{"id":7914,"date":"2026-02-20T20:54:57","date_gmt":"2026-02-21T04:54:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/?p=7914"},"modified":"2026-02-20T21:01:24","modified_gmt":"2026-02-21T05:01:24","slug":"tgfi-volume-543-artificial-humanities-and-a-wise-wager","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2026\/02\/20\/tgfi-volume-543-artificial-humanities-and-a-wise-wager","title":{"rendered":"TGFI, Volume 543: artificial humanities and a wise&nbsp;wager"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-4396\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?resize=300%2C300&#038;ssl=1\" alt width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?resize=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?resize=768%2C768&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?resize=1024%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?resize=1200%2C1200&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?w=2048&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?w=1680&amp;ssl=1 1680w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 85vw, 300px\"><\/a>\n<\/p><p>You\u2019ve heard of TGIF? This is TGFI: Things Glen Found Interesting<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On Fridays I share articles\/resources about broad cultural, societal and theological issues likely to be of interest to Christians in college. Be sure to see the explanation and disclaimers at the bottom. I welcome your suggestions, so if you read something fascinating please pass it my&nbsp;way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Things Glen Found Interesting<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list simple-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/writing.yaschamounk.com\/p\/the-humanities-are-about-to-be-automated\">The Humanities Are About to Be Automated<\/a> (Yascha Mounk, Substack): \u201c\u2026I decided to see whether the newest AI models would be capable of writing a competent academic paper in my field of study, political theory. The result both elated and depressed me.\u2026 The human feedback involved in this process certainly drew on my training in the field, but it was very minimal. Including the time it took Claude to generate the text, and the rather longer time it took me to read what Claude had written, it took less than two hours from when I had the idea to run this experiment to when the draft was finished. The draft could certainly be improved in a few respects. There are certainly a few places in the argument where reviewers could come up with clever objections.\u2026 Had a fellow student submitted it to my department\u2019s graduate student workshop when I was doing my PhD, my respect for them would have gone up rather than&nbsp;down.\u201d&nbsp;<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Includes the paper, which the author (a professor at Johns Hopkins) says \u201ccould, with minor revisions, be published by a serious journal.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/2026\/02\/calling-change-radically-artificial-intelligence\/\">Your Understanding of Calling Is About to Change Radically<\/a> (Russell Moore, Christianity Today): \u201cWe must always seek God\u2019s will. But what we meant by this for most of our lives is about to change dramatically. It\u2019s not God or his will that\u2019s changing but the world as we\u2019ve known it\u2014and with it, the outmoded way we\u2019ve thought about \u2018career.\u2019 .\u2026We have thought of vocation as a definite thing. That mindset may even be behind a lot of the angst we have about discerning God\u2019s will for a career. We think once it\u2019s decided, then the map is set, and now we just set out on&nbsp;it.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/patrickkoroly.substack.com\/p\/you-dont-get-pascals-wager\">You Don\u2019t Get Pascal\u2019s Wager<\/a> (Patrick Koroly, Substack): \u201cPascal isn\u2019t trying to tell random atheists to be Christians. He\u2019s trying to ask uncertain and indifferent Christians whether their choices make any sense. Clearly, it contradicts the heart, since they believe in God yet ignore the practice. Clearly, it contradicts reason, since a cunning Christian would be vying for heaven. Your actions are nonsense\u2014if you hold these beliefs, you\u2019re making a bet that will <em>always<\/em> lose! I lack the power to stop the endless tide of Wager misinterpretations. But I hope that you now understand Pascal\u2019s _actual_ meaning: not that we ought to live as mercenaries in service of God, but that our heart and mind demand two very different things. The Wager calms the mind so that the heart may contend with God as it&nbsp;must.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Unlocked: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/02\/19\/opinion\/toxic-empathy-christianity-trump.html?unlocked_article_code=1.NVA.feDs.QLLLp_pKDrJc&amp;smid=url-share\">Christians Against Empathy Aren\u2019t Who They Think They Are<\/a> (David French, New York Times): \u201cI never thought it would be Christians who led the attack on fundamental Christian values, but here we are. The Book of Hebrews says, \u2018For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are \u2014 yet he did not sin.\u2019 In Christian theology, Christ engaged in the ultimate act of empathy. He didn\u2019t imagine what it would be like to live as a man \u2014 he became one.\u201d&nbsp;<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Recommended by a student.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thefp.com\/p\/will-we-regret-the-release-of-the\">Will We Regret the Release of the Epstein Files?<\/a> (Robby Soave, The Free Press): \u201cIt\u2019s been just days since the majority of the files were released, and a vast campaign is already underway to embarrass, harass, or smear anyone tangentially associated with Epstein\u2014a serial sexual predator\u2014no matter how slight or incidental the connection.\u2026 Take the smearing of Glenn Dubin, a hedge fund manager. In the files is an image of him, arm-in-arm with three underage kids, whose faces are obscured by the Epstein files\u2019 characteristic black boxes. The implication is clear. But the identities of the children are known. They aren\u2019t victims. They are <em>his own kids<\/em>.