AI Theology In Brazil – Part 1: A Personal Address

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That’s me getting ready to kick the soccer ball with my dad.

How do I encapsulate 2 intense weeks in a short summary? How can I do so by providing enough detail to take the reader with me but also without making this a long drawn-out memoir? Hard task but one worth engaging in. In the previous blog, I gave my overall reflections on Brazil but did not go much in detail on what happened in my time there. This is what I will attempt to do in the following series of blogs. Here is the first installment.

First, it is important to disclose how this trip came about. For those who do not know me, I was born in Brazil and lived there until I was 15. My parents and my sister still live there. Since I had not been there since 2015, I thought it was about time to go back even if I could not bring my whole family with me. As I discussed my visit with my dad, he suggested I give some talks on Artificial Intelligence to the seminary and university he is involved in. It is a growing institution, founded by my grandfather, situated in a small town in Brazil’s interior. Because my visit, they organized a theology forum on the topic of Artificial Intelligence which consisted of 4 events:

  • Sunday School in a Presbiterian church entitled: “How to transmit our faith to our kids in a technological age”
  • A lecture open to the public in the university entitled “How Artificial Intelligence is changing relationships, professions and religion”
  • A talk with a group of pastors in the city entitled “Artificial Intelligence: How do we receive it and use it in our communities”
  • An open debate with professors in the University about “Artificial Intelligence and Post-Modernity.”

Phew, clearly this vacation turned out to be quite some work but very gratifying. Since I had little time to prepare prior to flying to Brazil, I spent a my first few days there gathering material for the talks and discussing the topic with friends and family. I had a lot to say on the topic but I wanted to contextualize it to the local reality. Attitudes and beliefs toward technology can vary widely depending on the context.

For example, it was illuminating to learn that while most of my audience did not have a computer at home, almost all of them had smart phones. Most were not familiar with terms like “machine learning” or “data science” but could see that in action when they typed a letter to send a text to a friend. I also learned that Whatsapp was the application of choice even more used than email in some cases. To my surprise, the town had Uber service even as they still had newstands in their main square. Wifi was widely available as well as small mom and pop stores that I visited while I was a kid. No Amazon and Wall-Mart nearby leaving most of commerce to local businesses. I witnessed The old and new living side-by-side in an interesting mixture. I learned of people who harvested coffee in the morning but looked up answers in google at night to help their kids to do homework.

How then should I speak of a disruptive technology in an environment where technological change was so uneven? It was important to keep my assumptions in check.

The first talk in the church inaugurated my time in Caratinga on a personal note. I was there in the church my parents married and also the one where my grandparents and some uncles had been buried. I was there to speak first as a father and husband, not as a data scientist. I started by using an analogy. I showed them first on a screen a typewriter and then a 3-D printer. While most were familiar with the first, few could recognize the latter. There lied the challenge of sharing our faith with our kids. It felt as if we were teaching faith like typewriting in a world of 3-D printers. That is, our teaching carried assumptions from bygone era, failing to address the needs, fears and questions of our time. That did not mean we had to use more technological means for sharing our faith, but it required different approaches.

I shared from my heart that in a world of noise and fast technological change, it is crucial we teach our kids the gift of silence. Furthermore, in a world of multiplying screens, nothing speak louder than a loving gaze, a warm embrace and words of affirmation. Only when we practice those, can we even begin to transmit our faith to the next generation. If our faith reflects a God of love, the best way to introduce God is through loving action.

I believe this applies not just to a small town in the interior of Brazil but it is indeed a message of global relevance. In a world of instant digital connections, physically visiting different places still matters . The learning I got being there for two weeks could not be assimilated through reading or VR. If anything, physical presence will only become more impactful than before.

Therefore, let’s cherish every chance we get to see, touch and embrace our loved ones.

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