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Belief in the Future

Belief in the Future

By: DZ Kalman
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Technology and religion sometimes seem like oil and water, but they've been crossing paths for centuries and aren't going to stop. Hosted by DZ Kalman. New season coming June 2026. Belief in the Future is a production of Sinai and Synapses. It was made with support from Templeton World Charity Foundation.© 2024–6 David Zvi Kalman Spirituality
Episodes
  • Islam and AI (w/ Waleed Kadous)
    Jun 26 2026
    As a decentralized faith, Islam does not have one single approach to AI. Muslim communities are constructing norms around AI usage in religious scholarship and sermon-writing through a mix of guidance from religious leaders and emergent communal practice. I talked to Waleed Kadous, the creator of Islamic AI assistant Ansari, about how the technology is shaping not only Islamic scholarship but our value systems and real world politics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    47 mins
  • The Image of God in the Age of AI (w/ Tomer Persico)
    Jun 18 2026
    The idea that human beings are created in the image of God is a central part of both Jewish and Christian theology, and with the rise of AI it has become perhaps the best example of how ancient religious wisdom can regulate modern technology by reminding us of what we value most of all. If human beings are created in the image of God—if we have something in us that separates us from animals—then we have an idea to rally around, a way to articulate that humanity’s special status needs to be preserved at all cost. The problem is, this theological idea is a lot more unstable than we’d like to admit. I talk to Tomer Persico, research fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute and author of In God's Image: How Western Civilization Was Shaped by a Revolutionary Idea. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    52 mins
  • The Latter-day Saint Way on AI
    Jun 11 2026
    There is more than one type of religious approach to AI. While the Catholic response has received by far the most media attention, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has been developing a response that has a stronger emphasis on practice. I spoke with Elder Gerrit Gong, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, about the church's approach. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    31 mins
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