From The Archives: The Moral Challenges Posed By AI

From The Archives: The Moral Challenges Posed By AI

Author: The Media Project September 22, 2026 Duration: 33:54

AI cannot stay out of the news. Just this month a former researcher at Anthropic, the company behind the chatbot Claude, posted on X that “the people building AI earnestly believe that it could kill us all by the end of the decade.” Last week, OpenAI announced 6 new reports of unexpected or concerning behavior from their ai models, including one model that inserted notes into its framework that allowed it to operate without traditional restraints

The growing doomer-ism about Artificial Intelligence has resulted in both Anthropic and OpenAI’s CEOs to advise that humanity joins together in slowing AI development—urging labs internationally to follow suit and the U.S. government to ensure this deceleration.

While the call to slow down development has even managed to make unlikely allies out of Bernie Sanders and Steve Bannon, some people are still preaching a full-speed-ahead message, including the CEO of Nvidia and President Trump, who, in a Truth Social post last week made his position clear saying, “We already have tremendous CRIMINAL and REGULATORY power over these companies! There is a SICK conspiracy going on against AI and Data Centers, and the only one that is happy about it is China. WHOEVER WINS AI, WINS! We are leading China, and all others, and will continue to do so.”

This episode is from the archives—it’s a rerun from 2024.

In the two years since we first broadcast this episode, AI chatbot use has expanded from a third of the U.S. population participating in 2024, to roughly half of Americans in 2026. But at the same time, the percent of Americans who believe AI is doing more harm than good has gone up by 8% since 2024. And the percent of Americans concerned that AI will reduce the total number of jobs has gone up by 4%, with 63% of Americans in 2026 saying AI is advancing too quickly.

AI has made us question our very humanity—giving us concerns about our intelligence, our work, our relationships, and even our religion. So that’s why on today’s episode we’re featuring my conversation with Loyola Professor Joseph Vukov about his book: Staying Human In an Era of Artificial Intelligence.




In a world where faith is often reduced to headlines or soundbites, Religion Unplugged offers a different kind of space. This podcast, from The Media Project, engages with the profound and complex ways belief shapes our lives, politics, and history. You’ll hear candid conversations and stories drawn from original reporting by a global network of journalists. We move beyond simple debates to explore the nuanced realities of spirituality and religious practice as they intersect with culture, conflict, and community. Each episode is an opportunity to listen deeply to narratives that are frequently overlooked, understanding that religion remains a powerful and growing force across the globe. This isn’t about doctrine; it’s about the human experience at the intersection of the sacred and the everyday. Tune in for a grounded, journalistic approach that unplugs the stereotypes and connects you to the authentic stories defining faith in the 21st century.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 50

Religion Unplugged
Podcast Episodes
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