What Could Go Right?

A Catholic and a Jew read the pope's AI encyclical together

On May 25, 2026, Pope Leo XIV issued Magnifica Humanitas, a major new document on AI for the world's biggest religion. I talked with Brian Green about what it says, why it was written this way, where it sits in the history of major church documents, and whether it is likely to effect change on the AI industry. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

There's been an earthquake. We're coming back.

After less than a year from the end of our first season, Belief in the Future is coming back into a world where religion and technology are now crashing into each other. *** Belief is affiliated with the Faith Family Technology Network. It is a production of Sinai and Synapses and is supported by the Templeton World Charity Foundation. This episode was edited by M. Louis Gordon, and our production manager is Misha Holleb. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

What Could Go Right?

To close out our summer episodes, we're talking with Kevin Kelly, founder of WIRED Magazine and writer about all things tech and culture. Kevin is a devout Christian with an eye toward the ethical good of technology. In our conversation, we cover technological skepticism, the AI identity crisis, the Amish, and much more.  P.S. Check out host David Zvi Kalman's new YouTube channel, Sabbath Mode [https://youtu.be/Or0KqnwTpEU?si=mL2NocpMwxr-533Q], for more in depth conversations about religion and technology. Resources: Kevin's website [https://kk.org/] Kevin's books [https://kk.org/books] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

The Two Codes

BIG NEWS: Belief in the Future now has a YouTube channel: Sabbath Mode [https://youtu.be/Or0KqnwTpEU]. Go check it out before listening to the episode Coding is one part skill, one part magic, and one part tradition. But when AI use takes out the conversation of code -- the necessary language of the code itself -- can the tradition be kept alive? How do we keep something living and growing without passing along its stories, its trials and errors, and its complexities? On this episode, host David Zvi Kalman speaks with scientist Samuel Arbesman [https://arbesman.net/] about his new book, The Magic of Code, and the ways that religion and coding reflect one another.  Resources:  The Magic of Code [https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-magic-of-code-how-digital-language-created-and-connects-our-world-and-shapes-our-future/ShQGtk2gKcVW5k4D?ean=9781541704480&next=t] by Samuel Arbesman  The poetic web [https://www.luxcapital.com/content/the-orthogonal-bet-the-quest-to-find-the-poetic-web] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Are AI Sermons a Good Thing?

Religious organizations, like all other organizations, are beginning to use AI. Some of these uses are unremarkable, but others bring AI into the business of delivering religious messages. In this episode, host DZ Kalman speaks with religion and AI evangelist Kenny Jahng about the tools he sees churches adapting and what it means to use AI as a tool for evangelism. Resources: Kenny Jahng's website [https://www.kennyjahng.com/] Futureproof, [https://www.kevinroose.com/futureproof] by Kevin Roose Exponential NEXT [https://exponential.org/next/] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]