Intercollegiate Studies Institute
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Christian Professor vs. OpenAI Strategist: Is AI Demonic? | Fault Lines
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September 8, 2026
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1:32:15Now PlayingWelcome to "Fault Lines," a debate series from the Intercollegiate Studies Institute bringing serious thinkers together to debate the political, cultural, and intellectual questions shaping our world.
In this installment, Dr. Zachary Porcu and Dean Ball debate the resolution: "AI Is a Deal With the Devil." At stake is whether artificial intelligence is just the next tool in humanity's technological progress or a type of idol that reshapes our relationship to knowledge, power, religion, and even what it means to be human.
Porcu draws on ancient mythology, Christian thought, and the history of technology to argue that AI echoes humanity's oldest stories about forbidden knowledge, spiritual power, and the temptation to transcend our natural limits. Ball counters that AI is better understood as a discovery about the nature of intelligence itself and that, despite its real risks, responsibly developed AI could expand human capacity while freeing us to focus on distinctly human questions.
The debate ranges across AI alignment and superintelligence, religious revival, human agency, technological dependence, the role of government and the Church, and whether humanity can keep control of increasingly powerful machines.
Timestamps:
About the Speakers
Dr. Zachary Porcu is a scholar of late antiquity and the host of the Roots of Everything podcast. His work explores ancient philosophy, religion, spirituality, and the ways ancient ideas can illuminate the modern world.
Dean Ball is a researcher and writer focused on artificial intelligence, emerging technology, and public policy. He is the author of the Hyperdimensional newsletter and Head of Strategic Futures at OpenAI.
About "Fault Lines":
"Fault Lines" is an ISI debate series exploring the arguments and disagreements shaping the future of conservatism and American public life.
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