Content
Wrestling with Uncertainty
Physics taught us uncertainty is built into creation. So why does new research suggest that doubt about our politics can turn dangerous?
Does AI play favorites with religion?
Because AI is now a gatekeeper of knowledge, we have to be especially careful about the way that we represent society and different viewpoints.
Ten Commandments for Being a Mensch Online and How 81 Teens Shredded Them
Most Jewish educational materials are intended to be published as a finished document. This one was published unfinished on purpose, with the machinery for its own revision built in and aimed at the people who would use it.
Even Kings Need Guardrails — And So Do Our AI Agents
The Torah reminds us that agency should not be for its own sake; the king’s job is not to enjoy the benefits—it’s to lead the people, and, in this text, be subject to the law. Even the king needs guardrails.”
What would a Jewish encyclical on AI look like?
The Forward and Sinai and Synapses brought together leading voices in Jewish thought and technology to explore what a distinctly Jewish approach to artificial intelligence might look like. Watch the conversation on ethics, responsibility, and what it means to be human in the age of AI.
Buddhism, Artificial Intelligence, and Attention
As our relationship with artificial intelligence continues to evolve, it might be a good idea for all of us to spend some extra time strengthening our attention muscles.
Prompting Prejudice: How AI Learns and Unlearns Hate
How can AI systems transcend the antisemitism and other forms of hate embedded across the internet?
Attention Is a Form of Prayer
The listening that research demands can become the deepest form of attention, and attention practiced with patience and reverence can become a form of prayer.
Are Disputes Between Science and Religion “In the Name of Heaven”?
When science and religion disagree, the real question may not be who is right, but whether the dispute is driven by humility, curiosity, and a genuine search for truth.
The Image of God in the Age of AI
What does it actually mean to be created in the image of God, and what happens to that idea when a machine can reason, choose, and create too?
Quarreling Ourselves to Death
I recently finished the now-classic book Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman. It had been sitting on my shelf for many years, and I finally felt like I needed to read it, especially given the argument that our society has become post-literate. Postman’s focus is on the rise of television, and how the role of video, instantaneous communication, and entertainment and performance have negatively impacted our civil discourse, our politics, and our educational system. What struck me the most…
The Sacred Architecture of Torah Pedagogy: Crafting the Mitzvah Workshop Curriculum
In the Jewish tradition, the act of teaching is never merely the transmission of data; it is an act of sacred translation.