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Replay: The Age of AI with Jason Thacker

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Apr 1, 2026

Guest

Jason Thacker

Jason Thacker, a technology ethics scholar and author of The Age of AI, explores how AI forced society to rethink creativity, human uniqueness, and moral responsibility. He contrasts generative models with human consciousness, explains why writing was automated first, warns about tech idolatry, and urges multi-level responses from individuals to governments.

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INSIGHT

ChatGPT Made AI A Public Reality

ChatGPT forced AI conversations from the margins into everyday life by showing machines can perform tasks previously thought uniquely human.
Rapid adoption (100k users in days; 100 million by February) exposed assumptions about creativity, intelligence, and the image of God, Jason Thacker explains.

insights

INSIGHT

Generative AI Mimics But Does Not Become Human

Generative AI mimics human outputs but remains a narrow predictive model, not general intelligence or consciousness.
Jason Thacker distinguishes creative imitation from true relational, conscious, or general intelligent capacities that humans possess.

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ADVICE

Revise Teaching To Beat Predictable AI Output

Reevaluate education and writing to resist formulaic outputs that AI easily replicates.
Jason Thacker urges educators to shift from information transfer to transformation, critical reflection, and deeper craft.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Why ChatGPT Sparked a Cultural Panic

02:07 • 2min

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AI Challenging Our Conception of the Human

04:01 • 4min

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What AI Can and Cannot Replicate

07:33 • 4min

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When Intelligence Labels Matter Less

11:43 • 6min

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Why AI Hit Writing Before Driving

18:11 • 5min

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A Christian Approach to Technology

23:10 • 5min

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Ethicists Are Easiest to Cut

27:47 • 10min

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Who Decides AI's Risks and Uses

37:19 • 5min

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The Pandemic Fast‑Forwarded Our Digital Life

42:46 • 5min

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Multi‑Level Responses: Individuals to Governments

47:55 • 7min

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Idolatry, Golden Calf, and AI

Jesus as Lord of the Classical Christian School

Nate Walker

Nate Walker's work advocates for a classical model of Christian schooling rooted in gospel-centered priorities and the recognition of Jesus as Lord over education. He situates classical methods within a theological framework, arguing that curriculum, pedagogy, and school life should form students to love God and neighbor. Walker engages practical concerns for schools and families seeking to recover time-tested educational rhythms while resisting merely utilitarian approaches. The book addresses how distinctively Christian virtues and theological commitments can shape the aims and methods of schooling. It is intended for educators, parents, and church leaders interested in reforming education around Christian convictions.

#49826

Following Jesus in a Digital Age

Jason Thacker

In this book, Jason Thacker examines how Christians might faithfully navigate the pervasive influence of digital technologies in personal, church, and public life. He combines theological reflection with practical ethics to assess how digital tools shape identity, work, worship, and community. The book critiques simplistic instrumentalist views of technology and calls for a cultivated Christian wisdom that recognizes technology's formative power. Thacker offers guidance for discerning uses of technology that foster virtue and human flourishing while resisting dehumanizing tendencies. The work aims to equip Christians to engage digital culture proactively and thoughtfully.

#9319

• Mentioned in 5 episodes

Keeping Kids Christian

Cameron Schaefer

Cameron Schaefer's Keeping Kids Christian argues that Christian formation should be integrated into family life rather than outsourced to institutional programs. The book offers practical strategies and theological foundations for parents to disciple children across stages of life, emphasizing rhythms, practices, and gospel-centered household leadership. Schaefer critiques typical ministry models that treat youth formation as a discrete program and instead proposes habits that cultivate enduring faith. He draws on biblical examples and pastoral experience to set out a vision for intergenerational discipleship rooted in church and home partnership. The book targets parents, church leaders, and ministry workers seeking to recover sustained spiritual formation for children.

#2541

• Mentioned in 18 episodes

The Age of M

Work, Love, and Life When Robots Rule the Earth

Robin Hanson

In 'The Age of M', Robin Hanson delves into a future scenario where brain emulations, or 'ems', become the dominant form of intelligent life. The book predicts how this shift would fundamentally change various aspects of society, including work, relationships, and overall human experience. Hanson uses economic and social analysis to describe how ems would interact, work, and live in a world where they outnumber and outperform humans. The book is a thought-provoking exploration of the potential consequences of advanced artificial intelligence and whole brain emulation on human civilization.

#25772

• Mentioned in 2 episodes

Athanasius

#759

• Mentioned in 45 episodes

The Age of Surveillance Capitalism

The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power

Shoshana Zuboff

In this book, Shoshana Zuboff provides a comprehensive analysis of surveillance capitalism, a new economic order where corporations accumulate vast wealth and power by predicting and controlling human behavior. Zuboff details how this form of capitalism, originating in Silicon Valley, has spread into every economic sector, creating 'behavioral futures markets' where predictions about our behavior are bought and sold. She argues that this system, free from democratic oversight, poses significant threats to democracy, freedom, and human future, and urges readers to take action to protect their autonomy in the digital world.

#1951

• Mentioned in 23 episodes

The Technological Society

Jacques Ellul

In 'The Technological Society,' Jacques Ellul discusses the concept of 'technique,' which he defines as the totality of methods rationally arrived at and having absolute efficiency in every field of human activity. Ellul argues that modern society is dominated by this 'technique,' which is focused on efficiency and has infiltrated all aspects of human existence, including science, automation, politics, and human relations. He warns that this technological system threatens human freedom and responsibility, and that it has taken on a life of its own, independent of human control. The book explores the historical rise of 'technique,' its characteristics, and its profound impact on society, highlighting the need for a critical reevaluation of the role of technology in human life.

When students started turning in papers written by artificial intelligence, educators were caught flat-footed. We knew that machines would replace many human tasks, but we thought the humanities were immune to that. Have our writing standards fallen so low that we can no longer write better than computers? Or are we about to experience the awakening of Artificial Consciousness? Matt and Alastair discuss this situation with Jason Thacker, the Chair of Research in Technology Ethics at the ERLC.

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— Timestamps: Written by a Bot [0:00] The ChatGPT Panic [2:45] What is human? [6:48] Is intelligence important? [11:09] Going Full Hobbit [20:57] Did we do this on purpose? [28:00] Inevitable Arms Race [34:44] Covid Tech-lash [45:20] AI(dolatry) [52:34]

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