Catholic Knighthood Podcast

A Knight Crusades on the AI Battlefield: Part 1

The Book of Genesis, Chapter 11, verses 1-9 1 The whole world had the same language and the same words. 2 When they were migrating from the east, they came to a valley in the land of Shinar and settled there. 3 They said to one another, “Come, let us mold bricks and harden them with fire.” They used bricks for stone, and bitumen for mortar. 4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the sky, and so make a name for ourselves; otherwise we shall be scattered all over the earth.” 5 The Lord came down to see the city and the tower that the people had built. 6 Then the Lord said: If now, while they are one people and all have the same language, they have started to do this, nothing they presume to do will be out of their reach. 7 Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that no one will understand the speech of another. 8 So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. 9 That is why it was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the speech of all the world. From there the Lord scattered them over all the earth. Can you see the bricks being molded, hardened and stacked, one on top of the other? Once a layer of bricks are set, they do not change. What can change is the next layer built on top of that, if the builders so desire. The builders and the brick-layers tell us they will start adding in the “safety” layer, the guardrails, the buffers, the warning systems, the fail-safes, the kill switch, the ripcords to pull when we have to bail out. “Don’t worry. We will get to it. We will figure this out.” Catholic Knighthood is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Do you believe them? Do they even sound serious about it themselves? Or do they mock the idea that there can be a kill switch? Or do they already know that such a concept of “corrigibility” (the ability to intervene and correct a flaw in the operation of the system) is going to be nigh impossible once the complexity of the system becomes too advanced? Consider this excerpt from the book The Alignment Problem by Brian Christian: The experts themselves readily acknowledge that at some point, there will be no manual override that the machine itself will allow to be accessed. In some future article, I will be covering the topic of the current attempts at corrigibility and whether or not it can be successful in the long-term. For now, I set that aside and I start to build a case for why we should even discuss this. But first, I want to address the many of you in my audience who use AI. I have no criticism of you. You are using a tool that provides a benefit to you and your individual decision to use or not use that tool has no impact on how this battle will play out in the long run. I have no expectations that any kind of a “boycott” attempt will be practical, even in a symbolic victory kind of impact. There currently is no leading strategy for how to deal with the AI dilemma, and therefore all options are equally valid, whether you prefer to blissfully ignore it, boycott it, learn about it and be part of the solution, or whether you trust in God to resolve it. And for those who think, “Hey, I’ve been using AI for a few years now, and from my experience, it is kind of dumb, nothing that is capable of taking over anytime soon,” … look, I get that, and I hope you are right. This article is going to play Devil’s Advocate for in case you are wrong. The AI dilemma has multiple areas of concern, including these: * Economics: AI will displace millions of workers (a valid concern but perhaps with solutions) * Humanity: reliance on AI will weaken our intellect and our humanity, or be used by the powerful to rule over the poor (this is what Pope Leo XIV discussed in his speeches about AI so far) * Warfare: AI weapon systems will turn against us, whether intentionally or unintentionally, or a foreign enemy’s AI will be used to bring down our infrastructure * Deepfakes: AI-generated imagery, video and audio will allow us to be manipulated into mass panic events, resulting in us acceding to lockdowns, martial law or increasingly intrusive surveillances * Robotic domination (basically Battlestar Gallactica … this is still a long way off) * The Value Alignment Problem: AI goals will drift away from our goals and create a lot of unintended consequences, including everything from judicial bias to power outages and food shortages and famines In my own view, that last one is my main concern. All the trends point to us being overly reliant on AI automation of our infrastructure, power grid, water supplies, etc, whereby a misalignment (accidental or not) of goals could result in AI breaking all the eggs that we placed in one basket, resulting in a mass starvation scenario. A combination of all of the above is also possible. Consider the excerpt from this article “Is America's power grid ready for next attack? Experts warn EMPs, cyber threats and AI could cripple US” Tyler Saltsman, a military technologist working on AI systems capable of operating in disconnected environments like an EMP aftermath, warned that AI – if used maliciously – could bring the grid down entirely. "Our infrastructure is very fragile," Saltsman said. "All you need to do is take down our power grid, and we’re in complete chaos." Saltsman expressed deep concern about efforts to create AGI – systems he says could eventually surpass human control. "Once AGI comes online, it could easily take down our power grid, infiltrate our financial systems, destroy our economy," he said. "If it sees how violent humans are to each other, why would it serve us?" The problem is that, right now, everyone’s eyes are too dazzled by the shiny new toy they get to play with. Everyone is focusing exclusively on the benefits (and there are tremendous benefits, no doubt) of AI, to the detriment of spending enough resources on having a national discussion on the possible disaster scenarios. Collectively, we switched overnight from “AI is a far distant fantasy” to “AI is here and it is too late to stop it” mentality. I was trying to have conversations about AI in ~2014 and everyone yawned. Now, everyone is already on board the AI bandwagon. When did we ever have a national summit of everyone involved, advocates and skeptics alike? Never. And all the engineers thinking they can bootstrap in some kind of “Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics” — can you really assure us that they will work and remain in place? The ground layers have been set. Which layer are you hoping to insert those laws in? Until you actually show us all the source code of what you are working on and demonstrate why your safety layer is foolproof, I remain skeptical. A common response is, “Hey, AI is simply an algorithm, and all algorithms can be controlled.” Is that so? Then why did “The Godfather of AI” go on 60 Minutes and say this? “We don’t really know exactly how they do those things.” In my next article on AI, after I read a few books and study more from the latest resources, I will cover what we know and what we do not know about the “algorithms” and the language models and all that I can determine. I will then offer, if I can, any recommended courses of action. Perhaps there aren’t any at this time. We will see. But whatever the battle is, we, as knights, will fight it, the same as when the Saracens threatened us a millennia ago. A small group of knights can once again make a sacrifice that will change the course of history. We don’t know yet what that sacrifice will be. It could be to simply “tame the lion,” it could be to keep it at a safe distance, or it could be something more drastic. I look forward to learning more and discussing it with you. If the experts won’t bring the discussion to us, we will bring the discussing to them. Until then, go ahead and use that AI tool to generate funny memes about the Pope in a white puffer jacket. It is not going to kill anyone. Maybe. Non nobis, my carbon unit brothers! Footnotes: This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit catholicknighthood.substack.com/subscribe [https://catholicknighthood.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

