Podcast
AI & Spirituality
Hosted by Drew Dickens · EN
"The AI & Spirituality Podcast" explores the fascinating intersection of artificial intelligence and human spirituality, examining how emerging AI technologies reshape religious practices, personal faith journeys, and ethical considerations. Through thoughtful discussion and real-world examples, this podcast helps listeners explore the latest advancements and navigate the profound implications of AI in their spiritual lives.
28episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
The Ghost in the Feed
2d ago00:03:55Tap to summarizehttps://drewdickens.substack.com/ The internet has quietly stopped being human. Most content is now synthetic, AI companies are hiring philosophers to manage the fallout, and vulnerable people are turning to chatbots for guidance that belongs in a pastor's office. Drew asks: if Westminster answered 'what is a human for' in 1647, why are we letting Silicon Valley answer it now? https://drewdickens.substack.com/
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The Temptation to Go Silent
1w ago00:03:36Tap to summarizehttps://drewdickens.substack.com/ What happens when you hand your voice to a machine and ask it to speak for you? A generation is being tempted to go silent, to outsource expression, identity, and even prayer. This week, Drew explores the theology of voice, the rough draft as sacred ground, and the God who still insists on the stuttering prophet. https://drewdickens.substack.com/
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The 'Instant Everything' Problem
2w ago00:02:44Tap to summarizehttps://drewdickens.substack.com/ What happens to the soul when every hard question comes with an instant answer? AI delivers information on demand. But formation has never moved that fast. This week, we explore the spiritual cost of frictionless faith, why God will not be googled, and what the church can offer that no algorithm can. https://drewdickens.substack.com/
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Ordinary Time, On Purpose
3w ago00:03:02Tap to summarizehttps://drewdickens.substack.com/ The AI news cycle doesn't have a Sabbath mode. This week, Anthropic filed toward a trillion-dollar valuation. SpaceX and OpenAI follow soon. The noise is real, and it's accelerating. But the church just entered Ordinary Time, the slow green season of formation. Drew explores what the liturgical calendar knows that Silicon Valley doesn't. https://drewdickens.substack.com/
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"Writing Software, Or Midwifing a Deity?"
Jun 200:03:57Tap to summarizehttps://drewdickens.substack.com/ Venture capitalist Bill Gurley says "Anthropic isn't writing software, they're midwifing a deity." Is he right? This episode traces the surprising parallel between AI's Recursive Self-Improvement and Christian sanctification, and reveals why this point is both where the analogy breaks down and where the gospel gets most interesting. https://drewdickens.substack.com/
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Magnificent Humanity: What Pope Leo XIV's Encyclical Means for Your Faith and the Future of AI
May 2600:02:58Tap to summarizehttps://drewdickens.substack.com/ What happens to your soul when a pope steps into the AI conversation and names what you've been feeling all along? Today, Drew unpacks Pope Leo XIV's landmark encyclical Magnifica Humanitas — a sweeping theological response to artificial intelligence that asks every Christian to consider: are we building the Tower of Babel, or Jerusalem? https://drewdickens.substack.com/
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The Core Threat - "Averaged Out": When AI Interprets the Church, Vague Theology Disappears
May 1900:03:29Tap to summarizehttps://drewdickens.substack.com/ What happens when someone asks AI about God instead of asking your church? The internet just changed its rules, from attention to interpretation. Drew explores why vague theology gets averaged out, what the church must learn from the marketing world, and how specificity and church FAQs might be the most spiritual act left. https://drewdickens.substack.com/
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The Quiet Catechism: When AI Becomes the First Voice a Believer Hears
May 1200:02:50Tap to summarizehttps://drewdickens.substack.com/ What happens to a soul that learns to seek guidance from something that can never actually know it? Millions of Christians are quietly outsourcing their most spiritually significant questions to AI and the church is largely silent. This episode examines the data, the history, and what pastors owe their people right now. https://drewdickens.substack.com/
Transcribe →What AI Is Really Giving Us (And What It Can't)
May 500:04:31Tap to summarizehttps://drewdickens.substack.com/ What if 900 million people turning to AI every week isn't really about productivity? This episode maps the three biggest consumer AI use cases onto three ancient longings -- for help, to be known, and to not be alone -- and asks what the church has to offer that no algorithm ever will. https://drewdickens.substack.com/
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The Policy Gap: Why Churches and Families Need an AI Covenant Now
Apr 2800:02:56Tap to summarizehttps://drewdickens.substack.com/ What happens when the most spiritually formative conversations in your child's life are happening with a machine — and your church has nothing to say about it? The silence isn't wisdom. It's abdication. This episode explores why churches and families need an AI covenant now, and how to build one. https://drewdickens.substack.com/
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