What's R Future: Recent Episodes
Timothy Carone
Ever wonder why a scientist also chooses to be a Roman Catholic? Ever wonder why a scientist believes faith and reason are not in conflict but instead are intimately related? Did you know that science is really a subset of reason and that there are questions science cannot answer? The What's R Future podcast discusses these questions with Roman Catholic scientists. These scientists see great harmony between science and faith and are not afraid to discuss their research, their faith journey, and what are those Church doctrines that they believe but struggle to understand.
This episode discusses the simulation hypothesis, which suggests that our reality could be a simulated environment created by an advanced civilization. We trace the historical and philosophical roots of this idea, from ancient Chinese and Greek philosophy to modern thinkers like Nick Bostrom and David Chalmers. Many influential technologists believe in the simulation hypothesis, which I find problematic from a Catholic theological perspective. I argue that the simulation hypothesis is incompatible with key Catholic beliefs. I conclude by again emphasizing the need to evangelize technologists who hold these beliefs, as they are an influential group whose secular humanist beliefs may be embedded in the technologies they create.
In this podcast script, I discuss the Catholic Church's role in shaping the future of artificial intelligence (AI). Of course I am optimistic about the gradual development of AI and its potential to benefit humanity.
I discuss the importance of open-source AI platforms and diversity in AI development, aligning these principles with Catholic teachings on the common good. While bias in AI is inevitable, fostering a diverse ecosystem of AI systems appropriate for different cultures and value systems is crucial.
Drawing on Pope Francis' critique of the "technocratic paradigm" in Laudato Si, I discuss the need for the Church to approach AI with humility and respect for the mystery of creation. Catholics need to engage with these developments in a spirit of discernment, seeking to harness the power of technology for the common good while remaining grounded in faith and commitment to human dignity. Ultimately, AI should serve to advance and enrich the ways we worship God and evangelize others.
This WhatsRFuture podcast episode is the second season. In this podcast we discuss the topics of faith, science, and technology from a Catholic perspective. Joining me are Rich Bonomo, the head of the SCS-Wisconsin chapter and Kate Bulinski, a paleontologist and practicing Catholic, from Bellarmine University in Louisville, KY. In this podcast, we discuss the challenges of reconciling faith and science, particularly within the Catholic Church. Kate shares her experiences teaching a course on evolution and creationism, and her involvement with SCS. She highlights the importance of early catechesis in helping young people understand the compatibility of faith and science. Our discussion touches on the historical context of the perceived conflict between faith and science. We also discuss the challenges faced by the Catholic Church in addressing this issue, including inadequate catechesis, the influence of Protestant fundamentalism, and the prevalence of scientism in popular culture, especially the distasteful habit of conflating all Christian denominations into Protestant fundamentalism.
You can find more of Kate's work here:
Kate gave the keynote address after our recent Gold Mass in Louisville: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZnqnkdOTZA&t=1201s
Here are some essays Kate has written on topics that might be of interest:
Bulinski, K.V., “Correcting Misconceptions About Science and Faith in the Classroom” Invited contribution to the Vatican Observatory Sacred Space Astronomy Online Magazine, October 30, 2021 https://www.vaticanobservatory.org/sacred-space-astronomy/correcting-misconceptions-about-science-and-faith-in-the-classroom/
Bulinski, K.V. 2019Evolution and Faith: Compatible and Complementary. The Record Newspaper, May 16th, 2019. Invited contribution as a part of the faith and science series from the Archdiocese of Louisville. https://therecordnewspaper.org/evolution-and-faith-compatible-and-complimentary/
Bulinski, K.V. 2019 A Time to Speak—A Wide-Angle View of Earth. The Record Newspaper, January 16th, 2019. Column published following invited contribution to the Vatican Observatory Sacred Space Astronomy Online Magazine from December, 2018. https://therecordnewspaper.org/a-time-to-speak-a-wide-angle-view-of-earth/
And a podcast:
Bulinski, K.V., July 31, 2020. “Science, Faith, and Deep Time: A Conversation with Geologist and Paleontologist Dr. Kate Bulinski. Earth and Spirit Podcast for the Passionist Earth and Spirit Center. https://anchor.fm/earthandspiritcenter/episodes/Science--Faith--and-Deep-Time-A-Conversation-with-Geologist-and-Paleontologist-Dr--Kate-Bulinski-ehaspl/a-a2q7qjf
This WhatsRFuture podcast episode is a bit different than the ones in the past. Rich Bonomo, the first person interviewed on the WhatsRFuture podcast interviews Tim Carone, the podcast host. Rich talks to Tim about Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) and how impactful AGI will be to the Church.
