Surviving the AI Apocalypse: A Pastor's Guide to Staying Human | 10-26-26
Sam Bushman sits down with Pastor CR Wiley, author of "Man-Made: St. Anthony's Guide to Surviving the AI Apocalypse," to explore how Christians can benefit from powerful AI technology while preserving the relationships, responsibilities, and abilities that make us human. They discuss how AI has become a spiritual idol for many, why technology is never truly neutral (the hammer analogy), Elder Gong's call for AI to pass a moral test at the G20 Interfaith Forum, and why Silicon Valley's guardrails may not be trustworthy. They dig into transhumanism, Neuralink, and the plastic surgery analogy for human augmentation, Sam's personal dilemma as a blind person considering whether he'd implant a chip to see, and AI's own admission that it has no conscience. Plus: how social media blindsided us with mental health consequences for youth, why Pastor Wiley is more worried about people becoming robots than robots taking over, and what St. Anthony's desert monasticism teaches us about resisting technological dehumanization. Timestamps: 0:00 - Intro and sponsor (NetworkProvidersInc.com) 0:39 - How a pastor got caught up in AI: three years of deep diving 1:23 - The central question: benefiting from tech while staying human 2:44 - Technology isn't neutral: the hammer analogy and intelligent design behind tools 3:44 - How tools change us: what atrophies when we use powerful technology 4:48 - AI causing human capacities and abilities to atrophy 5:10 - AI as a spiritual idol: "a crutch for spiritual cripples" 6:08 - Substituting real human wisdom with artificial intelligence 6:56 - Elder Gong calls for AI to pass a moral test at G20 Interfaith Forum 8:19 - Can guardrails work? AI as a Bugatti blasting through them 9:23 - Silicon Valley values: woke guardrails and trust concerns 10:33 - Religious leaders need a seat at the table, not the sidelines 11:11 - Sponsor break: HIPAA IT services and managed IT 11:51 - Back from break: Pastor Wiley's book sitting at the AI development table 13:08 - St. Anthony: desert father as template for resisting transhumanism 13:55 - Transhumanism: Kurzweil, Harari, and the goal of merging with AI 15:02 - Elon Musk and Neuralink: the only way to stay relevant is to merge 16:07 - How the Christian perspective deals with AI: let tech serve you, not own you 17:31 - Sam's dilemma: as a blind person, would he get a Neuralink chip to see? 18:17 - The plastic surgery analogy: from burn victims to vanity implants 19:09 - Where the money goes: chopping off healthy legs for bionic replacements 19:26 - The creation can never be greater than the Creator 20:09 - AI's own assessment: capability and trustworthiness require separate evaluation 21:16 - AI admits it has no conscience and never will 21:31 - The book's style: stories and science fiction thought experiments 22:35 - What Pastor Wiley learned: more concerned about people becoming robots 23:30 - Social media's unanticipated mental health consequences for youth 24:28 - Show close and where to get the book (crwiley.com) Call to Action: Get Pastor CR Wiley's book "Man-Made: St. Anthony's Guide to Surviving the AI Apocalypse" at crwiley.com or your favorite bookstore. Need a trusted IT partner? Get a free consultation at networkprovidersinc.com for managed IT services, security, HIPAA compliance, and help desk. Make it a great tech day!



