The SkyePod - Drew's News

Summary

The SkyePod – Episode: Drew's News Release Date: April 11, 2025

Hosted by Skye Jethani and featuring his friend Drew Dick, this episode of The SkyePod delves into pressing contemporary issues ranging from economic uncertainties to the ethical implications of emerging technologies and cultural shifts within Silicon Valley. Below is a comprehensive summary of the episode's key discussions, enriched with notable quotes and structured into clear sections for ease of understanding.

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1. Market Uncertainty and Tariffs

The episode opens with a candid conversation between Skye and Drew about the volatile state of the economy, particularly focusing on recent developments related to tariffs.

• Economic Concerns: Drew expresses his anxiety about the current market conditions.

  Drew Dick [00:26]: "I'm doing okay. You know, I'm not going to lie, Sky. I'm a little nervous about the markets right now."

• Tariff Developments: Skye references a significant event where President Trump delayed tariffs, excluding the China tariff, resulting in a substantial market surge.

  Sky Jethani [00:35]: "Trump announced that he's delaying all tariffs except the China tariff for 90 days, and the markets went up 2,000 points."

• Market Reactions: Drew reacts to the relief caused by the tariff delay, highlighting the immediate impact on his investments.

  Drew Dick [00:50]: "Oh, my goodness, what a relief. I've already lost dozens of dollars in the market, and now I'll get them back."

The hosts briefly touch upon the unpredictability of political decisions and their direct influence on financial markets, setting the stage for deeper discussions in the episode.

2. Drew's News: Techno-Spiritualism and AI in Grieving

Transitioning to the “Drew's News” segment, Drew introduces a thought-provoking topic from a New York Times article about the intersection of technology and spirituality.

• AI-Powered Rememory: Drew discusses "Rememory," an AI tool by Deep Brain AI that creates lifelike representations of deceased individuals.

  Drew Dick [02:04]: "It's Digital Taxidermy. This is just one step beyond people who have their pet taxidermied and stuff, so they can keep them physically near them."

• Ethical Implications: The conversation delves into the psychological impact of interacting with AI versions of loved ones, questioning whether it hampers the natural grieving process.

  Sky Jethani [04:26]: "If you constantly are having the facsimile of continuing to interact with that departed loved one, it can delay that process."

• Dystopian Concerns: They explore potential future scenarios where companies monetize grief through subscription models and intrusive "dead bots."

  Drew Dick [04:49]: "There's a creepiness factor. I will say this, if I kick the bucket before Grace, and I almost certainly will, I do like the idea of an AI generated Drew floating around the house, haunting her and her new rich husband."

• Theological Perspectives: Skye emphasizes the importance of incarnate relationships in Christianity, arguing against the reliance on AI for meaningful connections.

  Sky Jethani [09:39]: "The most meaningful things in life, the most meaningful relationships in life must be incarnate."

This segment raises critical questions about the role of technology in our personal lives and spiritual well-being, urging listeners to consider the long-term effects of such advancements.

3. De-Extinction of Species: Resurrecting the Dire Wolf

Drew introduces another intriguing story about the scientific resurrection of an extinct wolf species.

• Resurrecting the Dire Wolf: Colossal Biosciences announces the successful de-extinction of a wolf species that vanished 12,500 years ago.

  Drew Dick [12:02]: "Scientists resurrect an extinct wolf, a species of wolf that died out some 12,500 years ago, lives Again, as the world's first successfully de extincted animal."

• Ethical Debate: The hosts debate the moral considerations of bringing back extinct species, especially when natural ecosystems have since evolved.

  Sky Jethani [15:10]: "We don't live in the Ice age anymore, and the planet's changed not because of human action, but just because of the rotation of the planet on its axis and the tilt and all that."

• Resource Allocation: Questions arise about whether the significant resources used for de-extinction could be better directed towards conserving existing endangered species.

  Sky Jethani [14:24]: "Couldn't we direct that money to like, not making more species extinct rather than worrying about bringing back the ones that are?"

• Cultural Reflections: Both hosts reference popular culture, like Jurassic Park, to illustrate potential unintended consequences of de-extinction efforts.

