{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"AI Church Toolkit","title":"AI, Agency, and the Church: A Crossroads Crossover","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":3532,"description":"In this special crossover episode with the Crossroads podcast, Peter and Mercedes are joined by The Rev. Jo Nygard Owens and Dr. Sonia Coman of Washington National Cathedral. Together, they explore what it means to engage AI thoughtfully and faithfully—from theological reflection to digital strategy, from ethical caution to spiritual curiosity.\n\nThe conversation invites listeners to embrace imagination, resist fear, and reclaim human agency in a rapidly shifting digital landscape.\n\nTopics Covered\nDefining intelligence, agency, and the Imago Dei in a world of machine decision-making\nWhat “authenticity” means in the age of machine-written texts\nDiscernment, formation, and critical thinking across age groups\nThe risk of opacity in automated systems and importance of transparency\nPausing before automation: reclaiming intention, emotion, and spiritual grounding\nWhy we need shared vocabulary—and shared discernment—across the Church\n\nResources Mentioned\nSearches: Selfhood in a Digital Age by Vaushini Vara\nNexus by Yuval Noah Harari\nCrossroads Podcast from Washington National Cathedral\nResearch on AI interpretability by Anthropic\n\nHomework\nReach out to us and let us know how you’ve found generative AI to be useful in church ministry. You can email at info@aichurchtoolkit.com. We’d love to share ideas in our final episode of the season as we consider a round-up of our topics and how things are evolving.","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/nOzEGrkHAKfFDXiOJqxbdIkuIVtODpe-FjF2fW7VItM/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS83MmNl/MzA5MWYxMGFlYzY4/OTcxMDEyY2YyMmUy/M2U5MC5wbmc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}