Essential
2018-09-25
Great discussion of some ethical considerations regarding virtual reality.
Main Topic
What would be the ethics of choosing to live in a virtual world?
9:18
Ben just read Ready Player One
So do you recommend this book?
Absolutely. Very entertaining.
It's a Ben De Bono recommendation.
Not terribly deep, but very entertaining. So, there you go. I do occasionally recommend something that's a bit lighter. It's about the depth level of Avengers, but nobody's going around proclaiming it the greatest thing ever, so it doesn't make me mad.
Would the Great Commission compel us to jack in to a virtual world if a large number of people "lived" there?
Could we have a church if a group of Christians decided to live in the virtual world?
Five Potential Moral Issues with Living in a Virtual World
Ben
- Morality - morality seems to erode the further we get into a virtual environment
- Justice - we neglect our duty to others
- Identity - when we can be anything, identity becomes fluid and self improvement is unnecessary
- Gnostic - embraces the gnostic worldview of flesh bad, spirit good
- Eucharistic - communion grounds our worship in physicality
54:55 Sci-Fi Christian Story Time: Cleverbot meets Ben De Bono
55:52 Sci-Fi Christian Story Time: Is My Wife a Prophet?
Closing
Ben says they are in a Sci-Fi Christian Renaissance: there's a new member of the A Squad, he's back to recording every week, and they're releasing good episodes.
Archivist Note
If you enjoyed this episode, I'd also recommend listening to John Dyer's Theological Reflections on Artificial Intelligence (42 minutes).