Life & Faith

The AI Revolution and the Human Future

Philosopher Meghan Sullivan on why Christianity has a vital role to play in helping us maintain our humanity in the face of AI. With the AI revolution upon us we all face great uncertainty about the future and what this technology will mean for our lives. There will be plenty that we can be grateful for, perhaps excited about. But there are serious concerns being raised as well. What will this technology mean for future employment, communities and how we understand our humanity? What do faith traditions, and particularly Christianity, have to contribute to this urgent discussion. Meghan Sullivan is a professor of philosopher at Notre Dame university in the U.S. and also the founding director of Notre Dame’s Institute for Ethics and the Common Good [https://ethics.nd.edu/]. Her institute recently received a very large grant to develop a faith-based approach to AI ethics. Here Meghan Sullivan speaks to Life & Faith about what concerns she has about AI, the ways it could go badly, but also why she is optimistic about a future with AI firmly in place. Explore: Notre Dame Institute for Ethics and the Common Good [https://ethics.nd.edu/] (ethics.nd.edu) The Good Life Method [https://www.amazon.com.au/Good-Life-Method-Reasoning-Questions/dp/1984880306]: Reasoning through the big questions of happiness, faith and meaning.

Why do we love being scared to death? Kutter Callaway explains

Kutter Callaway on Comedy, Horror and human imagination. Since he first encountered Star Wars as a young boy, Kutter Callaway has been fascinated by film, television and the stories that capture our collective imaginations. With PhDs in theology and also psycho-social science, he applies his skill and experience in these areas to interpret visual storytelling and examine key aspects of being human. What are the factors of modern life that enhance our imaginations? And how much do we find ourselves part of a story that can sustain us and answer our deepest longings? Kutter Callaway speaks to Life & Faith about comedy, horror and how beauty can be found in even the darkest of places. Discover: Dr Callaway’s website https://www.kuttercallaway.com/ [https://www.kuttercallaway.com/] His upcoming book on Horror Films, Be Afraid: What Horror Reveals about Facing the Darkness [https://www.amazon.com/Be-Afraid-Reveals-Darkness-Discovering/dp/1514017229/ref=sr_1_1?crid=64M310YMSEB2&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.cHwrHCACZwZA1tJBz5pHHA.E7aDznI2ZFreyNxhy_jQnwoEFg2LrSUYCAA81MfCYBw&dib_tag=se&keywords=be+afraid+kutter+callaway&qid=1770963493&sprefix=be+afraid+kutter+callaway%2Caps%2C192&sr=8-1] Reel Dialogue [https://reeldialogue.com/]: Pulling back the curtain to see the connection between film and faith.

The man who measures Australia: What Mark McCrindle has learned over 20 years.

Social researcher and demographer Mark McCrindle tells us how Australia is changing (and sometimes staying the same). What are the likely impacts of generational shifts and trends? Mark McCrindle is a social researcher and demographer who has been studying Australian life for twenty years. He and his team have gathered important insights into who we are, what we love, how we have changed and how we have stayed the same. Also, where we are finding meaning, purpose and joy, and what’s driving our behaviour. Mark discusses with Life & Faith the prevalence and likely causes of loneliness and the place of faith and faith communities in Australian life. Are we more open to spiritual conversations than we once were? In a rapidly changing world what are the positive changes and signs of hope? What are the likely future directions of the country? Explore: https://mccrindle.com.au/ [https://mccrindle.com.au/] Generation Alpha: Understanding our children and helping them thrive [https://mccrindle.com.au/resource/book/generation-alpha-book/] Work Wellbeing: Leading thriving teams in rapidly changing times [https://mccrindle.com.au/resource/book/work-wellbeing-book/] Word up: A lexicon and guide to communication in the 21st century [https://mccrindle.com.au/resource/book/word-up/] The Generations Defined: Navigating the New Landscape of employees and consumers (report) [https://mccrindle.com.au/resource/report/the-generations-defined-report/]

Mary Magdalene was present at the crucial moments of Jesus’ story. Why do we get her so wrong?