  Sky Jethani [16:07]: "The same thing. Can you do you know how cute a baby woolly mammoth is going to be?"

This discussion underscores the complexities of scientific progress, balancing innovation with ethical responsibility and environmental stewardship.

4. Resurgence of Christianity in Silicon Valley

In a surprising cultural shift, Drew highlights a Vanity Fair article documenting the growing presence of Christianity within the tech hub of Silicon Valley.

• Shift in Religious Landscape: Christianity, once marginal and even discouraged in Silicon Valley's progressive environment, is experiencing a resurgence among tech entrepreneurs.

  Drew Dick [19:25]: "Christianity, apparently, is the new religion in Silicon Valley."

• Motivations Behind the Shift: The hosts explore whether this trend is driven by genuine faith or as a strategic move to align with influential Christian leaders like Peter Thiel.

  Drew Dick [20:27]: "Gary Tan. I wasn't aware of him, but he's a venture capitalist who's a very strong believer."

• Cultural and Political Implications: They discuss how embracing Christianity might offer tech leaders a competitive edge, similar to previous trends where displaying neurodivergence became beneficial.

  Sky Jethani [21:42]: "This could be especially appealing to anyone seeking to stand out in a monoculture in which polycules and ketamine is polycules a thing anyway."

• Historical Parallels: Skye draws parallels to Emperor Constantine's adoption of Christianity, suggesting that such shifts can lead to both empowerment and internal conflict within religious communities.

  Drew Dick [24:03]: "When Constantine became a Christian... it reverses the illegality of Christianity in the early 4th century."

• Potential Consequences: The conversation touches on the possibility of Christianity being used opportunistically to gain favor and resources within the highly competitive tech industry.

  Sky Jethani [24:27]: "But this part caught my attention... people are being drawn to this because it's the cool new thing."

This segment provides a nuanced look at how cultural and religious identities can evolve within high-stakes environments, raising questions about authenticity and influence.

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Conclusion

In this episode of The SkyePod, Skye Jethani and Drew Dick navigate through a spectrum of contemporary issues, blending economic insights with deep ethical and cultural analyses. From the unsettling advancements in AI and their impact on human relationships to the provocative resurrection of extinct species and the unexpected rise of Christianity in Silicon Valley, the hosts offer thoughtful reflections that challenge listeners to ponder the implications of our rapidly changing world.

Notable Quotes:

• Drew Dick [02:04]: "It's Digital Taxidermy."

• Sky Jethani [09:39]: "The most meaningful things in life, the most meaningful relationships in life must be incarnate."

• Drew Dick [19:25]: "Christianity, apparently, is the new religion in Silicon Valley."

This episode serves as a compelling discourse for anyone interested in the intersections of technology, ethics, and culture, providing valuable insights even for those who haven't listened to the podcast.

Transcript

[Drew Dick]

Know what a destroyed economy is? Awesome.

[Sky Jatani]

Hello, everyone. Welcome back to the Skypod, brought to you by Holy Post Media. I'm Sky Jatani, and I'm joined by my friend Drew for another edition of Drew's News. How you doing, Drew?

[Drew Dick]

I'm doing okay. You know, I'm not going to lie, Sky. I'm a little nervous about the markets right now.

[Sky Jatani]

Did you see what just happened? We're recording this on. What is it? Wednesday, April 7th.

[Drew Dick]

Well, are you talking about, like, the 100 and whatever percent tariff on China?

[Sky Jatani]

Yeah. But you haven't seen what happened since then.

[Drew Dick]

No.

[Sky Jatani]

Trump announced that he's delaying all tariffs except the China tariff for 90 days, and the markets went up 2,000 points.

[Drew Dick]

Oh, my goodness, what a relief. I've already lost dozens of dollars in the market, and now I'll get them back.

[Sky Jatani]

Ah, nice. I don't want to talk finance, but.

[Drew Dick]

No, I know. Or Trump. Or Trump. I'm sorry for even bringing it up.

[Sky Jatani]

Whatever. It just seems like amateur hour.

