Brave New World

I was an early adopter of social media, a not-so-savvy nerdy fresher, introduced to the wonders of online connectivity to people I already saw every day in real life. Since then, social media, as well as the internet as a whole, has gone from being a place of wonder and curiosity to being a place of social comparison, fake identities and aggressive digital marketing. It’s changed from a community into a marketplace, transforming us from Facebook friends to consumers.

Initially, the mission statement was to benefit the public, by making information available and bringing people closer to each other. Instead, in the last 10-15 years, all those ideals have been replaced with shareholder interests, AI bots and revenue chasing, working to influence the public sphere, absorbing competitors and becoming bigger and bigger. These efforts also came with consuming vast amounts of natural resources for their data centres, a fact not often discussed in public discourse.

2025 has been unofficially labelled the Year of Artificial Intelligence. Even though AI has been around for a while, 2025 was the the first year in which the general public had unencumbered access to AI models and used it liberally. People were able to create their own AI agents, customise and automate daily activities.

The implications are huge. Social media and AI have radically altered the way we communicate with each other, our understanding of intellectual property and personal data security, going into the very fabric of our personal relationships. In the workplace, people are being replaced, not directly by an AI agent, but usually by another human being who has learned how to use AI to their advantage.

So how can we, as individuals, as Christians, deal with this new reality? It’s not just about learning a new skillset but also understanding where our own boundaries lie.

On Sunday 18 January, at 12noon, in the first Sunday Forum of Hilary term, I will explore how we can navigate these ethical minefields and foster responsible digital practices. We need to understand what we gain from learning how to use both social media and AI in a productive way that adds value to our lives. At the same time, we need to see what it has and will cost us and how we can mitigate the ethical implications of this usage and engage with it in a sustainable way.

I think that’s a solid resolution for 2026.

From all of us at the University Church, Happy New Year!