Re-enchanting... new atheism

Co-host Justin Brierley becomes the guest on this episode of Re-Enchanting. Regular co-host Belle Tindall is joined by Bishop Graham Tomlin, as they and Justin explore what happened to the new atheism movement.

Nick Jones

Nick is the senior editor of Seen & Unseen.

A seated man talks to someone out of shot and gestures his hand out towards them. a microphone is on the table.

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Richard Dawkins and the new atheists began a popular anti-God movement in the mid 2000s. But why did the movement sputter out? And could we be seeing the start of a new conversation on God?

Re-Enchanting co-host Justin Brierley becomes the guest in this edition of the show as Belle Tindall and Graham Tomlin interview him about his new book 'The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God: Why new atheism grew old and seclar thinkers are considering Christianity again.'

For the book: https://justinbrierley.com/the-surpri...

There’s more to life than the world we can see. Re-Enchanting is a podcast from Seen & Unseen recorded at Lambeth Palace Library, the home of the Centre for Cultural Witness. Justin Brierley and Belle Tindall engage faith and spirituality with leading figures in science, history, politics, art and education. Can our culture be re-enchanted by the vision of Christianity?

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Podcast

AI - Artificial Intelligence

Culture

Re-enchanting

24 November 2023

1 min read

Re-enchanting... artificial intelligence

An academic expert in AI, Ros Picard helps Justine and Belle explore the big questions around artificial intelligence. What does it mean for the future of humanity? And, how do we ensure that it doesn't dehumanise its creators?

Nick Jones

Nick is the senior editor of Seen & Unseen.

a woman at a desk video call gestures with her hands to make a point.

Professor Rosalind Picard is founder and director of the Affective Computing Research Group at MIT. She has pioneered the field of life-saving wearable technology that responds to human emotion and wellbeing. Ros is an expert in machine learning and AI - a field that has exploded in public consciousness recently, moving from the world of sci-fi to everyday life with the advent of Chat GPT and numerous other interactive AI programmes.

What does all this mean for the future of humanity? How do we ensure that technology doesn't dehumanise its creators? Ros approaches these questions not only as a computer scientist but as a Christian, having undergone an adult conversion to faith. Justin Brierley and Belle Tindall ask how we can re-enchant AI and technology in a world where the human touch seems to be being replaced by automated chatbots and virtual relationships.

For Ros Picard: https://web.media.mit.edu/~picard/

For Re-Enchanting: https://www.seenandunseen.com/podcast