What Would Jesus Tech

The latest Apple ad will be referenced in tech criticism for the next several years. It was so bad that Apple has since apologized for it. But what was so bad? Can there be any good in iPads? Also, we have a new co-host! Austin Gravely is the former host of the podcast Breaking the Digital Spell and is currently the Social Media Manager of The Gospel Coalition. He is also the Executive Producer of...

Kevin Tuer received his doctorate in Electrical Engineering from the University of Waterloo in 1994, and went on to a number of strategic leadership roles, including VP of Engineering at Control Advancements, Co-founder of Handshake VR, the founding Managing Director of the Candian Digital Media Network, and he currently serves as the Cheif Technology Officer at Communitech. Today we have a wide-r...

What does it look like to listen, to truly listen, in a noisy world? Today we're joined by Jay Y. Kim, author of Listen, Listen Speak: Hearing God and Being Heard in a Noisy World . Some Christians emphasize listening as the ultimate form of love, which can lead to passivity. Others emphasize the courageous proclamation of truth, which can lead to arrogance. Jay encourages us to listen and spe...

A core theme in the movie Everything Everywhere All At Once is how we experience a disconnected, anxious, and nihilistic technological world. The movie was about social media, the Internet, and how the digital age has disembodied us, making us feel like we have access to a multiverse via the World Wide Web. But now, we have AI. The stability that remains is shifting. In this episode, we recap some...

What is philosophy? How does it help us in our pursuit to understand how to live in our world? And how does living in our technological world, or "technoculture," affect our beliefs in God? Today we're joined by Dr. Joseph Minich, the author of Bulwarks of Unbelief: Atheism and Divine Absence in a Secular Age. There are two main parts to this episode. In the first half, we discuss anci...

As CES24 proved, robots are on the rise. But is this like an IoT (Internet of Things) fad, or is AI on legs here to stay? Andrew learns from Joel, as he unpacks some of the new technologies making it easier to *feel* like you're in the same room as someone else. And Joel asks Andrew to assess this theologically as well as practically, for "virtual church" and for each imitator of Jesus...

Will Robotics have its ChatGPT moment? Will Elon Musk become a Christian? Will the 2024 elections be overcome by artificial images? From multi-model AI to deepening embodied desires, Joel Jacob (Product at Splunck) and Andrew Noble (Pastoral Ministry at Grandview Church) predict what they think might happen in 2024. 0:00 - Intro 1:45 - Cisco bought Joel's company. Is he out of a job? 4:02 - 20...

Complete our listener feedback survey ! Link: https://forms.gle/pmi9jWf65cjGFn2TA What happened at OpenAI? And why does it matter? How should Christians prepare for a world increasingly mediated through Artificial Intelligence? In this episode, we brought on the author of the Church and AI Substack, Dave Betts, as well as The Gospel Coalition's Austin Gravely. Links: - Listener feedback survey...

We need to get serious about what social media is doing to teenagers without throwing out technology altogether. That's what this episode is about. Right before American Thanksgiving, a redacted lawsuit between a coalition of 41 US states and Meta (Instagram) was made public. This lawsuit outlines exactly how Instagram has knowingly harmed teens and lied about it to the public. As msn.com put...

What were the similarities in the last two technological revolutions? How might this affect us in our current age? And how do we make disciples? In this episode, we chat with Jake Meador, the editor-in-chief of Mere Orthodoxy , an online magazine covering the Christian faith in the public sphere. Jake wrote What Are Christians For?, which led to some of our questions, while others (especially rela...

Matthew Chan was born in San Francisco, raised in Hong Kong, and is now on a journey that only God knows in full. He's written code for Francis Chan, built apps for The Bible Project, and now he and his friends at Basil Tech are about to launch a brand new product. Matthew is an inspiration for technologists looking to build technology for Christians. * BasilTech: https://www.basiltech.org/ *...

After being laughed off in 2022, the idea of the metaverse is coming back thanks to improvements in AR, VR, and AI. Not only that, but some new chatbots on Snapchat, Facebook, and Instagram are concerning. In this episode, we are joined by digital technology writer Ian Harber to make sense of all these changes. We focus especially on Mark Zuckerberg's latest announcements and products only ava...

