WeeklyTech #164

Handling Political Divisions in a Digital Age

Church leadership can be challenging in a digital world with political and cultural divisions. But pastors can foster healthy trust as they grow churches.

One of the symptoms of a post-truth, tech-dependent society is misinformation. But what is misinformation, exactly? Simply put, misinformation refers to a very broad category of false or misleading information that is often spread unintentionally or sometimes without awareness of the false claims.

“Misinformation” is often a term that political enemies throw at one another when certain pieces of information don’t fit with one side’s understanding of the world or public affairs. It is what Team 1 employs to accuse Team 2, especially whenever Team 2 presents data that Team 1 doesn’t like. “That’s not true! That’s just more fake news!”

The Rundown

Flood of “right to repair” bills signals DIY watershed by Peter Allen Clark | Axios

The “Right to Repair” movement championing owners’ freedom to fix everything from smartphones to tractors is set for a landmark new year, as tech companies roll out user repair programs and state legislatures weigh broader consumer protections.

Christian colleges and LGBTQ+ coercion by Nathan A. Finn | World News Group

In 2021, the Religious Exemption Accountability Project (REAP) filed a lawsuit against 25 religious colleges on behalf of almost three dozen LGBTQ+ individuals. The plaintiffs were all current or former students at the schools named in the lawsuit. According to the lawsuit, the schools were in violation of Title IX because they had been granted religious exemptions that allowed discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals.

ChatGPT and the Rise of AI by Derek C. Schuurman | Christian Scholar’s Review

Two things became apparent to me in the following years. First, the technology amplified opportunities to do good as well as to do harm…The second thing that became apparent to me was that AI was developing faster than many of us would have predicted.

5 Ways to Teach the Art of Dying: Recognizing the Sanctity of Life Through all of Life by C. Ben Mitchell | Lifeway Research

Everyone’s going to die, but no one wants to talk about it. Even Christians, of all people, would rather not discuss death and dying. But this isn’t the way it should be, and it’s not the way it’s always been.

What I Told Christianity Today About Authors, Publishers, and Platform by Samuel D. James | Digital Liturgies

A few months ago, Collin Huber (an excellent writer who serves as senior editor for Fathom magazine) asked me if I’d be willing to answer a few questions for a story he was writing. That story was recently published in Christianity Today under the title, “In Christian Publishing, ‘Platform’ is Being Weighed and Found Wanting.”

Teachers consider ChatGPT’s place in the classroom by Lauren Canterberry | World News Group

On Nov. 30, the artificial intelligence research company OpenAI launched ChatGPT, an AI chatbot program that can answer conversational questions, create computer code, and write in a variety of styles. OpenAI programmed the free software using data collected from books, internet articles, and human feedback.