\u201d\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/02\/16\/us\/epstein-files-academic-funding-colleges.html\">Epstein\u2019s Ties With Academics Show the Seedy Side of College Fund-Raising<\/a> (Alan Blinder, New York Times): \u201cMr. Epstein, who in 2019 died by suicide in the jail where he was being held on sex trafficking charges, gave money, or simply dangled the prospect of it, before people on a range of campuses, including Harvard, M.I.T., Stanford, Bard College and Columbia.\u2026 It was not always clear how much administrators knew about Mr. Epstein\u2019s contacts with their schools. Most due diligence policies, industry officials said, are usually built around gift acceptance, not solicitation.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/stanforddaily.com\/2026\/02\/18\/ash-wednesday-compassion-optimization\/\">This Ash Wednesday, choose compassion over optimization<\/a> (Ariana Duduna, Stanford Daily): \u201cThis practice of self-sacrifice may seem foreign, but it cultivates something our culture has lost: the capacity for genuine compassion. Compassion literally means \u2018to suffer with\u2019 \u2014 not to feel sorry for someone from a distance, but to join their discomfort. You can\u2019t optimize your way into compassion because compassion requires precisely what optimization seeks to eliminate: voluntary, unproductive suffering.\u2026 Instead of treating my anxieties about schoolwork, summer internships and career plans as mere problems to solve, I have begun to view them as opportunities for communion with others navigating the same struggles.\u201d&nbsp;<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Recommended by a student<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/minutes.substack.com\/p\/rented-virtue?r=1fn2p\">Rented Virtue<\/a> (Will Manidis &amp; Nabeel S. Qureshi, Substack): \u201cEvery secular constraint eventually faces the question: why maintain this when it is costly? The only thing that has ever held a constraint in place across generations, through pressure, through loss, through the slow grinding temptation of day after day to simply stop, is the conviction that the constraint was not chosen but received. That it comes from something outside the self that the self cannot renegotiate. That it is owed to God and to creation itself.\u2026 If you asked why the constraint was there, and kept asking, you arrived at God. You always arrived at God.\u2026 There is no secular alternative. There has never been&nbsp;one.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Less Serious Things Which Also Interested\/Amused Glen<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list simple-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/babylonbee.com\/news\/group-chat-ruined-by-android-user\">Group Chat Ruined By Android User<\/a> (Babylon Bee): I am unapologetically that&nbsp;guy.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/textsfromsuperheroes.com\/post\/807944643519102976\/batshaped\">Bat Shaped<\/a> (Text From Superheroes)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>Why Do You Send This&nbsp;Email?<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>In the time of King David, the tribe of Issachar produced shrewd warriors \u201cwho understood the times and knew what Israel should do\u201d (1 Chron 12:32). In a similar way, we need to become wise people whose faith interacts with the world. I pray this email gives you greater insight, so that you may continue the tradition of Issachar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>Disclaimer<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Chi Alpha is not a partisan organization. To paraphrase another minister: we are not about the donkey\u2019s agenda and we are not about the elephant\u2019s agenda \u2014 we are about the Lamb\u2019s agenda. Having said that, I read widely (in part because I believe we should aspire to pass <a href=\"http:\/\/econlog.econlib.org\/archives\/2011\/06\/the_ideological.html\">the ideological Turing test<\/a> and in part because I do not believe I can fairly say \u201cI agree\u201d or \u201cI disagree\u201d until I can say \u201cI understand\u201d) and may at times share articles that have a strong partisan bias simply because I find the article stimulating. The upshot: you should not assume I agree with everything an author says in an article I mention, much less things the author has said in other articles (although if I strongly disagree with something in the article I\u2019ll usually mention it). And to the extent you can discern my opinions, please understand that they are my own and not necessarily those of Chi Alpha or any other organization I may be perceived to represent.\n\nAlso, remember that I\u2019m not reporting news \u2014 I\u2019m giving you a selection of things I found interesting. There\u2019s a lot happening in the world that\u2019s not making an appearance here because I haven\u2019t found stimulating articles written about it.\n\nIf this was forwarded to you and you want to receive future emails, sign up <a href=\"https:\/\/theglendavis.substack.com\/\">here<\/a>. You can also <a href=\"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/category\/links\">view the archives<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You\u2019ve heard of TGIF? This is TGFI: Things Glen Found Interesting On Fridays I share articles\/resources about broad cultural, societal and theological issues likely to be of interest to Christians in college. Be sure to see the explanation and disclaimers at the bottom. I welcome your suggestions, so if you read something fascinating please pass \u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2026\/02\/20\/tgfi-volume-543-artificial-humanities-and-a-wise-wager\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> \u201cTGFI, Volume 543: artificial humanities and a wise&nbsp;wager\u201d<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[16],"tags":[124,219,247],"class_list":["post-7914","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-links","tag-apologetically-interesting","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-wisdom"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6Ded-23E","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7914","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7914"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7914\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7919,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7914\/revisions\/7919"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7914"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7914"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7914"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}