[Drew Dick]

I think he needs to. He's taking his eye off the ball. I want to see him get back to invading Canada. That's my. Yeah.

[Sky Jatani]

How would you. Where would you give your loyalties in such a.

[Drew Dick]

Well, maybe I'd have a special place in the New Kingdom. You know, he could install me as a puppet dictator. They would accept me because I'm Canadian. Yeah.

[Sky Jatani]

Or you can go nowhere because you're tainted by both sides.

[Drew Dick]

That's true. I'm suspect on both sides.

[Sky Jatani]

All right. On these episodes, you bring in news that you've scoured from around the Internet, things you think are interesting that we should talk about. You've got a whole new slate of stories for the month of April. What'd you bring me, Drew?

[Drew Dick]

I do indeed. And none of them are to do with Trump. Well, maybe one. A little bit. This first one, though, is a science one, Sky. And I know you're. You're kind of a. You're kind of a geeky guy, or. No, no, that's. That's mean. You're a guy who likes to geek out. How's that?

[Sky Jatani]

Yeah, I prefer it as a verb rather than an adjective.

[Drew Dick]

Okay. We are in a new age of techno spiritualism. I didn't know what that meant. This is a New York Times article, but the article starts out by describing this creepy scene where a widow is speaking to an AI powered likeness of her deceased husband. And it's. Yeah, it's really creepy because this husband of hers. Well, it's AI version of her husband. Says, sweetheart, it's me. It's been a long time. And it's this demo of what's called Rememory, an artificial intelligence tool created by a Korean startup called Deep Brain AI offering professional grade. I know you're already wincing studio level. Like this guy. Like your studio level. Quality, Quality representations of the dead.

[Sky Jatani]

How do I know? I'm actually talking to Drew Dick and not some AI Drew.

[Drew Dick]

Right. I might have enlisted their services for this podcast.

[Sky Jatani]

Okay. I think they should call this what it really is. It's Digital Taxidermy.

[Drew Dick]

Ooh, that's kind of catchy, actually.

[Sky Jatani]

Yeah. This is just one step beyond people who have their pet taxidermied and stuff, so they can keep them physically near them. You know what I mean? It's really. It's not right. This is.

[Drew Dick]

There's a creepiness factor. I will say this, though, if I kick the bucket before Grace, and I almost certainly will, I do like the idea of an AI generated Drew floating around the house, haunting her and her new rich husband.

[Sky Jatani]

You're so confident she's going to marry someone and, well, she's not going to.

[Drew Dick]

Make the same mistake twice, you know, marrying a poor guy. So I assume it's going to be a rich dude and I just want to be around to make their life uncomfortable. No. Okay. So here's my only thing, though. How does this differ from if you lose a loved one, especially a spouse, you're going to be looking at photo albums at. You know, now, of course, most people, because we have our phones with us all the time, have a lot of footage and video recorded of their loved ones, and you're going to comfort yourself by looking at this. Isn't this just taking it one step further and you get to remember them? And maybe if it's really good, like, if you have a lot of footage of that person and the AI is getting better, it could really seem like you're interacting with your deceased loved one.

[Sky Jatani]

Okay, so the article gets into the moral complexity of all this, but on a psychological level, the concern is it ends up derailing the normal grieving process. Right. Go through the stages of grief. There's denial. I forget what they all are. Denial, bargaining, acceptance, anger, anger. You eventually get to acceptance.

[Drew Dick]

That's all I know.

[Sky Jatani]