00:03:08 Introduction
00:8:45 Artificial Intelligence and AGI Intro
00:27:26 AGI Deep Dive
00:49:32 St. Augustine and "I Am a Strange Loop", a 2007 book by Douglas Hofstadter
00:57:50 Scientism, the After Life, and the Singularity
01:01:30 Do We Live in a Simulation?
01:07:30 AGI and The Challenge to the Church
01:27:50 AGI Relation to Faith and Reason
Today I interview Geoffrey Woollard who is at University of British Columbia (in Vancouver). We go deep into structure of biological molecules and how he uses computation as a tool to understand causal process at the microscopic level. We discuss his faith journey and then some interesting topics around faith and reason.
The podcast is an interview with Peter Copeland. Peter is a policy advisor to the Toronto Provincial government and a philosopher of science. Peter works as a writer and contributor to Catholic Conscience. He has developed the Philosophy of Science Series that has some of the perennial themes in the philosophy of science in their contemporary guise. We discuss his ideas and papers, intelligence, and other cultural topics. We also cover an alternative to the Turing Test which I call the Tommy Lasorda Test for Artificial General Intelligence. 00:02:45 Introduction 00:17:20 Catholic Conscious 00:36:05 Methodological Assumptions and Challenges, Quantifying qualities, and values in science 01:06:25 Science and Metaphysics 01:10:00 Intelligence and the Tommy Lasorda Test for Artificial General Intelligence 01:29:30 Faith and Reason 01:38:20 Catholic Journey 01:48:55 Science and Public Policy EPISODE LINKS: Peter Copeland at Catholic Conscious: https://pcopelanwrites.com/tag/catholic-conscience/ Catholic Conscious: https://catholicconscience.org/
Dr. Daniel Vanden Berk is professor at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe PA. Dan is an astrophysicist. He works on extragalactic astronomy and quasars, specifically in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and other satellite based data. We discuss his work and where he's going with it. We'll discuss his background in Catholicism and his faith journey. And we'll talk about suffering and how he views faith and reason, how they come together. And then at the end, we talk about the Catholic Church response to COVID and his perspective on that. 00:02:24 Intro 00:12:22 Overviews of quasars and black holes 00:26:10 Deep dive into research 00:35:55 Future of research 00:38:27 The place of quasars in cosmological models, dark matter, and dark energy 00:44:06 Faith journey 00:56:20 Suffering and Evil 01:03:02 Faith and Reason 01:09:06 Stephen Barr book on "Modern Physics and Ancient Faith" 01:10:50 Future podcast on Word on Fire Institute "The New Apologetics" book review and AI 01:11:48 How to get a degree in evangelization 01:16:12 Response of the Church and scientists to COVID EPISODE LINKS: Joshua Sijuwade Transubstantiation paper: https://philpapers.org/rec/SIJTAM (https://philpapers.org/rec/SIJTAM) Joshua Sijuwade Transubstantiation podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51JUMy75CSs&t=172s (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51JUMy75CSs&t=172s) Dr. Cory Hayes on Galileo and the Church: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6T-W8kN1nk (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6T-W8kN1nk) https://www.amazon.com/Modern-Physics-Ancient-Faith-Stephen-ebook/dp/B01D4TAWGA/ref=sr_1_1?crid=15HX7ULP5H953&keywords=stephen+barr&qid=1657034278&sprefix=%2Caps%2C114&sr=8-1 ("Modern Physics and Ancient Faith"), by Stephen M. Barr https://www.amazon.com/The-New-Apologetics/dp/1685780040/ref=sr_1_1?crid=64FCWMHMDC7Z&keywords=the+new+apologetics&qid=1657034576&s=books&sprefix=the+new+ap%2Cstripbooks%2C147&sr=1-1 ("The New Apologetics"), ed. by Matthew Nelson
