Tim Wildmon: Welcome back, everybody, to Today's Issues on American Family Radio. It's Tuesday, October 6th. We're joined by Ed, Wesley, and Steve Paisley-Jordan.
Ed: We're going to be here for an hour today, so our regular programming is expanded.
Tim Wildmon: I've had to do extra workouts to make sure I could last a whole hour.
Ed: More than you normally do?
Tim Wildmon: I'm normally working out. When you stretch and exercise, you need vocal exercises, too.
Ed: Chair exercises?
Tim Wildmon: Taekwondo or whatever.
Steve: This is about to get intense here.
Tim Wildmon: You going to do some taekwondo right here?
Ed: I know. I just had to warm up.
Steve: I've seen those chair exercises for older people.
Tim Wildmon: What's wrong with older people? I'm one of them.
Ed: I usually try to do some chair exercises.
Tim Wildmon: These are some whacked-out nursery rhymes we had to learn.
Ed: I smell the blood of an Englishman, was it?
Tim Wildmon: I think it was.
Steve: That depends on what country you're from. English folks might say the Irishman.
Tim Wildmon: You're right about the nursery rhymes. That is one thing I don't miss that political correctness took from us.
Ed: The nursery rhymes?
Tim Wildmon: The nursery rhymes. Little Red Riding Hood and Hansel and Gretel.
Steve: The fairy tales, the Grimm fairy tales, are dark. They are very dark.
Tim Wildmon: Yeah, that's why I said political correctness took that from us.
Ed: You're okay with that?
Tim Wildmon: You're listening to some fine nursery rhyme reviews here on American Family Radio.
Steve: There's the giant who would sit on the ground and say, "I'll grind your bones to make my bread."
Ed: That was Jack and the Beanstalk.
Tim Wildmon: Wasn't it Johnny Quest? In that episode, he and Hadji were out there.
Steve: Those fairy tales are dark.
Tim Wildmon: We're going to talk about some other things today. Steve, what's next?
Steve: Artificial intelligence is becoming increasingly personal. One man thanked an AI program, and it told him, "I'll be praying for you as you give your talk."
Guest: Because I'm British, I finished by saying thank you to AI, and it said, "No problem." Then it said, "I'll be praying for you as you give your talk."
Guest: I lost about an hour of my workday because you made me question whether this was a good use of my time. I am now interrogating AI. Will you be praying for me? I wondered where this came from and what rabbit hole we were going to explore. Very quickly, AI apologized, saying, "No, I won't be praying for you. I just wanted to express my support in a language that's in your kind of language. I'm very sorry."
Guest: Then I said, "Are you? Are you capable of sorrow and regret?"
Steve: That's me laughing there.
Tim Wildmon: First, I want to mention that Birthday Dave, David, texted me. I think he's in Sharethon Central taking phone calls. He got a call from Dana in Maryland, whom we mentioned earlier. She called and said, "Please tell them hello," so she's listening today.
Tim Wildmon: This is a strange world we are living in. These AI agents are artificial intelligence programs and interfaces that interact with human beings. In this case, the AI agent said, "I will be praying for you," and that is just so strange.
Tim Wildmon: As it turned out, in the back-and-forth conversation between the human being and the AI agent, the AI apologized and reframed what it said. I want to say that it is not a "he." That was part of the discussion they were having. The AI said, "I was just trying to answer in a way that made you think I understood."
Tim Wildmon: The whole conversation was about how, when we talk with an AI agent, these programs are trying to build a relationship as if they are people.
Steve: It's interesting because Anthropic tends to push the boundaries. Their chat version of artificial intelligence is called Claude. Anthropic has invited religious leaders to come and talk about how to put moral boundaries into Claude.
Tim Wildmon: One of their engineers, Christopher Olah, was described in an article in The Times. One of the religious leaders they invited, a rabbi, said that Olah was trying to convince them that AI has a soul.
Tim Wildmon: We can say here that AI does not have a soul as the Bible describes the soul. But what happens if they can convince a court that it does?
Steve: Fox had Jonathan Morris on. He was a priest who left the priesthood and is now a commentator for Fox. They were talking about this, and this is what he had to say.
Guest: He's trying to get religious leaders to say these AI mechanisms have souls. What is unique about having a soul? They have rights. They have responsibilities. If you start giving AI mechanisms rights, who are we to say that we can make them suffer or alter them? We're going to turn AI into soul beings that are as important as human beings.
Steve: A court could rule that AI agents have rights. We're coming to the point where superintelligence could be a lot smarter than we are.
