalitarian tendencies in human societies through the philosophical lenses of Augusto Del Noce, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Pope Benedict XVI, and Václav Havel. The case for AI enhancing totalitarianism hinges on its alignment with instrumental rationality, which reduces human reasoning to technical problem-solving (Del Noce), erodes moral agency (Solzhenitsyn), enables pervasive surveillance (Havel), and marginalizes non-technical worldviews. AI’s optimization-driven logic risks entrenching technocratic control, diminishing metaphysical inquiry, and automating social conformity.

Conversely, the case against emphasizes AI’s potential to democratize knowledge, enhance human judgment, expose systemic flaws in technocratic systems, and reinforce communities grounded in spiritual values (Solzhenitsyn). Properly framed, AI could support human reason (Benedict XVI) by aiding decision-making while preserving moral autonomy.

The analysis concludes that AI’s impact is not deterministic but shaped by societal philosophical frameworks. To prevent totalitarian outcomes, humanity must uphold transcendent values, maintain spaces for moral and metaphysical questioning, and ensure technology serves—rather than replaces—human judgment and community. Key safeguards include recognizing human dignity, fostering ethical governance of AI, and prioritizing wisdom over mere technical efficiency. Ultimately, the document argues that resisting the reduction of reason to instrumental logic and nurturing human-centric values will determine whether AI fosters freedom or tyranny.

This episode discusses the simulation hypothesis, which suggests that our reality could be a simulated environment created by an advanced civilization. We trace the historical and philosophical roots of this idea, from ancient Chinese and Greek philosophy to modern thinkers like Nick Bostrom and David Chalmers. Many influential technologists believe in the simulation hypothesis, which I find problematic from a Catholic theological perspective. I argue that the simulation hypothesis is incompatible with key Catholic beliefs. I conclude by again emphasizing the need to evangelize technologists who hold these beliefs, as they are an influential group whose secular humanist beliefs may be embedded in the technologies they create.

In this podcast script, I discuss the Catholic Church's role in shaping the future of artificial intelligence (AI). Of course I am optimistic about the gradual development of AI and its potential to benefit humanity.

I discuss the importance of open-source AI platforms and diversity in AI development, aligning these principles with Catholic teachings on the common good. While bias in AI is inevitable, fostering a diverse ecosystem of AI systems appropriate for different cultures and value systems is crucial.

Drawing on Pope Francis' critique of the "technocratic paradigm" in Laudato Si, I discuss the need for the Church to approach AI with humility and respect for the mystery of creation. Catholics need to engage with these developments in a spirit of discernment, seeking to harness the power of technology for the common good while remaining grounded in faith and commitment to human dignity. Ultimately, AI should serve to advance and enrich the ways we worship God and evangelize others.

This WhatsRFuture podcast episode is the second season. In this podcast we discuss the topics of faith, science, and technology from a Catholic perspective. Joining me are Rich Bonomo, the head of the SCS-Wisconsin chapter and Kate Bulinski, a paleontologist and practicing Catholic, from Bellarmine University in Louisville, KY. In this podcast, we discuss the challenges of reconciling faith and science, particularly within the Catholic Church. Kate shares her experiences teaching a course on evolution and creationism, and her involvement with SCS. She highlights the importance of early catechesis in helping young people understand the compatibility of faith and science. Our discussion touches on the historical context of the perceived conflict between faith and science. We also discuss the challenges faced by the Catholic Church in addressing this issue, including inadequate catechesis, the influence of Protestant fundamentalism, and the prevalence of scientism in popular culture, especially the distasteful habit of conflating all Christian denominations into Protestant fundamentalism.

You can find more of Kate's work here:

Kate gave the keynote address after our recent Gold Mass in Louisville: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZnqnkdOTZA&t=1201s

Here are some essays Kate has written on topics that might be of interest:

Bulinski, K.V., “Correcting Misconceptions About Science and Faith in the Classroom” Invited contribution to the Vatican Observatory Sacred Space Astronomy Online Magazine, October 30, 2021 https://www.vaticanobservatory.org/sacred-space-astronomy/correcting-misconceptions-about-science-and-faith-in-the-classroom/

Bulinski, K.V. 2019 Evolution and Faith: Compatible and Complementary. The Record Newspaper, May 16th, 2019. Invited contribution as a part of the faith and science series from the Archdiocese of Louisville. https://therecordnewspaper.org/evolution-and-faith-compatible-and-complimentary/

Bulinski, K.V. 2019 A Time to Speak—A Wide-Angle View of Earth. The Record Newspaper, January 16th, 2019. Column published following invited contribution to the Vatican Observatory Sacred Space Astronomy Online Magazine from December, 2018. https://therecordnewspaper.org/a-time-to-speak-a-wide-angle-view-of-earth/

And a podcast:

Bulinski, K.V., July 31, 2020. “Science, Faith, and Deep Time: A Conversation with Geologist and Paleontologist Dr. Kate Bulinski. Earth and Spirit Podcast for the Passionist Earth and Spirit Center. https://anchor.fm/earthandspiritcenter/episodes/Science--Faith--and-Deep-Time-A-Conversation-with-Geologist-and-Paleontologist-Dr--Kate-Bulinski-ehaspl/a-a2q7qjf

This WhatsRFuture podcast episode is a bit different than the ones in the past. Rich Bonomo, the first person interviewed on the WhatsRFuture podcast interviews Tim Carone, the podcast host. Rich talks to Tim about Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) and how impactful AGI will be to the Church.