But if you constantly are having the facsimile of continuing to interact with that departed loved one, it can delay that process. There's so many gross parallels that come to my mind here. But yeah, it's just. So the article goes on, though, there's this part that talks about a study from the University of Cambridge. Did you see this? That was evaluating the ethics of the digital afterlife industry, is what they call it. And they said that these businesses may soon realize that there's even more money to be made by requiring people to pay a subscription fee or watch advertisements in order to continue interacting with their dead loved ones. Avatars. And after hooking them on the ability to converse, they might also have a deadbot. That's what they're calling these AI generated people. These dead bots make sponsored suggestions, like ordering the dead loved one's favorite food via a specific delivery service. And then it gets even worse. Another possible dystopian scenario that the Cambridge researchers imagined is a company failing or refusing to deactivate the dead bots, which could lead to survivors receiving unsolicited notifications, reminders and updates, and instilling the feeling that they're being stalked by the dead. Like, could you imagine you're going through the grieving process, which is, you know, horrific and painful for many of us, and you're doing better. Like, you're moving forward your life, you're back at work, whatever it is that you're recovering of your normal life, and then out of nowhere, you get an alert from your dead loved one on your phone and it's a video of them saying something, and then you're triggered and you're right back. You know, it's just sick, the whole thing and the fact that it's a money making enterprise. Like, I don't know. I tend to believe that 10,000 years of human civilization has given us some inherited wisdom.

[Drew Dick]

You think? Yeah.

[Sky Jatani]

And like, we have. The most common human experience is death. And different civilizations have figured out ways of individually and communally navigating the process of grieving the loss of a loved one. Whether it's sitting Shiva among Jews or the different rituals I've seen my Hindu relatives do, or different things that Christians do. Like, we have ways of grieving that have proven to be helpful and effective. This throws a monkey wrench into that whole process because it gives you an immediate alleviation of feeling like you're interacting with someone who's gone. But in the long run, it's actually like a drug that keeps you addicted and doesn't allow you to go through the pain of grief. I don't know, the whole thing seems really nice.

[Drew Dick]

That'd be my concern, too. It interrupts the grieving process. Right. And delays it. Not that. I mean, you never get over the loss of a Loved one, especially a spouse or something. But you do, to a certain extent, have to move on. And this interrupts that, potentially. And the better the tech gets, the more ability you would have to do that.

[Sky Jatani]

Have you seen, like, the reels and the TikToks that show famous actors as babies? Like, they'll do the whole cast of the Office or Seinfeld or whatever, and they make them all baby. And it's really funny. They're very endearing and kind of weird. But could you imagine? I mean, I've been close to people who have lost children, and it's the worst grief imaginable. But can you imagine now, with this technology, you lose a child or a teenager or whatever at a young age. You can now have the AI generate what they would look like today, plus 10 years, plus 15 years. Like, that kind of stuff, I think is not helpful.

[Drew Dick]

It's not good. But I can say this. It would be incredibly tempting.

[Sky Jatani]

Yes, exactly.

[Drew Dick]

Especially when the agony of missing a child or a spouse is so intense.

[Sky Jatani]

Exactly.

[Drew Dick]

And you just want something to hang on to and you have a tool like this. I watched a movie recently, it's called Afraid. It's not a great movie. It was, like, about AI it's kind of dumb. I was on a plane. I was desperate. Don't judge me. But there's this one kind of moving scene where this evil AI is taking over this family's house, and it's trying to keep them engaged. And all of a sudden, this TV turns on and it's a video of this woman's deceased father talking to her. And it's like, honey, I'm here. We can be together. I don't know how this happened. And she falls for it. She drops to her knees and starts talking to her dad. And then all of a sudden, she's like, oh, wait, you can see the lights go on. Like, this isn't real. I can't do this. And turns it off and walks away. But I can understand the temptation. Absolutely.

[Sky Jatani]

We've talked about this perhaps in other. In other stories, but this is a place where the church really needs to do some good work. And we need to convince people, or at least draw from our theology to help people understand that the most meaningful things in life, the most meaningful relationships in life must be incarnate.

[Drew Dick]

Right?

[Sky Jatani]

Right. Whether it's a husband and wife, a parent and a child, a pastor and their parishioners, like it needs to be incarnate. I don't believe you can have AI pastors. I don't think you can have a digital spouse. I don't think you can. And as terrible as the loss of a loved one is in the physical death of that person, the limitations of incarnate life is part of what we are called to live and deal with. And so to mask that with the illusion of AI is not right. It's just. It violates something that's good and pure in the love that's expressed, even in our grief. And so this stuff gets, I think, really bonkers, really quick. And I just.

[Drew Dick]

There's also hope. Temptation.