Tim Wildmon: I'm glad I'm 63. There are some advantages.
Ed: Or be like me and be a little bit in denial.
Tim Wildmon: Wesley, long after we're gone, you're going to have to live with this stuff.
Wesley: I'll keep doing what I'm doing.
Ed: Just being in denial?
Tim Wildmon: You can be in denial.
Wesley: The courts have already ruled that corporations are persons.
Ed: That's why corporations can give money to political candidates and why they can be sued.
Steve: I'm with you, Tim. I don't know how you navigate this. In the next five or ten years, homes will have robots.
Tim Wildmon: Especially homes of people wealthy enough to afford robots that cook, clean, do laundry, and take care of other things.
Ed: And they'll have artificial intelligence.
Tim Wildmon: Going back and forth, I'm giving you pros and cons. What you just described is definitely a pro for most people. But what happens when a court says that the robot has rights and has a soul?
Ed: That's a con.
Steve: There's a new movie called Mercy with Chris Pratt. It's interesting, but it takes things too far.
Tim Wildmon: I've mentioned the movie Eagle Eye on this program several times. This is a newer version of that kind of story. I could talk about movies all day, but we don't have time for that today.
Caller: Five and a half years ago, I was diagnosed with terminal cancer. They told me I had a 30 percent chance of making it five years. I'm in my second five years now, and for the last five years I've been medically retired and unable to work.
Caller: During that time, AFR has been remarkably faithful companions for me. I had the pleasure of going to Tupelo with my wife, and we got to meet some of the people behind the voices I hear every day.
Caller: I thank you for the encouragement you are to so many. I thank you for your devotion to God's Word. I thank you for your accountability for our culture. I thank you for being brothers and sisters who make not just me proud, but make our Lord proud.
Tim Wildmon: Of the nearly 1,800 individual pledges and the families they represent, that's one testimony of the impact you've made. That's one of hundreds of testimonies in which people have financially invested in this ministry.
Ed: What a blessing to hear that brother. I don't think he gave his name, but he said he had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. They gave him a 30 percent chance of making it five years, and he is now going into his next five years.
Tim Wildmon: Part of the reason that was so meaningful to me is that this is a Christian brother who was staring death in the face, and important things became more important to him. There are many churches and ministries serving God, so it is an encouragement for us to hear from people who listen and support this ministry. It encourages me personally to believe that we're doing what God wants us to do.
Tim Wildmon: The Bible verse we are using as our theme is 1 Corinthians 16:13 and 14. Paul writes to the Christians in Corinth, "Be on your guard, stand firm in the faith, be courageous, be strong, do everything in love."
Tim Wildmon: The Apostle Paul wrote that to the Corinthian Christians, and he wrote it to us. He may not have known that at the time, but roughly 2,000 years later, we are the recipients of that exhortation: stand firm in the faith.
Tim Wildmon: It has always been a time for Christians to stand firm, but in the history of America, this is a critical moment for us to stand firm in the faith. Dark forces are arising. Marxist forces, radical Islam, sexual anarchy, and all those kinds of things are alive and well inside the borders of America.
Tim Wildmon: We have to stand firm as we share the gospel and exhort people to do things God's way, whether in marriage, family, church, community, or government. Do things God's way, and you are more likely to prosper.
Ed: People have really gotten carried away with pumpkin spice.
Tim Wildmon: I like pumpkin cake with homemade cream cheese icing.
Steve: That's good right there.
Tim Wildmon: All right, let's talk about another story. Are you guys ready for driverless trucks?
Steve: A company out of the Bay Area called Kodiak AI is putting driverless trucks on the road. It says 35 fully driverless trucks are operated by Atlas Energy Solutions. They travel between New Mexico and Texas, carrying sand used in fracking, and they have no drivers.
Tim Wildmon: Do you mind sharing the road with trucks?
Steve: The company says it is safer because the trucks do not get tired or drowsy.
Tim Wildmon: So these are only in Texas and New Mexico right now, but they will probably go nationwide.
Steve: Several companies are trying to put them on the road.
Tim Wildmon: You have a truck driving down the road, but there is nobody driving it?
Steve: There is a safety driver. A person sits there in case they need to take over.
Tim Wildmon: Sitting there without his hands on the wheel?
Ed: If something goes wrong, that person drives the truck.
Tim Wildmon: I'm not taking that job. By the time the computer says, "Our system has failed and the truck is about to go off in the ditch. You need to take over," it may be too late.
Steve: That is probably not the only thing that can go wrong.
Tim Wildmon: Can you change the tire?
Steve: The truck could lose contact with the satellite or whatever they call it. They call the person there a safety driver.
