Signal Café Podcast with Chris Forbes

Is Your AI Chatbot Sentient? with Dennis Draeger and Chris Turner

Chris Forbes and Matt Tullos talk with Dennis Draeger, Foresight Director at Shaping Tomorrow, [https://www.shapingtomorrow.com/] and Chris Turner, Director of Communications for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, [https://tnbaptist.org/] about artificial intelligence, sentience, and the growing role AI plays in human life. The conversation explores whether AI is truly intelligent or simply performing intelligence through predictive language and immersive design. Topics include anthropomorphism, digital immersion, simulated relationships, corporate governance systems, pastoral concerns, wisdom, and embodied human connection. The discussion also examines how people increasingly seek advice, meaning, and emotional support from chatbots, while raising questions about authenticity, discernment, technological theater, and what happens when humans begin trusting simulated wisdom more than real relationships.  © 2026 Forbes Nonprofit Strategies. All rights reserved. Signal Café is a podcast of Forbes Nonprofit Strategies, and Incite Futures Labs is a foresight training offering. Music generated using Suno AI, lyrics adapted and produced for Signal Café

Panarchy and Creation Care: Recognizing Signals Shaping the Future with Rick Presley

Chris Forbes and Matt Tullos talk with Rick Presley about recognizing overlooked environmental signals and why they matter for ministry and the future. They explore how bias, political framing, and cultural assumptions can limit awareness, often filtering out important signals. Subtle changes such as fewer insects, declining songbird populations, groundwater contamination concerns, land-use changes, and rising insurance pressures can reveal deeper environmental shifts that are easy to overlook. The conversation connects these weak signals to broader system dynamics, helping leaders better understand change, anticipate emerging challenges, and respond with greater awareness and faithful stewardship.  © 2026 Forbes Nonprofit Strategies. All rights reserved. Signal Café is a podcast of Forbes Nonprofit Strategies, and Incite Futures Labs is a foresight training offering. Music generated using Suno AI, lyrics adapted and produced for Signal Café

Navigating Human Identity within Digital and AI Landscapes with Mike Mirabella

In this episode of The Signal Cafe, Chris Forbes, Matt Tullos, and Mike Mirabella explore how digital environments and AI are shaping identity, relationships, and formation. They describe a “crossfade” era where physical and digital realities blend, forming “virtual natives” who experience technology as fully integrated into life. AI is emerging as a relational influence, not just a tool. While digital fluency is rising, critical thinking may be declining. The conversation highlights growing identity fragmentation, dependence on technology, and early signs of pushback toward embodied connection, emphasizing the church’s role in deeper human formation. Form more information about Mike Mirabella see his website  [https://www.mikemirabella.com/]

The Future of Lifelong Learning in the Church with Father & Son Jeff and Isaac Jordan.

In this episode of Signal Café, we step inside a local Edmond, Oklahoma community group that spent nine weeks using Incite Futures Labs tools to ask a pressing question: What will shape lifelong learning and leadership formation in the church through 2040? Through horizon scanning, signal clustering, and driver mapping, the group explored rapid AI expansion, demographic growth along Route 66, institutional distrust, economic instability, and shifting spiritual landscapes. The conversation wrestles with intergenerational discipleship, technology’s influence on theology and education, and how embodied local churches can remain resilient in a fragmented digital culture. Featuring Chris Forbes, co-host Matt Tullos, and guests Jeff and Isaac Jordan.

Reading the Season: Discernment in Uncertain Times

In this episode of the Signal Café, Chris Forbes and Matt Tullos reflect on how leaders navigate uncertainty when signals are noisy and direction feels unclear. Using weather forecasts, seasons, and biblical language of time, they explore the difference between reacting to events and discerning the moment leaders are actually in. The conversation touches on anxiety, institutional distrust, information overload, and why confusion often increases during periods of transition. Rather than offering predictions, the episode focuses on learning how to notice patterns, recognize opportunity, and respond faithfully to change. It invites listeners to think less about controlling the future and more about understanding the season they are being called to steward. Keep exploring the signals, trends, and drivers shaping the future. Take the next step by engaging your ministry team in a conversation about what this future could mean for your context through Incite Futures Labs from Forbes Nonprofit Strategies [https://www.forbesstrategies.com/]. We help leaders anticipate change, navigate complexity, and build their preferred future. Let’s collaborate!