Andrew and Joel continue their journey reconciling their love of technology with their love of Jesus. In this episode, they reflect on what they've learned, discuss their future careers in technology and theology, and announce that they'll write a new ebook to help equip local churches to discover a Christ-centered approach to the technologies of our day. 0:00 - Intro 0:45 - Meta Metaverse...

The social internet is shaping us, but how? Samuel D. James says, "Habits create habitats for our hearts; they shape our identity and train our desires." Today we speak with Samuel and learn how our digital habits are even more than habitats, they're liturgies. ***Enter to win a free copy of Digital Liturgies book by following and sharing our posts on social media: Instagram: https://w...

This is a two-part episode. This audio here on the podcast is part one, so listen in to hear more about Luke Miller and why he left his job as a Teaching Pastor to go join a startup. Part two is over on our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/RW_Ou6jKeWI This was an amazing conversation, and you'll surely learn something from this episode from Luke Miller, our guest.

Is there a way to use AI to be more present with your local church, rather than less, and improve our digital spaces at the same time? The founder of PulpitAI, Michael Whittle, thinks so. In this episode, Joel and Andrew question Mike on the usefulness and positioning of PulpitAI, going from media ecology critiques to asking about Christian Venture Capitalists. The announcement Mike first made on...

We feel buried, overwhelmed, crushed, or stretched... why? It is because we feel that something is being done TO us. We live in a new age, an anxious age, and it is (at least partially) the result of a preoccupation with *time* in our modern moment. Dr. Kelly Kapic has researched this topic and shared his insights earlier this year at Grandview Church. To watch Kapic's full talk visit: https:/...

Threads is the fast-growing app ever. Will the hype last? What will this latest algorithm do for us? What will it do to us? And how should Christians and Social Media Managers respond? In this special episode, we brought in Chris Martin, author of Terms of Service and The Wolf In Their Pockets , along with Wyatt Graham , Executive Director of The Gospel Coalition Canada, to discuss the release of...

We can't just critique the effects of technology; we need to cast a vision for embodied life in our technological age. Can we do this in a way that appreciates the goodness of technology? How important is our food? Would Jesus promote food that has been processed through technology? This is episode 31 of What Would Jesus Tech. Special thanks to Hungry Theologian for joining us on this episode!...

Our guest today has written A Christian Field Guide to Technology for Engineers and Designers . How do we build technology as Christians? What are the principles? Where are the goals the same and where are they different? Derek Schuurman speaks with us today about how we can imitate Jesus in how we build and design tech. Derek C. Schuurman is a professor of computer science at Calvin University. P...

Apple has just launched a brand new product that they say is as revolutionary as the iPod or iPhone, the Apple Vision Pro. It will certainly change the meta of the metaverse (pardon the pun) and is sure to impact humanity in a variety of ways. As is typical of our tech-heavy episodes, Joel Jacob shares his excitement while Andrew Noble shares his concerns. What Would Jesus Tech is a podcast where...

We will soon live in a world where cars drive themselves, brainwaves can be connected to prosthetic legs, and where robots shake your hand. Are you ready for it? Do you see the introduction of more and more technology as a good thing for our society or does it deprive us of opportunities to love God with all our strength? These are the questions we consider in this episode of What Would Jesus Tech...

How do we protect our digital possessions? What are some of the underlying technologies used by companies to protect user data? In what way should Christians protect their digital possessions and in what sense might they want to share them with others? In this episode, we tap into Joel Jacob's cybersecurity background, share password tips, and discuss how Christians might want to "keep thi...

For too many of us, a sense of rest is merely aspirational whereas digital addiction is a reality. The "platforms" are built by intelligent minds to serve specific purposes. In the same way scientists once explained the negative impact of cigarettes, in this episode we unpack how digital devices entrap us in their trance, and how to get out. Or at least, how Joel Jacob and Andrew Noble are...

There is "tool tech" such as shovels, violins, and 3D Printers, and then there is "drool tech," which pervades digital space. How do we raise our children well in the midst of these devices fueling distraction and depression? How do we promote creativity over consumption? How do we help our kids live from the hope they have in the gospel rather than for the hope offered in screens?...