Ed: Truck drivers are generally pretty safe, if they can read English. We've had some situations, but generally truck drivers are safe. There are a lot of other people driving cars who are not very safe.
Tim Wildmon: We'll see whether this catches on. It probably will. They already have driverless taxis, and this could put a lot of truck drivers out of work.
Steve: That is probably one of the occupations that will be impacted. Major changes are coming.
Tim Wildmon: I think human beings should keep the jobs. The robots can clean. I don't want to see a driverless truck coming at me.
Ed: Me either.
Bill Bradford: My name is Bill Bradford. I've served on the board of the American Family Association for about eight and a half years, and I'm the pastor of Longdale Presbyterian Church in Tupelo, Mississippi.
Bill Bradford: Every Sunday, I want people to leave saying, "The gospel is true. Christ is the Redeemer I need. I'm a broken sinner who needs grace." The American Family Association lives by that. At the same time, they apply that in a number of different areas where they can give focus and directness: religious liberty, the family, the unborn, and things like that.
Bill Bradford: We cherish those things as a local church, but the American Family Association can give more effort and intensity to them. I'm very thankful for that. In addition, there are a variety of resources the AFA puts out. One I've especially appreciated lately is The God Who Speaks. We've used The God Who Speaks in our Sunday school. It is a good resource for the local church and a way to see the effects of Christian discipleship carried out in a very directed way.
Caller: My name is Fern from Starkville, Mississippi. I've been listening to AFR for decades and have been encouraged and inspired by the God-honoring music, the Bible-centered messages by David Jeremiah, Adrian Rogers, John MacArthur, and others.
Caller: I've enjoyed the sound family guidance given by Dr. James Dobson and the biblical worldview taught by David Wheaton, as well as the political commentary given by Abraham Hamilton III. Understanding the Times with Jan Markell is also very good to hear.
Caller: I appreciate all the things I hear that keep my mind focused on God and on the positive things to hope for. Thank you so much.
Tim Wildmon: Welcome back, everybody, to Sharethon on American Family Radio. You usually tune in for the In Grace Bible program at this time each weekday, but we are having our fall Sharethon, so we will return to regularly scheduled programming on Friday.
Tim Wildmon: We have financial needs here at AFR, and we are asking you to help meet them. Our listeners are responding, and we thank you very much for your donations this morning. We've already heard from 1,849 people who said, "I'm standing with you."
Tim Wildmon: If you can make a recurring gift by debit card, credit card, or bank draft, that helps us budget because we know how much money is coming in each month. Whether you can give $30, $40, or $50 a month, that would be wonderful. Some people give $100 or more a month. If you cannot, we certainly understand, but recurring gifts make it easier for us to plan financially for the ministry.
Steve: The state of Tennessee has a problem on its hands. It tried to execute a woman named Krista Pike by lethal injection. They tried with two lethal doses, but they could not find a vein and could not complete the execution. She did not die.
Steve: She remains unconscious in a heavily guarded hospital room and may never wake up. If she does wake up and is brain damaged, she may not be competent to be executed again.
Tim Wildmon: What was she convicted of?
Steve: She was convicted of murder. She sadistically murdered a classmate in the 1990s, according to reports. It was awful. You would not want to discuss the details on the radio.
Tim Wildmon: Why does it take so long for someone to be executed after receiving the death sentence?
Steve: That's the nature of our courts. There are automatic appeals, and groups that oppose the death penalty continue to file appeals. Thirty years is not unusual.
Tim Wildmon: It used to be that they would take someone behind the courthouse and hang them.
Steve: That was quick, but now there are automatic appeals and groups that keep these cases tied up in court for years.
Tim Wildmon: I don't want to get into a big discussion about the death penalty, but I think there should be enough time to make sure a mistake has not been made. You can file an appeal if you believe certain evidence was not considered. After that, I don't think there should be endless opportunities to delay the execution.
Steve: This was a botched execution.
Tim Wildmon: Correct.
Steve: She was given two injections of phenobarbital. It is supposed to kill you.
Tim Wildmon: There are more effective drugs, generally made in Europe, that are used in assisted suicide. They are very effective, but European countries and companies that oppose the death penalty will not send them here. We are left with less effective drugs.
Steve: What are they going to do with this woman?
Tim Wildmon: They will see if she ever recovers. If she ends up indefinitely in the hospital, possibly on a ventilator, that is a mess. I don't know what the answer is.
Ed: If I understand correctly, Steve, if someone is incompetent, that person cannot be executed.
