Barnabas File

In a recent post, I shared a brief book review of  Project Maven , an account of a program  initiated within the Pentagon in 2017 to use AI not only for battlefield surveillance but to target people and resources.  The author points to the evolution of this project to the ultimate goal—removing humans from the decision-making process.   On May 25, Pope Leo XIV released  Magnifica Humanitas, or  “Magnificent Humanity,” the Catholic Church’s first major theological statement about artificial intelligence. No matter your tradition, this document deserves your close attention.   In response to the encyclical, Cameron Trimble, CEO of  Convergence , cited several key considerations, but here is one of special note:   “He [Pope Leo] declared ‘just war’ theory outdated, which is a major theological step. One of the encyclical’s most striking points is about AI in warfare. Leo says clearly that the Catholic Church’s centuries-old ‘just war’ ...

When I was studying missional theology several years ago, I was introduced to the term “discontinuous change.”  In an article in 1993, William Pullen described it in this way: “ Discontinuous change  occurs in response to an abrupt event in the environment - a strategic shock - for which there is no organizational precedent.  Discontinuous  means the event is not continuous with the past or current direction of the organization.”    The COVID-19 pandemic certainly illustrates such a paradigm shifting event, but many of the changes engendered by this event were already on the horizon.  Especially for the church, the pandemic is simply accelerating what was going to happen anyway.  We have jumped forward in time and been forced to deal with conditions that were already emerging,   This reality came up in a conversation with a pastor recently.  In his situation, he has seen that worship is no longer the “front door” to ...