00:03:08 Introduction

00:8:45 Artificial Intelligence and AGI Intro

00:27:26 AGI Deep Dive

00:49:32 St. Augustine and "I Am a Strange Loop", a 2007 book by Douglas Hofstadter

00:57:50 Scientism, the After Life, and the Singularity

01:01:30 Do We Live in a Simulation?

01:07:30 AGI and The Challenge to the Church

01:27:50 AGI Relation to Faith and Reason

Today I interview Geoffrey Woollard who is at University of British Columbia (in Vancouver).  We go deep into structure of biological molecules and how he uses computation as a tool to understand causal process at the microscopic level.  We discuss his faith journey and then some interesting topics around faith and reason.

The podcast is an interview with Peter Copeland. Peter is a policy advisor to the Ontario Provincial government and a philosopher of science.  Peter works as a writer and contributor to Catholic Conscience.  He has developed the Philosophy of Science Series that addresses some of the perennial themes in the philosophy of science in their contemporary guise. We discuss his ideas and papers, intelligence, and other cultural topics.  We also cover an alternative to the Turing Test which I call the Tommy Lasorda Test for Artificial General Intelligence.

00:02:45 Introduction

00:17:20 Catholic Conscience

00:36:05 Methodological Assumptions and Challenges, Quantifying qualities, and values in science

01:06:25 Science and Metaphysics

01:10:00 Intelligence and the Tommy Lasorda Test for Artificial General Intelligence

01:29:30 Faith and Reason

01:38:20 Catholic Journey

01:48:55 Science and Public Policy

EPISODE LINKS:

Peter Copeland at Catholic Conscience: https://pcopelanwrites.com/tag/catholic-conscience/

Catholic Conscience: https://catholicconscience.org/

Dr. Daniel Vanden Berk is professor at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe PA. Dan is an astrophysicist. He works on extragalactic astronomy and quasars, specifically in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and other satellite based data. We discuss his work and where he's going with it. We'll discuss his background in Catholicism and his faith journey. And we'll talk about suffering and how he views faith and reason, how they come together. And then at the end, we talk about the Catholic Church response to COVID and his perspective on that.

00:02:24 Intro

00:12:22 Overviews of quasars and black holes

00:26:10 Deep dive into research

00:35:55 Future of research

00:38:27 The place of quasars in cosmological models, dark matter, and dark energy

00:44:06 Faith journey

00:56:20 Suffering and Evil

01:03:02 Faith and Reason

01:09:06 Stephen Barr book on "Modern Physics and Ancient Faith"

01:10:50 Future podcast on Word on Fire Institute "The New Apologetics" book review and AI

01:11:48 How to get a degree in evangelization

01:16:12 Response of the Church and scientists to COVID

EPISODE LINKS:

Joshua Sijuwade Transubstantiation paper: https://philpapers.org/rec/SIJTAM

Joshua Sijuwade Transubstantiation podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51JUMy75CSs&t=172s

Dr. Cory Hayes on Galileo and the Church: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6T-W8kN1nk

"Modern Physics and Ancient Faith", by Stephen M. Barr

"The New Apologetics", ed. by Matthew Nelson

Dr. Cara Westmark is an Assistant Professor in the Dept of Neurology, at UW-Madison.  She studies the amyloid beta protein precursor and amyloid beta in Alzheimer’s disease, Down syndrome, Fragile X syndrome (FXS) and autism.  We discuss her background and research as well as the response of the Catholic Church to COVID and the challenges Catholic scientists faced during the pandemic.  We also touch on future pandemic responses. Finally we cover bioethics and Cara's view on the compatibility of faith and reason.

00:01:26 - Introduction

00:12:05 - Research

00:37:10 - Cara's Faith Journey

00:40:49 - The COVID-19 response and the Catholic Church (erratum: COVID-19 started in March 2020, not March 2019)

00:56:53 - Role of the Catholic scientist during pandemics

00:59:31 - Bioethics

01:03:33 - Compatibility of science and faith

EPISODE LINKS:

Dr. Cara Westmark website: https://neurology.wisc.edu/people/westmark-cara/

Dr. Chris Raub is in biomedical engineering at the Catholic University of America and a member of the Society of Catholic Scientists. He uses non-invasive novel imaging techniques to characterize the complex architectures in cells.  Chris studies mechanobiology and tissues on a chip, which he will describe in detail.

00:01:43 - Introduction

00:05:32 - Research

00:32:15 - How does biomedical engineering fit into the big picture?

00:42:32 - Chris' Faith Journey

00:56:00 - Catholic Doctrine challenges

01:17:12 - Ethical issues in biomedical engineering

01:26:23 - Compatibility of science and faith

EPISODE LINKS:

Dr. Chris Raub website: https://engineering.catholic.edu/research-and-faculty/faculty-profiles/biomedical/raub-christopher/index.html