Restore is an annual gathering organized by Faith Matters. It’s a three-day event of inspiring speakers and outstanding music, art, and community, all centered on restoring faith, belonging, and wholeness.
This year there are several sessions related to technology and AI that you might be interested in.
God and Man in Silicon Valley: The Occult World of the Tech Bros
How a set of strange, radical, and badly under-examined ideas possessed by a small group of tech elites will shape the coming AI era. It is important for all people—especially people of faith—to understand them, because they could have profound influence on the future of humanity.
Ensuring AI Enhances—and Not Hinders—Human Flourishing
How can we ensure AI is developed and governed in ways that advance the flourishing of our children and families? Is Big Tech unstoppable or can individuals and governments ensure that the safety of ordinary people isn’t sacrificed on the altar of Silicon Valley ideology? And how can faith guide us as we navigate this time of enormous technological change?
Why It’s Time to Give Up Your Smartphone
The greatest threat to faith today is technology. In Matthew 6:24, Jesus proclaims, “No one can serve two masters.” But most of us in our daily actions serve Big Tech and the attention economy more than any God. We place our faith in the algorithm, and seek our answers online and not in prayer. We look down at our screens instead of up at Heaven. We worship the work of human hands, and convince ourselves we have no other choice. Through our reliance on digital technology, we have become conformed to this world. It is no easy task to break free, but it is possible—and for people of faith, it is a duty.
Is A New Renaissance Upon Us?
The European Renaissance represents a unique flowering of human wisdom and goodness. Not only was objective, scientific knowledge beginning to come into its own at that time, but more subjective modes of knowing were still honored and even celebrated. Beauty and Truth formed a powerful alliance. We now live downstream from this radiant moment in history. Scientific knowledge has attained near impossible heights. And yet, what arguably makes us most human — our capacity to find and make-meaning — seems to lag far behind. We live longer thanks to medical science, but we are lonelier and less sure of what we are living for in the first place. But a new Renaissance is dawning. Widespread alienation proves to be the fuel of longing that calls us back to intimacy and the re-enchanting of the world. We’re beginning to understand that the world is not simply given — we must participate directly in the creation of it. The story of an uncaring, random universe is wearing thin while the awakened human heart dreams up a future of coherence, care and creativity. Join Thomas McConkie at Restore on September 26th for an embodied and ensouled experience. In this next round of rebirth, we can transform the world only by transforming the self.
Young, Mormon, and Online: Keeping Your Faith and Soul on the Internet
The internet often rewards outrage, certainty, and division. So what does it look like to follow Christ in a space that can feel anything but Christlike? Four young Latter-day Saint voices will share real experiences that taught them how to listen, build bridges, understand others, and invite with confidence—making room for Christ even in the most difficult online conversations.
Tickets are almost sold out, so register quickly. You can save 10% by using the code OI26.
If cost is a barrier, there are scholarships available. Write to info@faithmatters.org
We are in a nexus of profound scientific, technological, and spiritual change. After centuries of separation, this is the moment to reintegrate two of humanity’s great projects: the cultivation of spiritual wisdom and the advancement of scientific knowledge.
With the support of the John Templeton Foundation, and under the editorial direction of Maddy Peterson, James Ungureanu, and Benjamin Peters, Wayfare Magazine will begin publishing a series of essays that offer pathways for this reintegration of religion and science, culminating in a special issue on this theme coming out early next year.
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