Jennifer Powell McNutt has spent years studying Mary Magdalene. She wants us to know who she really is. Mary Magdelene is both well-known and yet not known at all. She has appeared prominently in art and popular culture in things like the musical Jesus Christ Superstar (1973) or in the film The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) or Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code (2003). She has often been inaccurately portrayed as a penitent prostitute and is sometimes presented as a romantic partner of Jesus. She was present at all the crucial moments of Jesus’ story, but history has frequently failed to recognise her remarkable contribution. Jennifer Powell McNutt wants to correct that error. She is a Professor of Theology and History at Wheaton College in Illinois and the author of The Mary We Forgot. She thinks we are right to remember Mary Magdelene, but not for the reasons that many people think. Explore: The Mary We Forgot: What the Apostle to the Apostles Teaches the Church Today [https://www.amazon.com.au/Mary-We-Forgot-Apostle-Apostles/dp/1587436175?tag=googhydr0au-22&hvadid=792401821324&hvpos=&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=14461651088431225962&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9071777&hvtargid=dsa-1595363597442&ref=pd_sl_72ekj6elm9_e]

The times are chaotic. Is being Stoic the answer?

Brigid Delaney, Australia’s resident expert on Stoicism, draws on ancient wisdom to survive the storm of modern life. --- How do you cope when things seem to be spinning out of control? In recent years, the ancient Greek philosophy of Stoicism has made a comeback. It’s especially big in Silicon Valley, where modern Stoics pore over the writings of the ancient Stoics – Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, Roman statesman and philosopher Seneca, and Greek slave-turned-philosopher Epictetus – to work out how to thrive in challenging times. The philosophy has a reputation for being dour and stiff-upper-lipped. But if this world is all there is and there is no one coming to save us, then for Stoics it makes sense to face reality and get on with life. Brigid Delaney is enormously prolific. She has worked as a political speechwriter, lawyer, journalist, travel writer and screenwriter. She’s also written two books on Stoicism: The Seeker and the Sage: A Stoic Conversation to Hold You Together in a Fractured World, published late in 2025, and Reasons Not to Worry: How to Be Stoic in Chaotic Times, published in 2022. Brigid explains how Stoicism has made her less angry and reactive, and changed how she thinks about the world. Also how, in places, it overlaps with Christian thought and practice – to the degree that someone even forged a correspondence between Seneca and the Apostle Paul, who were contemporaries of each other. In this episode, we also talk to Louis Markos, the Robert H. Ray Chair in Humanities at Houston Christian University, and a passionate devotee of ancient Greek thought, to get a sense of how Christianity differs from Stoicism. Stoicism assumes an impersonal, yet ordered universe. Christianity asserts that the order guiding the universe is personal, that in Jesus, “the Word became flesh”. Explore: Brigid Delaney’s The Seeker and the Sage [https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/book/Brigid-Delaney-Seeker-and-the-Sage-9781761470776] and Reasons Not to Worry [https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/book/Brigid-Delaney-Reasons-Not-to-Worry-9781743310496]. Brigid Delaney’s previous interview [https://publicchristianity.org/podcast/misadventures-in-wellness/] on Life & Faith: Misadventures in Wellness. Brigid Delaney’s column [https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/dec/13/ai-is-filling-the-god-void-for-many-but-is-chatgpt-really-something-to-worship] in The Guardian on the experience of attending two funerals – one secular, one faith-based – in quick succession. Follow Brigid Delaney on Substack [https://substack.com/@brigidwd] or Instagram [https://brigidwd/], or check out her consultancy Stoic Solutions [https://stoic-solutions.com.au/]. Lou Markos explains [https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/reviews/free-ancient-guide-stoic-life/] the similarities and differences between Christianity and Stoicism, and why he thinks the latter is the sanest, most reasonable option out there – if Jesus hadn’t risen from the dead. Lou Markos’ From Aristotle to Christ [https://www.amazon.com.au/Aristotle-Christ-Aristotelian-Clarified-Christian/dp/1514011328], From Plato to Christ [https://www.amazon.com.au/Plato-Christ-Platonic-Thought-Christian/dp/0830853049], From Achilles to Christ. [https://www.amazon.com.au/Achilles-Christ-Christians-Should-Classics/dp/0830825932]