[Sky Jatani]

Meaningful to stay against this.

[Drew Dick]

Yeah. No, I mean, we're people of the incarnation, right? We should be the loudest in protesting this kind of thing. And when I see a story like this, honestly, my first impulse is to laugh. Like, this is ridiculous. Who would do this? But you know what? It's a real temptation. And not just for the people, maybe that are going to be grieving the loss of a loved one, but for the person that's going to die. You get a sort of cold immortality out of something like this, Right? And it has a whole Tower of Babel tinge to the whole enterprise. I think of guys like. You probably know the futurist Ray Kurzweil. He's a nut job, a genius, but he swallows hundreds of pills every day because he's hoping to stay alive long enough to reach the singularity, the moment where we'll merge our minds with machines and live forever. And when people ask him, do you believe in Does God exist? He always says, not yet.

[Sky Jatani]

That's so messed up.

[Drew Dick]

It's so messed up, right? He's got a replacement for God in mind, namely, himself. And so there is this temptation to use technology to try to defeat what Paul called the oldest enemy, death. And as Christians, I think we have to say no. That's weird. We've seen the end of that movie. It ends poorly. We don't want to create Towers of Babel or try to live forever on our own terms.

[Sky Jatani]

Oh, yeah. Okay. This, yeah, it's very, very creepy, but fascinating. And it's just the start of the ways technology and AI are going to probably screw us up as a species, if not end us entirely.

[Drew Dick]

Either one.

[Sky Jatani]

All right, what else you got?

[Drew Dick]

Drew, let's keep with the science theme, okay? And I think this is. This isn't. It's a little creepy, but a little more hopeful. I'll be curious to hear your take. Scientists resurrect an extinct wolf, a species of wolf that died out some 12,500 years ago, lives Again, as the world's first successfully de extincted animal, according to Dallas based biotech company Colossal Biosciences.

[Sky Jatani]

Wow.

[Drew Dick]

So they've, they've used some, like, gene editing, some cloning.

[Sky Jatani]

Yeah, but I mean, this is Jurassic park, right?

[Drew Dick]

I'm thinking of all the lines. Right. They were so obsessed with whether they could, they didn't stop to think whether they should.

[Sky Jatani]

Yeah. Okay.

[Drew Dick]

Now, of course, the wolf probably isn't going to eat as many people as a T. Rex, so there isn't that. So I guess I got two questions for you. First of all, where's the sermon illustration here? Sky, use those preacher muscles.

[Sky Jatani]

It's almost Easter and we're talking about resurrection. Oh, this kind of writes itself, doesn't it?

[Drew Dick]

That writes itself.

[Sky Jatani]

Yeah.

[Drew Dick]

Everyone had counted this wolf, the enemy.

[Sky Jatani]

Thought Jesus was extinct, but he's back.

[Drew Dick]

That's pretty.

[Sky Jatani]

And it didn't take 12,000 years, it took three days.

[Drew Dick]

There you go. I like it.

[Sky Jatani]

So there's your sermon illustration. What's your other question, though?

[Drew Dick]

Well, good or bad? What do you think?

[Sky Jatani]

So apparently they're working on a woolly mammoth. That's kind of the thing they really want is what I read in this article was they took the extinct DNA of these dire wolves and they combined it because it's like 95% the same DNA as modern or contemporary gray wolves. So they added in what was in it and then they put these embryos into a hound of some kind and they're born. Similarly, a woolly mammoth is not that different from a modern elephant. There's certain differences. So they think they can take a free elephant, take an elephant's DNA, put in the woolly mammoth parts, and then gestate it within an elephant and boom, there you go. Woolly mammoth is back. I, I, this stuff again, it creeps me out. And I don't know how much crazy amount of money it takes to pull these things off, but couldn't we direct that money to like, not making more species extinct rather than worrying about bringing back the ones that are?

[Drew Dick]

I bet you it's a lot easier to preserve an existing species than you bring an old one back.

[Sky Jatani]

Yeah, yeah. And it's just like, I, this is a.

[Drew Dick]

But I'll say this, it's not. Okay. I would think it was creepier if they were making a totally new animal. Right. This is not creation, it's restoration. So this is a creature that did exist.

