Jason Thacker's Blog, page 24

WeeklyTech #11 – AI and War

Last year, Google hit the pause button on a military artificial intelligence project amidst thorny ethical questions raised by its own employees. Increasingly in new drone and surveillance systems, human knowledge and actions are augmented and soon might be sidelined altogether. Should we shirk our responsibility and pass authority onto these machines? For Christians, the complex conversation about how AI should be developed as weapons centers on a biblical understanding of human dignity and...

WeeklyTech #10 – Ethics and Marketing

You may notice a new tool on your Facebook profile in the coming months. A few weeks ago, the social media giant launched a new privacy tool called “Off-Facebook Activity.” This new tool gives you more control over the data that is captured and stored—from sources outside of Facebook—regarding your online activity. Currently, Facebook is able to track your internet activity, gathering valuable data, even when you are not using the platform, through the use of tracking pixels. This new privacy...

WeeklyTech #9 – Readings on Technology

We are constantly inundated with new technological products and services, as well as the often hidden dangers and misapplications of technology. Just the sheer pace of innovation can be daunting. Between balancing our priorities at home, roles at the office, and responsibilities to our churches and friends, it is far too easy for us to outsource discernment to other people and just accept what they tell us about the role technology plays in our lives. 

The most common questions I receive when...

Recommended Readings on Technology

We are constantly inundated with new technological products and services, as well as the often hidden dangers and misapplications of technology. Just the sheer pace of innovation can be daunting. Between balancing our priorities at home, roles at the office, and responsibilities to our churches and friends, it is far too easy for us to outsource discernment to other people and just accept what they tell us about the role technology plays in our lives. 

The most common questions I receive when...

How we trade our privacy for technology

You know the eerie feeling that someone is watching or listening to you? Maybe it’s the specific ad you get on social media after a conversation with your roommate or spouse, or how your mapping app, like Waze, seems to recommend your favorite coffee drink at the exact moment you yawn. We live in a hyper-connected world and share some of the most intimate details of our lives more openly online than we would with a flesh-and-blood human being. 

We have all come to rely on and trust technology...

WeeklyTech #8 – Privacy and technology

You know the eerie feeling that someone is watching or listening to you? Maybe it’s the specific ad you get on social media after a conversation with your roommate or spouse, or how your mapping app, like Waze, seems to recommend your favorite coffee drink at the exact moment you yawn. We live in a hyper-connected world and share some of the most intimate details of our lives more openly online than we would with a flesh-and-blood human being. 

We have all come to rely on and trust technology...

WeeklyTech #7 – China’s surveillance technology

Millions of our global neighbors live under authoritarian and autocratic governments where the power of artificial intelligence (AI) is abused to retain a sense of control over others. Nations, such as China, use these tools, created for the common good, to diminish dignity in minority groups. Religious freedom and the pursuit of justice are threatened by the implementation of these tools each day.

AI tools and their limitless potential can be at odds with a belief in human dignity based in t...

WeeklyTech #6 – Facebook’s oversight board

Amid all of the cultural conversations surrounding the role of technology in our society, Facebook has been at the top of the headlines. From issues over privacy and a recently announced crypto-currency, public opinion of the platform has shifted in recent years. But Facebook has also been working behind the scenes to collect feedback and put together an external oversight board to advise and guide the company on how it deals with content moderation on its platform. When CEO Mark Zuckerberg a...

WeeklyTech #5 – What does the Bible teach us about technology?

Not a day goes by that we don’t use some form of technology. Technology’s influence on our lives stretches back thousands of years to the use of shovels and spears. Whether it’s as simple as a chair or as complex as the systems proposed with brain-computer interfaces, technology is all around. In the last decade or two, we have seen exponential growth in technological innovation. This has led to many asking fundamental questions about how we use technology and what kind of influence it has on...

WeeklyTech #4 – The Age of AI

Did you miss the the WeeklyTech newsletter today? Subscribe now at ERLC.com/tech. Is there an issue or aspect of technology that is of particular interest to you? Something that you are wondering about? Feel free to send any feedback, requests, or recommendations to Jason at weeklytech@erlc.com.

The Age of AI: Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity

I am excited to announce that my new book, The Age of AI: Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity, is now officially avai...