Language of God

Artificial intelligence can write poetry, generate images, diagnose patterns in enormous datasets, and carry on a remarkably human-sounding conversation. But what is actually happening inside the machine?

In the second episode of our series on AI & human flourishing, we trace the history of artificial intelligence from Alan Turing and early rule-based computers through machine learning, Deep Blue, AlphaZero, and the arrival of ChatGPT and other large language models with technology and computer science experts to help us understand what changed along the way.

Then we look under the hood of a large language model. What are tokens, vectors, and transformers? How can a machine trained to predict the next word produce such astonishing results? Ultimately posing the question of whether understanding the machinery changes the way we think about what AI is—and what it isn’t.

Theme song and credits music by Breakmaster Cylinder. Other music in this episode by Ricky Bombino, Chill Cord, High Street Music, & Immersive Music, courtesy of Shutterstock, Inc.

The views expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the institutions or organizations with which they are affiliated.

Additional Resources

Read the Pope's Encyclical on AI
Joint Statement on AI & Ethics
Learn about Faith, Work, Tech
Learn about the DELTA Program
For more interviews and faith baed conversation on AI check out the podcast Belief in the Future