Now that video may be a little over-dramatic for AI and Social Media (or maybe not?) Either way, you may think my inclination is to say AI and Social Media are bad and evil, but no. I don’t think there is any inherent good or evil to either one, and I don't think there's any future where both of these tools don't grow exponentially with minimal oversite. So it's incumbent upon each of us individually to consider the implications of these revolutionary technologies to our souls—first for ourselves, and then for the world.

AI and Social Media are like money—they are a tool. They can both be used for good or evil, and it’s up to the user to discern how they will wield it. So as we stand at the dawn of modern AI and Social, and for me personally with a tech executive's background and a theologian's lens—I have gained some unique vantage points that I will share below—both about what the threat and opportunities are, and my unfiltered take about what I think you can do about it: 

First for the Dark Side: 5 Ways AI and Social Innovations Can Steal Your Soul

1️⃣ Making the Attention Merchant's Bargain

Modern AI-driven Social Media platforms are designed with one primary goal: capturing, keeping, and monetizing your attention (or even your soul). Each scroll, each click, each "just one more" moment trades fragments of your most precious resource–your conscious awareness. When algorithms know you better than you know yourself, they don't just predict your behavior; they shape it. So while the soul thrives on deep thought and intentional living, AI systems profit from your distraction.

💡 My Suggestion: Social Media can be a good thing, but to minimize the potential negative effects I suggest setting a timer for ten minutes or so, a few times a day when you want to mindlessley scroll. Use that time to check social media, reply to DMs, and browse guilt-free—even watch cat videos if you like. But when the timer goes off, shut it down and re-enter the physical world with presence. Guard your attention like treasure, because if you are not managing your programming, the AI will.

2️⃣ The Outsourcing of Discernment

As we increasingly delegate decision-making to AI systems—from what to watch to what to believe—we risk atrophying our moral muscles. The soul is forged in the crucible of difficult choices that take deep thought and examines of our conscience. As nice as it can be sometimes to kick it over to AI to figure out—that isn’t something we can delegate too often without moral decay. Our moral discernment is like a physical muscle. Like with the physical world, we can have robots do our physical work, but in the process our bodies waste away if we depend on them too much. The same is true mentally. When AI makes so many of our choices for us, and we are so influenced by “influencers” online, even who may have good intentions, it can erode our capacity for ethical reasoning and spiritual growth.

💡 My Suggestion: Before looking for and following recommendations from AI or a popular social influencers—pause and ask: “Is this aligned with my values, or was I just micro-programmed?” Make at least one intentional choice per day that feels inconvenient but right to think truly for yourself before you seek the answer from AI or Social Media. This heps program your own subconscious to stay in control and not roll over. Let AI and Social help you refine your thoughts, not conceive them for you.

3️⃣ The Simulated Connection Trap

Social media and AI companions offer the illusion of a relationship—but without the vulnerability, messiness, and growth that authentic human connection requires. The soul expands through genuine community, warts and all. There probably isn't a real person in your real life who you haven't at some point had a disagreement with or fallen out, and that's how life is designed. But digital substitutes can leave us more isolated and misguided than ever, even as we feel more connected and informed. We can become unable to tolerate the beautiful imperfections of real human interaction. Like some drugs, they may feel good at first as they increase our feelings of happiness, but we all know what happens after too much abuse.

💡 My Suggestion: Choose one real-life moment each day to lean into: call instead of text, meet in person, or sit with someone without a screen in sight and have a real conversation, even if (or especially if) that person has diferent views than you. Digital tools can assist—but don’t let their algorithmic friendship replace the messiness of real relationships.

4️⃣ A Certainty Addiction

AI systems and Social Media, and even TV media, feed our desire for quick and certain answers in a complex world. They create filter bubbles that shield us from cognitive dissonance and challenging perspectives. Yet the soul deepens through mystery, doubt, and wrestling to discover our own unique and authentic voice. An opinion, or a paper at school, shouldn’t so often be crafted by 2-minutes by AI—or social media influencers, or a TV "program." Even if the output may sometimes be technically better than we could have done on our own, we must continue to do more things ourselves. By having such access to certainty where wisdom calls for humility, AI and Social Media can stunt spiritual growth and hide the reality of how much uncertainty there is in the world.

💡 My Suggestion: When you’re tempted to ask AI to do your thinking, pause. Write or brainstorm your own ideas first, even if messy or inconvenient. Use AI as an editor—not a creator. Even if AI can do it so much quicker and better, your future self will thank you for exercising your soul and mind.

5️⃣ Creation Without Contemplation

AI tools now generate art, music, writing, and business ideas at superhuman speed. While impressive, this frictionless creation can divorce us from the contemplative process where true meaning emerges and our brain hurts from the deep thought! Your unique, authentic, and creative soul often speaks in the pauses, the struggles, and the silence. When we outsource creative contemplation so readily, we may produce more work, but we also may grow far less capable. Let it be a collab and not a handover.