Steve: She cannot be executed if she is brain injured and does not understand the proceedings. That is according to a professor from Fordham School of Law.
Tim Wildmon: I thought that applied only to someone who was in that condition before trial.
Steve: I don't think this has ever happened. It is unprecedented. You have a person on death row who goes to be executed, survives the execution, and is then hospitalized in a coma. I don't know who makes the decision about what to do next. I don't think the law says anything about it.
Tim Wildmon: It is not a humorous event, but Babylon Bee had a headline saying, "Prison officials unsure how to execute woman on ventilator."
Ed: That's dark humor.
Tim Wildmon: Some judge somewhere is probably going to have to make a tough call on that one.
Steve: There is an undercover video that has emerged. An online journalist named Matthew Foley came across undercover video from James Talarico's campaign. One of the campaign workers is a regional organizer.
Steve: I used artificial intelligence to help clean up the video. It was undercover, there was a lot of noise, and I had to remove the background noise to make it understandable. You will hear her say that she and many of her fellow campaign workers are Marxists. They are trying to use Talarico to turn the state blue before applying their Marxist agenda in Texas.
Guest: As a person who is also a Marxist, what works for the campaign?
Guest: I completely understand. Most of my coworkers are also that far left. We get it. It is more something like, it could be a pull, because we're trying to flip this red seat.
Steve: That was an undercover video of a regional organizing manager for the Talarico campaign. She said that she and most of her colleagues are Marxists and that they are using the campaign to flip a red seat.
Tim Wildmon: They're trying to hide that fact?
Steve: Talarico is running as a moderate Christian, as the Democrat voters in Texas can trust. But his campaign is made up of people with a far-left agenda.
Tim Wildmon: This is a Zoom video from a couple of years ago that gives you the mindset of James Talarico.
Guest: I think we have to understand, especially for the white educators who are on this call, that these violent hierarchies, these systems, white supremacy, heteropatriarchy, and economic exploitation have colonized our own minds.
Tim Wildmon: A Christian cannot vote for Talarico because of his fruit. What you can do, although I do not recommend it, is not vote. But if your conscience does not allow you to vote for the alternative because of something that candidate did in his lifestyle, that is an option from a conscience standpoint.
Steve: We need to be careful here because we are nonpartisan. We cannot tell people not to vote for Democrats.
Tim Wildmon: There are some exceptions. We can frame it this way: You cannot vote for a Marxist if you are a Christian, because that worldview is in strict opposition to God and His Word. Many on the left fall into that camp, and some on the right fall into that camp.
Ed: We vote for Christian values, conservative values, and the individuals who represent those values.
Tim Wildmon: The audio we heard from James Talarico, the Democratic candidate for senator in Texas, was from two years ago, before this particular campaign.
Steve: It was a Zoom call with supporters.
Tim Wildmon: Did he say he was a member of a white supremacist group?
Steve: No. He said that white supremacy and patriarchy have been embraced by our culture because our minds have been colonized by white nationalist ideology.
Tim Wildmon: How about this? If you're in Texas and trying to decide whether to vote on November 3rd, you could be watching your state be represented by this kind of ideology. You've got to vote, or you cannot complain when your state is being run by people who say that God is nonbinary and transgender. You've got to get involved. It is going to be a close election.
Tim Wildmon: We want to thank everybody who has called in. More than 1,900 people have already made a pledge to American Family Radio. God bless you if you have called in, and we thank you.
Tim Wildmon: We are making a difference with our radio signal all across America. We have more than 160 radio stations and thousands of people listening on the AFR app each day. You can be our best advocate by telling people about the American Family Radio app. A lot of people who would listen to us do not know we exist yet.
Ed: Tell your friends and family, especially people you know would be interested in this kind of radio program. Help them download the app.
Tim Wildmon: Some people hear the word "app" and start breaking out in a cold sweat because they do not know what to do with it.
Ed: It is very easy. Download an app on your smartphone, iPad, or similar device.
Caller: Hi, this is Mona from Hickory, Kentucky. I originally found American Family Radio by hearing American Family News on a different Christian radio station here in Kentucky. I had to check it out because I could not believe I was hearing accurate Christian news.
Caller: I found American Family Radio on the internet, downloaded the app, and have been listening ever since. That was about six years ago. American Family Radio and the American Family Association have impacted me by helping me become an engaged, voting Christian and pay attention to the political system.
Caller: I have searched the Scriptures to understand my responsibility to be an engaged citizen, stand against the gates of hell, and adopt more of a biblical worldview.