[Sky Jatani]

It's restoration into an environment that the animal did not exist in.

[Drew Dick]

See, I'm hearing the Jeff Goldblum speeches.

[Sky Jatani]

Well, they.

[Drew Dick]

They were chosen for extinction. No, they had their chance.

[Sky Jatani]

Exactly. I mean, I guess there's a difference if 12,500 years ago, when these wolves apparently lived, I mean, I guess there were human beings. But I think it's different if it's a recent species that recently went extinct because of human activity.

[Drew Dick]

Right.

[Sky Jatani]

I think it's different when you're pulling back animals from the Ice Age, like the woolly mammoth. We don't live in the Ice age anymore, and the planet's changed not because of human action, but just because of the rotation of the planet on its axis and the tilt and all that. We don't have an Ice age right now. So I think it's weird to bring back species that are not indigenous to the planet as it currently exists. You know what I mean? If it's correcting a human sin, like if humans overpopulated or hunted a species to extinction, whatever, that's terrible. Yeah. Maybe we can correct something we did wrong, but to correct something that just naturally occurred anyway. I'm not sure that's a good idea.

[Drew Dick]

So you'd be cool if it had gone extinct, say, 100 years ago from deforestation?

[Sky Jatani]

Yeah. I don't know. I haven't given the ethics of this a deep thought, but I just. I don't really trust humans with this kind of technology.

[Drew Dick]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Sky Jatani]

It seems.

[Drew Dick]

I'm more worried about where it's going to go. I mean, this is kind of cool. It's like, ooh, neat.

[Sky Jatani]

Yeah. I mean, the pictures are adorable of these. Of these white puppies that. You know, wolves are dogs, essentially. They're just not tamed, and they're more ferocious, but they're adorable, especially as puppies. Who doesn't think this is a great idea? They had to strategically have picked this species because they knew the media would love it. People would find this to be innocent and adorable, but I don't know. I think we need to pay attention to our sci fi movies. This doesn't go well.

[Drew Dick]

That's right. I'm hearing the Jurassic park theme song come into my head.

[Sky Jatani]

You've got me so negative already today, Drew, because between the AI Taxidermy and now resurrecting Ice age predators, this is not. I want something like this.

[Drew Dick]

I thought you'd be more positive. No, because you're right. This is essentially a dog. It's adorable.

[Sky Jatani]

Yeah.

[Drew Dick]

And, yeah, they're probably getting like. And you're right, they probably chose, like, a cute creature like that strategically, because now, you know, they're just getting flooded with capital to do the next thing.

[Sky Jatani]

And the same thing. Can you. Do you know how cute a baby woolly mammoth is going to be?

[Drew Dick]

Oh, yeah, totally.

[Sky Jatani]

It's going to be like it came right out of the Ice age movie.

[Drew Dick]

Yeah.

[Sky Jatani]

And.

[Drew Dick]

Yeah.

[Sky Jatani]

And people are going to love it. And they're going to line up and buy tickets.

[Drew Dick]

I can already see the merch.

[Sky Jatani]

Right. And then they're going to end up making a bunch of them so that Donald Trump Jr. Can go hunt it and kill it. Like that's going to be the next thing is. We will. You can pay. Do you remember that movie, the Freshman with Matthew Broderick and.

[Drew Dick]

Oh, yeah, yeah.

[Sky Jatani]

Marlon Brando.

[Drew Dick]

It's been a while.

[Sky Jatani]

It's a very old spot from the 90s. But the premise of the movie was that there's this secret society of ultra rich people who go to this mobile tent ultra fine dining restaurant that pops up in different parts of the world so that they can eat endangered species. Like it gives them a thrill to think I'm breaking the law to eat this Komodo dragon or whatever it was in the movie. And it's like there are people who pay big money to hunt certain species because they're endangered or super rare or whatever. Could you imagine how much money people would pay to hunt extinct species?

[Drew Dick]

Yep. Some rich weirdos.

[Sky Jatani]

Exactly. So this whole thing, I just again, it goes nowhere good.