💡 My Suggestion: Try creating something slowly—write a paragraph before asking AI, sketch a thought before searching YouTube. Let it be awkward or less convenient. Sit with the process. Remember, speed impresses—but reflection transforms. AI and Social Media do not have a soul, and we must remember that. You do have a soul, but you need to let it originate and contemplate.

Now that was my 5 pitfalls of AI and Social. Next let’s look at some ways I think these advancements can be truly powerful to your growth and prosperity:

The Bright Side: 5 Ways AI and Social Innovations Can Make Life Better Than Ever

1️⃣ The Amplification of Human Compassion

When mindfully balanced, AI can extend our capacity for good beyond our natural limitations. It can help identify suffering we might have otherwise missed, and it can translate needs and solutions across barriers of language and culture. AI and Social can scale solutions to human problems in incredible ways, as it has done for me with my involvement in Charity Water, the Tim Tebow Foundation, and Saint Jude's Children's Hospital. Our souls expand most when we can love and give beyond our comfort levels, and both AI and Social Media can be great tools for this.

💡 My Suggestion: Make a deal with yourself, if you're going to use AI and Social Media, commit to also take some time to use it for good in areas you are passionate about. If you noticed, I just did that in this point 🙂

2️⃣ The Liberation of Sacred Time

By technologizing the mundane, AI and Social Media can free us up for the meaningful—both individually and as a society. Imagine a world where routine tasks no longer consume our days, where we can dedicate ourselves to relationship, worship, creative expression, and service. The soul flourishes when given space to breathe, and thoughtfully applied AI can create that space. There's no illusions that AI is going to take a lot of jobs, but perhaps that can free people up to pursue their highest Inspirations with their greatest talents, and maybe the world will be much better for it.

💡 My Suggestion: Commit to use some of the extra time you save from AI not to scroll more, but instead to do something that feeds your spirit: music, nature, prayer, or service. Also, consider how AI may impact your career or current endeavors, and consider if now is a good time to pursue a passion project that can positively impact the world.

3️⃣ The Unleashing of Vital Knowledge

Throughout history, spiritual and intellectual growth has been gatekept behind privilege. There's a reason the Renaissance era of history was named the Renaissance. Today's AI tools are making the world's wisdom accessible to anyone with an internet connection. When a child in a remote village can access the same information as a professor at Harvard, we witness a profound equalizing force with spiritual implications. We are indeed amidst a Renaissance 2.0

💡 My Suggestion: Learn or do something this week for free that would’ve been elite a generation ago—philosophy, art, a language, coding. Then share it with someone who wouldn’t otherwise access it. Knowledge shared is wisdom multiplied. If we all do more of that, then we would indeed be wielding these technologies for good.

4️⃣ A Mirror of Self-Awareness

AI systems use complex algorithms to absorb and reflect our patterns, sometimes revealing truths to us about ourselves we've been unwilling to see—and maybe which no friend or family member has been willing to tell us. This digital mirror can prompt deeper self-examination and growth if we approach it with courage.

💡 My Suggestion: Take some time to question some of your assumptions by having some honest conversations with AI, and following some more diverse voices on Social Media to prevent getting trapped in an echo-chamber. Review your own data—screen time, browsing history, social interactions—and ask, “What does this reveal about me?” Am I becomming programmed by forces outside my own conscience? Let AI and Social Algorithems be a mirror, not a mask.

5️⃣ A Bridge to Growth

At their best, emerging technologies connect us across divides of geography, cultures, beliefs, and experiences. They allow us to see through others' eyes and understand lives vastly different from our own. The soul expands through encounters with difference, and AI with Social Media can facilitate these encounters in unprecedented ways.

💡 My Suggestion: Curate your Social feeds intentionally. Listen with humility. Let your soul grow by seeing through someone else’s eyes. Tell AI that you want plenty of opportunities to give your own opinion and collaborate. Most AI's collect data, and very few of us manage that data, so we may as well use it for good and help it know what we really want.

So there you have it. The question that remains isn't whether AI will transform your world and your soul—it already has, and most certainly will continue to. The deeper question is whether you will engage these technologies with wisdom, intention, and spiritual discernment—or become a mostly blind servant to those who monetize these technologies for their own profit. Remember, you must make this decision, these techologies are far too powerful to stay unconscious about it. You must take a stand to prioritize your soul, or it could cost you your soul—and that is not being over-dramatic.

Follow my personally curated newsletter “The Daily Upgrade” and I’ll help keep you in check about all of this as we all head into this brave new world together.

Get notified about the coming book, Gotta Have Soul to learn why we are at the dawn of one of the greatest opportunities for the growth and awakening of your soul—but you have to be aware or you might miss it.

Eric is a former leader in Microsoft's Strategic Missions and Technologies group, he holds a Master of Theology degree from Saint Leo University, and is a graduate of the Program on Negotiations at Harvard Law School. Eric has become widely regarded as one of the world's preeminent voices at the crossroads of technology and theology—and has become known for his tagline: “Upgrade Your Inner World to Transform Your Outer World.” For more about Eric, see here.