Episode 299: Christopher Reilly on his book AI and Sin: How Today’s Technology Motivates Evil (April 2, 2025)

In this episode of The Open Door, panelists Thomas Storck, Andrew Sorokowski, and Christopher Zehnder interview Christopher Reilly on his book AI and Sin: How Today’s Technology Motivates Evil. (April 2, 2025)

Artificial intelligence technology (AI) motivates persons’ engagement in sin. With this startling argument drawn from Catholic theology and technological insight, Christopher M. Reilly, Th.D. takes on both critics and proponents of AI who see it as essentially a neutral tool that can be used with good or bad intentions. More specifically, Reilly demonstrates that AI strongly encourages the vice of instrumental rationality, which in turn leads the developers, producers, and users of AI and its machines toward acedia, one of the “seven deadly sins.” The third section of the book offers a comprehensive survey and analysis of the many moral problems caused by AI. It concludes with recommendations for overcoming the 21st century scourge of AI-induced acedia.

AI and Sin: How Today’s Technology Motivates Evil by Dr. Christopher Reilly | En Route Books and Media