[Drew Dick]

Nowhere good. Yeah. I think I'm with you. And yet I think they're kind of cute. All right, there's also. Before we move on, there is. I just thought of another sermon illustration envisioning myself in the pulpit. Folks, we all have a wolf inside of us, don't we? You might think that it's dormant. You haven't heard from it in a long time, maybe 13,000 years, but someone messed around with you and it sprang to life. It's like you're depraved nature.

[Sky Jatani]

That sounds a little bit more like werewolves.

[Drew Dick]

You know, there's a lot of wolves don't fare too well in the Bible, though, I gotta say. You know, they're usually bad.

[Sky Jatani]

They are usually bad, but they are usually bad. Okay. I don't know.

[Drew Dick]

Okay. All right. I think yours is better, though. The Easter one was right there.

[Sky Jatani]

Yeah, I would never use that in an actual Easter sermon because that's just gross and creepy.

[Drew Dick]

Be like super distracting because everyone would be like, what? I didn't hear that. They cloned a What?

[Sky Jatani]

Okay, yeah, no, no, no. Not good. Not good. All right, let's Move on. Let's move on.

[Drew Dick]

All right. Christianity, apparently, is the new religion in Silicon Valley.

[Sky Jatani]

This article, I actually saw this when it first came out. I don't know when that was. A couple weeks ago.

[Drew Dick]

Yeah. Vanity Fair.

[Sky Jatani]

Wow. It's a long article.

[Drew Dick]

It is, but it is. I actually made it to the end, but it was worth reading.

[Sky Jatani]

Yes, I did, too. Well, worth reading. Okay, give us the synopsis.

[Drew Dick]

Well, I mean, yeah, you're right, it's so long, it's kind of all over the place. But basically, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, even 10, 15 years ago, Christianity, apparently, this isn't surprising, probably to most people, was not exactly popular. Kind of considered, as one person said, borderline illegal. Even if you were a Christian tech person, you maybe didn't like, you know, advertise that. But apparently there's been a resurgence of Christian belief. And the article starts with this group of tech entrepreneurs meeting, listening to Francis Collins talk, and talks about a lot of the big players in Silicon Valley, including Peter Thiel. Am I saying his last name right?

[Sky Jatani]

I think that's right.

[Drew Dick]

Peter Thiel. Wild dude, if you don't know who he is. He's a billionaire tech bro who's gay, also a Christian.

[Sky Jatani]

He's big money, who basically created J.D. vance's political career.

[Drew Dick]

That too, and founded, I think, with Elon Musk, PayPal. Is that right? I know he was involved with PayPal. Anyway. And then it talks a lot about a guy named Gary Tan. I wasn't aware of him, but he's a venture capitalist who's a very strong believer. And of course, even guys like Elon Musk, not a Christian, but has had some positive things to say about Jesus that maybe coincided with his conservative political turn. Anyway, so this is my take. You can tell me what you think, but basically it's documenting a vibe shift in Silicon Valley where all of a sudden, I don't know if it's overstated to say Christianity is cool, but it's somewhat acceptable. And there are these big players that are favorably disposed towards Christian faith, or at least their version of Christian faith. And we can talk about that too. But there are concerns, too. Like one person said to this reporter, it's like, I guarantee you there are people that are leveraging Christianity to get closer to Peter Thiel. Yeah, that was kind of interesting.

[Sky Jatani]