Dr. Cara Westmark is an Assistant Professor in the Dept of Neurology, at UW-Madison. She studies the amyloid beta protein precursor and amyloid beta in Alzheimer’s disease, Down syndrome, Fragile X syndrome (FXS) and autism. We discuss her background and research as well as the response of the Catholic Church to COVID and the challenges Catholic scientists faced during the pandemic. We also touch on future pandemic responses. Finally we cover bioethics and Cara's view on the compatibility of faith and reason. 00:01:26 - Introduction 00:12:05 - Research 00:37:10 - Cara's Faith Journey 00:40:49 - The COVID-19 response and the Catholic Church (erratum: COVID-19 started in March 2020, not March 2019) 00:56:53 - Role of the Catholic scientist during pandemics 00:59:31 - Bioethics 01:03:33 - Compatibility of science and faith EPISODE LINKS: Dr. Cara Westmark website: https://neurology.wisc.edu/people/westmark-cara/
Dr. Chris Raub is in biomedical engineering at the Catholic University of America and a member of the Society of Catholic Scientists. He uses non-invasive novel imaging techniques to characterize the complex architectures in cells. Chris studies mechanobiology and tissues on a chip, which he will describe in detail. 00:01:43 - Introduction 00:05:32 - Research 00:32:15 - How does biomedical engineering fit into the big picture? 00:42:32 - Chris' Faith Journey 00:56:00 - Catholic Doctrine challenges 01:17:12 - Ethical issues in biomedical engineering 01:26:23 - Compatibility of science and faith EPISODE LINKS: Dr. Chris Raub website: https://engineering.catholic.edu/research-and-faculty/faculty-profiles/biomedical/raub-christopher/index.html
Dr. Kate Bulinski is a paleontologist at Bellarmine University in Louisville, KY and a member of the Society of Catholic Scientists. 00:02:07 - Introduction
00:06:20 - Paleontology
00:28:25 - How does Paleontology fit into the big picture?
00:36:25 - Kate's Faith Journey
00:43:02 - Laudato Si
01:00:05 - The Church and Gender
01:09:33 - Evolution and Creation
EPISODE LINKS: Dr. Kate Bulinski on "Faith and Reason - Compatible and Complimentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6T-W8kN1nk Dr. Kate Bulinski on ""Lessons from Earth Crises in Deep Time" | Kate Bulinski | TEDxBellarmineU": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iDDo1dtP6Y
Richard Bonomo is a fusion researcher at the University of Wisconsin - Madison and a member of the Society of Catholic Scientists. 00:01:27 - Introduction 00:06:25 - Fusion 00:29:15 - How does Fusion fit into the big picture? 00:33:35 - Richard's Faith Journey 00:39:20 - Transubstantiation 00:49:45 - Challenge of Dealing With People Who Lead Others to Sin 00:56:00 - Richard's Pet Peeve on Engaging the Culture 01:09:05 - A few remarks on role of Catholic Scientists EPISODE LINKS: Richard's Talk on Fusion Energy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioq2qNdLQL4&t=3463s (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioq2qNdLQL4&t=3463s) Joshua Sijuwade Transubstantiation paper: https://philpapers.org/rec/SIJTAM (https://philpapers.org/rec/SIJTAM) Joshua Sijuwade Transubstantiation podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51JUMy75CSs&t=172s (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51JUMy75CSs&t=172s) Dr. Cory Hayes on Galileo and the Church: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6T-W8kN1nk (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6T-W8kN1nk)