Knightly Apologetics #8 - Why Catholics Fall Away

In one of my Notes, I posted on the question of “Why do Catholics leave the Church?” as a response to this post on social media, Unlike this guy above who is posting his anecdotal evidence, I will be looking at actual studies and surveys as to why Catholics have left the Church. Catholic Knighthood is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Here is the first survey we will examine: Lots of details there, but I will focus on a few key facts. Firstly, the trend of Catholics leaving the Church peaked for those born around 1950 to 1970. This was a period of social upheaval. I believe that Mass attendance was already declining in the 1950s, and in the 1960s there was the Vatican II changes and the aftermath, which also caused more disharmony. Those who were teenagers in the 1960s and 1970s when their parents stopped attending regular weekly Mass — those are the main ones who “fell away.” It’s no surprise. Family support is crucial. People blame “poor Catechesis” and I’m sure that was true, but without proper family support, even a good religious education program will have its limits. “Seventy-four percent of respondents who stopped going to Mass for a year or more did so during their teens or 20s.” Young people saw the incongruity — they saw that joining this religion didn’t make much of a difference in their parents, so they asked themselves, “Why bother?” If your religion doesn’t dramatically change you, then what is the point? Secondly, developing a good habit in a teenager won’t automatically make them keep that habit when they are out of the house. Consider these responses — The most common reason, cited by 20% of people raised Catholic who stopped attending Mass for a year or more, was: “I moved away from the church I had been attending.” The second-most common response is more theological: “I did not feel that attending church mattered.” The next two most frequent reasons for ceasing to attend Mass for a time are practical: “I moved away from my family” or “I had a change in circumstances that made it harder to attend.” Additional theological and moral reasons for ceasing to go to Mass were less frequently cited. A teenager might attend Mass and church events because it feels good to be part of a family or community event, but once they leave that environment, it is difficult to replicate and sustain that in another location. Especially because few parishes have active young adult ministries. Most parishes focus on youth group activities and the rest of the ministries are dominated by little old ladies. And when they’ve already received the basic message of what it means to be a nice, moral person, they really don’t see any further benefit from weekly Mass attendance. How many times do we have to hear “We should be nice to each other, like Jesus and Mary” before we tune it out? Yes, I understand that the Holy Mass is primarily for giving God his due worship, and the lessons about life from the homily are secondary, but that doesn’t mean we should ignore the impact that the homily can have. The homily must be something that makes a difference in our lives, otherwise people will not stay long enough to begin to understand the depth of the value of the worship. There is a lot more to this survey that I won’t get into right now. These results don’t cover every situation. It doesn’t tell us how many converted to a non-Catholic denomination because “they started reading the Bible.” But we can draw some inferences on that angle. Lots of teenagers in Catholic youth programs are “on fire” with their faith and inspired by youth retreats and other events. But that feeling is fleeting. Real spiritual growth is an arduous journey, and real relationship with God is found in stillness, not in rambunctious praise & worship songs. Teens are leaving the safe harbor of their local parish and venturing into high seas with the wrong expectations, such that when they encounter doldrums and dryness, or storms and waves, they think they must be doing the wrong religion. In reality, God & His angels are right there with us, in every moment, wet or dry, in good times and bad, no matter what our feelings tell us at the moment. It is our false expectations that get us in trouble. The one, true religion is not an everlasting spiritual rollercoaster of excitement. It is not a Christian rock concert. It is often a trip through the desert alone. Prepare yourself accordingly. The farther you go on your spiritual journey, the more you will encounter spiritual dryness, when God removes the spiritual consolations He has been sending you and you rely only on your love of God to sustain your hope, joy and peace. This is especially true for husbands and fathers. When you are doing things correctly, you will often feel isolated, alone, like no one appreciates the burden you are shielding them from. Learn to rejoice in that burden. The glory is not for you, anyway. That is why we say, Non nobis, Domine, non nobis. Sed nomine tuo da gloriam. m Catholic Knighthood is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit catholicknighthood.substack.com/subscribe [https://catholicknighthood.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

