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Virtuous AI Berkeley Conference

The Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences (CTNS) is hosting three online conferences in the summer of 2023 as part of its new grant, “Virtuous AI?: Cultural Evolution, Artificial Intelligence, and Virtue.” The first conference, from June 12-14, will be centered around the Pacific time zone. The following two conferences will center around the time zones for Seoul and Rome, respectively. This is to encourage participation by scholars from a wide variety of religious and philosophical perspectives, cultural traditions, and geographic locations.   The detailed daily schedule of the...
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Virtuous AI Seoul Conference

The Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences (CTNS) is hosting three online conferences in the summer of 2023 as part of its new grant, “Virtuous AI?: Cultural Evolution, Artificial Intelligence, and Virtue.” The second conference is on July 11-13 (Korean Standard Time); July 10-12 (Pacific Daylight Time). Both conferences in Seoul and Rome will center around the time zones for Seoul and Rome, respectively. This is to encourage participation by scholars from a wide variety of religious and philosophical perspectives, cultural traditions, and geographic locations.   The detailed daily...
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Virtuous AI: Conference Schedules

Date & Time of the Conference Berkeley: June 12 - 15, 2023 Monday – Wednesday, June 12 - 14, 2023, 9 am - 2 pm (Pacific Daylight Time; GMT-7), Presentation and discussion of the papers by participants with a short time for questions from the online audience. Thursday, June 15, 2023, 9 am - 11 am (Pacific Daylight Time; GMT-7), a closed session for participants only.     Seoul: July 11 - 14, 2023 Tuesday – Thursday, July 11-13, 2023, 8 am - 1 pm (Korea Standard Time; GMT+9); Monday - Wednesday, July 10-12, 2023, 4 pm - 9 pm (Pacific Daylight Time; GMT-7) Friday, July 14, 2023, 8 am - 10...
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Virtuous AI Rome Conference

The Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences (CTNS) is hosting three online conferences in the summer of 2023 as part of its new grant, “Virtuous AI?: Cultural Evolution, Artificial Intelligence, and Virtue.” The third and final conference of Virtuous AI is on July 24 - 26 (Central European Standard Time; GMT+2). The conference in Rome will center around the time zone for Rome. This is to encourage participation by scholars from a wide variety of religious and philosophical perspectives, cultural traditions, and geographic locations.   The detailed daily schedule of the conference is...
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Rome Conference Presenters

Times and Events are subject to change VAI Rome Schedule (Central European Summer Time; GMT+2) Monday – Wednesday, July 24 - 26, 2023, 4 pm - 9 pm VAI Rome Schedule (Pacific Daylight Time; GMT-7) July 24 - 26, 2023, 7 am – 12 pm   Day 1 (July 24, 4 PM CEST; 7 AM PDT) Robert M. Geraci (4:15 PM - 4:45 PM CEST; 7:15 AM - 7:45 AM PDT) Robert M Geraci is Professor of Religious Studies at Manhattan College. Among several books and many essays, he is the author of Futures of Artificial Intelligence: Perspectives from India and the United States (Oxford 2022) and Apocalyptic AI: Visions...
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“Virtuous AI?: Cultural Evolution, Artificial Intelligence, and Virtue” is accepting papers

The deadline to submit a proposal for a conference paper was January 31, 2023 (UTC-08:00).

Instructions This will provide more details regarding the core questions and the kinds of topics that might be of interest. The deadline to submit a proposal for a conference paper was January 31, 2023 (UTC-08:00). Participants who are selected for the conferences will be offered a $1000 honorarium for writing the conference paper.  In order to submit to the call for papers, we will need name, institution, title, and email address. Additionally, we request the following information: 1. Which core question(s) do you plan to focus on in your paper (ranked in order if more than one)? 2. A...
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JTF awards CTNS three-year project on Virtue and AI

The Graduate Theological Union (GTU) is pleased to announce that the John Templeton Foundation (JTF) has awarded the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences (CTNS) a $445,000, three-year grant beginning in July 2022 to take forward critical research on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its ethical implications. The project, titled “Virtuous AI? Artificial Intelligence, Cultural Evolution, and Virtue,” seeks to explore several core questions: How and to what extent will AI influence the evolution of human culture and virtue? Can AI assist humans in the acquisition of virtue? Is AI itself...

The following news article is excerpted from gtu.edu.   The Graduate Theological Union (GTU) is pleased to announce that the John Templeton Foundation (JTF) has awarded the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences (CTNS) a $445,000, three-year grant beginning in July 2022 to take forward critical research on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its ethical implications. The project, titled “Virtuous AI? Artificial Intelligence, Cultural Evolution, and Virtue,” seeks to explore several core questions: How and to what extent will AI influence the evolution of human culture and virtue? Can AI...
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Robert John Russell: In Celebration

May 19, 2022 marks a threshold in the history of the field of Science and Religion. This is the date my colleague and friend, Robert John Russell, retired after four decades of leading the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences (CTNS) at the Graduate Theological Union (GTU) in Berkeley, California.