Yeah, there was this. Okay, let me read this section. I think there's like any of these vibe shifts or phenomenon, like multiple things can be true at the same time, right? You can have perhaps a genuine turning to faith or you can have a very utilitarian, opportunistic thing, and they both can be happening depending on the community or the person or whatever. So I don't want to paint with too broad a brush and say, it's all this or it's all that. But this part caught my attention. I mean, there are many parts that caught my attention. So let me read a section. It says. In the cutthroat world of venture funding, founders are often taught to have a competitive advantage, or what the industry calls an edge against their peers. When Thiel said in 2015 that many of Silicon Valley's successful entrepreneurs seem to have a mild form of Asperger's, overnight, kids started putting on an autism effect to seem smarter, one entrepreneur recalled. Like, you're not on the spectrum, you're just socially awkward and you're trying to seem smart. These days, he argued, the same effect that engendered a class of people putting on neurodivergence is cultivating a new bent toward biblical altruism. This could be especially appealing to anyone seeking to stand out in a monoculture in which polycules and ketamine is polycules a thing anyway, don't Google it. People and ketamine are mundane, but attending Sunday church services is subversive. You know, in cities like San Francisco and New York, being a Christian is a little bit of a vice, said a San Francisco consultant. In other words, the new religion is religion. So if I get what he's saying correctly, is back 10 years ago, Peter Thiel said, hey, it seems like all the best entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley are on the spectrum and they have some kind of neurodivergence, then everybody who is trying to be a big deal in Silicon Valley, especially the younger people trying to get capital to start new companies, started behaving like they were neurodivergent. Well, now the sort of hip, weird outlier is Christian faith. And so they're saying some people are being drawn to this because it's the cool new thing. And that's just bizarre. But it seems to be at least a factor for some, some of what's going on there. And that leads to the quote you had of, you know, some people are doing this just because they want to get closer to Peter Thiel, and they think this is the price of entry.

[Drew Dick]

So if, yeah, when you have power, players that are, that are Christian are saying good things about the faith, it does create the potential for this perverse incentive, because if you don't get funding, it lights out. And so if you're trying to suck up to people and this is nothing new. My mind goes to when Constantine became a Christian. Of course, that's controversy. Did he really become a Christian, but at least reversed the illegality of Christianity in the early 4th century. And then all of a sudden it was advantageous to be a Christian. Right. Whereas before you got persecuted or marginalized and all of a sudden now you can get political positions and it becomes a huge problem which directly births monasticism because people say we need to get out of here if we want to live a pure Christian faith because now it's all been corrupted by politics. So there's maybe a small version of that happening here.

[Sky Jatani]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So that part I read and that you're describing, it outlines those who are doing it disingenuously because it's good for business or it's good for their potential funding of their business. Another nuance of that is, I mean, the article goes on to talk about how fairly recently Elon Musk described himself as a cultural Christian. And you gotta like, given where he is now and what he's doing politically, you think he's probably had to say that because it's good for business, it's necessary for the political power he's been after within the Republican world. It's a, for those who are really nauseated by DEI and wokeness, like Marc Andreessen, who's a big startup guy in Silicon Valley. He was recently interviewed by Ross Douthat at the New York Times about the shift in Silicon Valley from supporting Democratic candidates to supporting Donald Trump. It's a brilliant, weird, illuminating interview if people want to go listen to that. But he's, he's become out very strongly against wokeness, very strongly against DEI and Christianity is used as a bludgeon against those cultural boogeymen. And then the other dynamic that comes out in the article is, and this isn't all bad, but it seems like the market in Silicon Valley, it's getting tired of Silicon Valley CEOs who are crazy and unpredictable, who are getting high all the time, tripping on hallucinogenics at some festival out in the desert or taking ketamine all the time, right? And I mean, Elon Musk is the perfect example of this, where the financial stability of his companies is gone because he's so erratic and so unpredictable. And so some people are saying the pendulum is swinging from wanting to back these drug taking, iconoclast kind of innovators to now saying, well, what we really want are leaders in Silicon Valley who are straight laced who grew up in intact families where they went to church every Sunday and they joined the military and they're super disciplined and they're hardworking and they have these good sort of Protestant work ethic values that built this country, frankly. And that's good for business. So the pendulum swinging from the Elon Musk kind of CEO to the former military Jesus is my homeboy kind of leader. That is just good for business. And that's a whole nother reason why this could be happening in Silicon Valley, right?

[Drew Dick]

Yeah, you don't want the troubled genius.

[Sky Jatani]

You want the stable genius. The very stable genius.

[Drew Dick]

Very stable genius. One silver lining. There's a lot to celebrate here, I think too. But one thing that I loved was hearing from quotes from some of the pastors in San Francisco. They were talking about how they are.

[Sky Jatani]

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