Ask a Knight: Will 'Take Me Back to Yesterday' Movement Succeed?

Does anyone remember a song called “Tell Me ‘Bout the Good Old Days’ (The Judds, 1986)? The singer laments the new culture & society that messed up the proper order of things. The listener is meant to recall that their grandparents grew up in a better time, a simpler time, a more genuine time. People still say the same thing today, in 2025, so I guess we’ve failed to achieve what The Judd’s were asking. But why? For lack of desire or lack of resolve? Not quite. It won’t work. Getting back to 1950 is not enough. Tune in and continue to follow Catholic Knighthood as I address this topic with every arrow in my quiver. Non nobis. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit catholicknighthood.substack.com/subscribe [https://catholicknighthood.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

A Knight Battles Passivity (Podcast Audio version)

Most Catholics can name many of the top heresies [https://www.catholicbridge.com/catholic/list-of-heresies.php]. Which ones of these do you know? * The Arian Heresy * The Nestorian Heresy * The Albigensian Heresy * The Heresy of Gnosticism * The Pelagian Heresy But very few, even the top scholars, remember or have heard of the Heresy of Quietism. Here is a brief summary: Catholic Knighthood is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Quietism (from the Latin word quies, repose, inactivity) is the result of false mysticism. It is a theoretical and practical negation of asceticism. The basic principle of quietism is that Christian perfection is found only in a complete passivity of the soul. This passivity applies not only to mental prayer but to spiritual life in general. Any human effort or activity interferes with God's action. "Let God act" is the guiding principle of the quietists, meaning: Let God alone do everything. … See original article here - This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit catholicknighthood.substack.com/subscribe [https://catholicknighthood.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

A Knight is Not Meant to be Alone, but Often is

Holy Saturday is a waiting game. The high points of the Last Supper, the Agony of the Garden, Judas’ Betrayal, and the Passion of Our Lord are behind us. Those of us who have attended Stations of the Cross, Washing of the Feet, and everything else, who have endured the fasting and praying, who have made our preparations for Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday celebrations, are simply waiting on Saturday. On this day, we taste a mere sip of the agonizing anticipation that the Apostles must have experienced while waiting for something to happen beyond the entombment of Jesus. For many single young men these days, waiting for a wife can be a discouraging time also. “Does God simply want me to be alone?” That is a question I begin to answer. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit catholicknighthood.substack.com/subscribe [https://catholicknighthood.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]