What a great event! Bob Russell becomes GTU Professor "Emeritus." Please enjoy Dr. Ted Peters' tribute to Bob Russell in his Patheos blog.   Along with Robert John Russell, Ted Peters teaches and conducts research at the intersection of science, religion, and ethics. Dr. Peters is an emeritus professor at the Graduate Theological Union, where, with Dr. Russell, he co-edits the journal, Theology and Science, on behalf of the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences, in Berkeley, California, USA. He authored Playing God? Genetic Determinism and Human Freedom? (Routledge, 2nd ed., 2002)...
CTNS News

CTNS Public forum with Dr. Levi Checketts

Levi Checketts is an associate professor of religion and philosophy at Hong Kong Baptist University. A 2018 graduate of the GTU and recipient of the Charles H. Townes Fellowship, his research focuses on Catholic social ethics and new technologies. He leads a committee on AI concerns from an Asian perspective for the Pontifical Council for Culture and serves as Networking Fellow for AI and Faith. He has a forthcoming two-volume edited work, Theology and Technology, from Wipf and Stock and is currently writing a book on AI epistemology and the preferential option for the poor.

This event is...

CTNS Public forum with Dr. Levi Checketts - Monday, May 9th, 2022, 3 pm PT    Levi Checketts is an associate professor of religion and philosophy at Hong Kong Baptist University. A 2018 graduate of the GTU and recipient of the Charles H. Townes Fellowship, his research focuses on Catholic social ethics and new technologies. He leads a committee on AI concerns from an Asian perspective for the Pontifical Council for Culture and serves as Networking Fellow for AI and Faith. He has a forthcoming two-volume edited work, Theology and Technology, from Wipf and Stock and is currently writing a...
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CTNS Public forum with Dr. Carolin Frueh

Time and its associated properties are an integral part of any physics calculation. Differentiability enables equations of motion and therefore quantitative predictions in the first place. Time also has an ontological dimension and is intimately linked to human existence. A third understanding of time is the one in theology, contrasting human time with divine eternity. In this talk the property of time in physics is contrasted with an understanding of time following Heidegger and a theological time dimension from Pannenberg.

 

Dr. Carolin Frueh is a MDiv student with CDSP. She holds a PhD in...

CTNS Public forum with Dr. Carolin Frueh - Wednesday, March 16th 2022, 5 - 7 pm (PST)   Register Here for this Zoom Webinar   Time and its associated properties are an integral part of any physics calculation. Differentiability enables equations of motion and therefore quantitative predictions in the first place. Time also has an ontological dimension and is intimately linked to human existence. A third understanding of time is the one in theology, contrasting human time with divine eternity. In this talk the property of time in physics is contrasted with an understanding of time...
CTNS News

CTNS Celebrates Dr. Robert Russell's 40-Years of Leadership

The Graduate Theological Union is pleased to celebrate 40 years of visionary leadership from Dr. Robert Russell, who recently announced his retirement as Ian G. Barbour Professor of Theology and Science and Director of the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences (CTNS). Dr. Russell will conclude his tenure on June 30, 2022. 

“Over the past 40 years, Dr. Russell has paved the way for scholars around the world working at the intersection of science and theology. By establishing CTNS and growing it into what it is today, Dr. Russell leaves a living legacy, which will, no doubt, continue to...

The Graduate Theological Union is pleased to celebrate 40 years of visionary leadership from Dr. Robert Russell, who recently announced his retirement as Ian G. Barbour Professor of Theology and Science and Director of the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences (CTNS). Dr. Russell will conclude his tenure on June 30, 2022.  “Over the past 40 years, Dr. Russell has paved the way for scholars around the world working at the intersection of science and theology. By establishing CTNS and growing it into what it is today, Dr. Russell leaves a living legacy, which will, no doubt, continue to...
CTNS News

Announcement of Dr. Braden Molhoek as the new CTNS Barbour Chair and Director

I am delighted to announce that Dr. Braden Molhoek will become the new Ian G. Barbour Assistant Professor in Theology, Science, Ethics and Technology and the CTNS Director in the summer, 2022, following my retirement in June. Braden’s appointment by the GTU, following on the recommendations which I offered with input from the CTNS Advisory Board and other sources, marks a landmark expansion of our mission in interdisciplinary research, teaching and public service to explicitly include ethics and technology along with theology and science.  It reflects the four goals of our search process...

January 21, 2022 Dear members and friends of CTNS and the GTU: I am delighted to announce that Dr. Braden Molhoek will become the new Ian G. Barbour Assistant Professor in Theology, Science, Ethics and Technology and the CTNS Director in the summer, 2022, following my retirement in June. Braden’s appointment by the GTU, following on the recommendations which I offered with input from the CTNS Advisory Board and other sources, marks a landmark expansion of our mission in interdisciplinary research, teaching and public service to explicitly include ethics and technology along with theology...
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The Russell Family Research Fellowship in Religion and Science

Annual Russell Family Research Fellowship in Religion and Science   The annual Russell Family Research Fellowship in Religion and Science brings internationally distinguished scholars in religion and science to the GTU. Since 1981, Russell Fellows have been in residence at CTNS/GTU every year to conduct research, teach doctoral and seminary courses and present public lectures at the GTU and at other San Francisco Bay Area locations. The annual Russell Family Fellowship in Religion and Science was created in memory of John K. Russell (1896-1958). Mr. Russell, born of Italian immigrants,...
CTNS News

Announcing 2023-24 Russell Family Fellowship Events

CTNS Announces the Annual Russell Family Research Fellowship in Religion and Science November 9-10, 2023

The annual CTNS Russell Family Research Fellowship in Religion and Science brings internationally distinguished scholars in religion and science, and now in ethics and technology, to the GTU. 

We are delighted to announce that the Fellow for 2023-2024 is Brian Patrick Green.

CTNS Announces the Annual Russell Family Research Fellowship in Religion and Science November 9-10, 2023 The annual CTNS Russell Family Research Fellowship in Religion and Science brings internationally distinguished scholars in religion and science, and now in ethics and technology, to the GTU. We are delighted to announce that the Fellow for 2023-2024 is Brian Patrick Green.   Brian Patrick Green is the director of technology ethics at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University and teaches AI ethics in Santa Clara University’s Graduate School of Engineering. His...
CTNS News

AI and the Church Seminar

AI and the Church Seminar: An Introduction

Wednesday, November 8, 2023
7:00 pm - 8:30 pm

Palo Alto Christian Reformed Church, 687 Arastradero Rd. Palo Alto, CA 94306

  Registration Link for the event   Dr. Braden Molhoek and Dr. Ted Peters will equip pastors and lay leaders with an overview of ethical questions being raised by rapidly emerging AI technologies in all aspects of society.   The buzz about AI has been dizzying, hasn’t it? This seminar will help provide handles, particularly for pastors, campus ministers and lay leaders, for how to think Christianly about these emerging technologies and associated ethical challenges. What are the prospects, for better or worse, of AI, and what are some of the implications for the Church’s life and mission...
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Journal

Begun in 2003, Theology and Science draws its academic strength from the background of over thirty years of CTNS development, the expertise of hundreds of scientists and theologians from around the world who have participated in CTNS research programs, as well as a cadre of more than 40 editors on the Editorial Advisory Board. From physics and cosmology to evolutionary biology, genetics, neuroscience and the environmental sciences, Theology and Science engages scientific discourse in dialogue with both Christian and multi-religious perspectives. With these affiliations, the journal provides a...
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The Russell Family Research Fellowship in Religion and Science

Annual Russell Family Research Fellowship in Religion and Science   The annual Russell Family Research Fellowship in Religion and Science brings internationally distinguished scholars in religion and science to the GTU. Since 1981, Russell Fellows have been in residence at CTNS/GTU every year to conduct research, teach doctoral and seminary courses and present public lectures at the GTU and at other San Francisco Bay Area locations. The annual Russell Family Fellowship in Religion and Science was created in memory of John K. Russell (1896-1958). Mr. Russell, born of Italian immigrants,...
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Charles H. Townes Graduate Student Fellowship in Theology and Science

The Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences established the Graduate Student Fellowship in 2005, in order to help support doctoral students of academic excellence at the Graduate Theological Union working in theology and science. The Fellowship was renamed the Charles H. Townes Graduate Student Fellowship on September 16, 2006 in recognition of Dr. Townes' work with physics graduate students at UC Berkeley and for his generous and longstanding support of CTNS. Dr. Townes was a Nobel Laureate in Physics for his role in the discovery of the maser and laser, Professor of Physics in the...
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CTNS Briefs

CTNS Research Brief 2024 / Revision of 7/5/2024       Hopes and Hazards of Artificial Intelligence A CTNS Research Brief By Braden Molhoek and Ted Peters   For decades Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology has been trudging up the hill like the Little Engine that Could. Now it sits on the hill’s crest, ready to roll down at unstoppable speed and crash into everything below. All hopes are threatened by hazards. First, the hopes. With glee, two health scientists, Ridwan Islam Sifat and Upali Bhattacharya, celebrated the birth of ChatGPT in 2023. Here are their hopes. ChatGPT...