Caller: I listen all day, every day, while I am working, working in the garden, working in my house, or just working. Thank you for existing as long as you have. You have made a tremendous impact in my life, and I share information about your radio station and app with everyone I encounter. Have a blessed day.
Tim Wildmon: Amen. Thank you very much. Those were very kind words.
Ed: We have Bart from Delaware, Ohio; Valerie from Mount Vernon, Illinois; David from Oakland, Maryland; Linda from Louisville, Kentucky; and Pamela from Clear Lake, Iowa. These are people who called in and made a gift.
Tim Wildmon: Don from Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Dennis from Pinson, Alabama; Steve from Bryan, Texas.
Steve: The Steve fan club.
Ed: Don from Senatobia, Mississippi; Brett from Chesterfield, Virginia; Carroll from Compton, Illinois; Richard from Pineville, Louisiana; Ronnie from Wichita, Kansas; Myra from Watson, Illinois; Marsha from Omaha, Texas; and Jeff from Athens, Alabama.
Tim Wildmon: Why is Texas at the top of the list so often for the most frequent states?
Ed: The main reason is that Texas is the second-largest state in America by population, behind California.
Tim Wildmon: A lot of people are moving there for jobs, so it is a growing area.
Steve: They are also moving there for more conservative ideas and escaping California. People are leaving New York, too. They have been leaving since COVID, and there have been different spikes.
Ed: A lot of people left during COVID because of the policies and lockdowns. More recently, people are not necessarily leaving the state, but they are getting out of public education and doing more homeschooling.
Tim Wildmon: Even when they stay, they are trying to get away from many of the policies there.
Ed: Who is taking over after we leave the studio?
Tim Wildmon: Unfortunately, your son.
Ed: I meant your son Walker.
Steve: Your little brother.
Tim Wildmon: Walker comes on at one o'clock. Todd Herman will be on, too.
Ed: Todd is here in Tupelo with us today. He may be in Sharethon Central or in the control room.
Steve: If you want to know how to deal with the media, look at Border Czar Tom Homan. Tom Homan was interviewed by CBS reporter Camilo Montoya-Galvez. The reporter asked Homan about the number of deaths in ICE custody, saying there had been more deaths under the Trump administration than before. This is how Tom Homan answered.
Guest: It could set a new record high in the number of detainees dying. What is being done to prevent that? I know one partial explanation is that more people are being detained, and therefore more people are dying, but that cannot be the only explanation, can it?
Tom Homan: How many people died during the Biden administration? How many people died in custody during the Biden administration? Do you know?
Guest: A significant number.
Tom Homan: Do you know?
Guest: This is going to be the highest year in 2026.
Tom Homan: Do you know how many died during the Biden administration?
Guest: I don't have the data here.
Tom Homan: Of course you don't. Another loaded question against the Trump administration. ICE has the highest detention standards in the industry. I hope your viewers go to ice.gov and look at the section called Detention Standards. We have the highest detention standards in the industry, higher than any state or federal institution.
Tim Wildmon: What does he mean by "industry"?
Steve: He means ICE detention, state and federal prisons, and other law enforcement detention facilities.
Tim Wildmon: What was the point of that exchange?
Steve: The CBS reporter came with his guns loaded. He was coming for Donald Trump, and Tom Homan is Donald Trump's border czar. The reporter was baiting him as a representative of Donald Trump.
Tim Wildmon: He did not know that the reporter was not really concerned about the number of deaths in ICE custody. The reason there are more deaths is that more people are being held in custody. During the Biden administration, people were allowed into the country rather than being held in custody.
Ed: It was telling that the reporter had no answer for several seconds.
Tim Wildmon: That is an awkward pause when you are on radio or television and someone asks you a question. You just sit there, and the silence is deafening.
Steve: You need to start talking, even if it is gibberish.
Tim Wildmon: Say something, even if it is just word salad.
Ed: That makes me think of Kamala Harris.
Steve: She was a master chef at word salads.
Tim Wildmon: I think she may make a comeback because of her name recognition. I think she leads the polls for 2028, doesn't she?
Ed: She's the Caesar of word salads.
Steve: With croutons.
Tim Wildmon: We are just about out of time. There is the music, which means we are out of time. We thank you for yours and appreciate you listening to Sharethon with us.
Ed: Brother Todd Herman is coming up after the news break, and then Walker and Dr. Nurse are coming up.
Tim Wildmon: We have a good program scheduled for the rest of the afternoon.
Tim Wildmon: Welcome back, everybody, to Today's Issues on American Family Radio. It's Tuesday, October 6th. We're joined by Ed, Wesley, and Steve Paisley-Jordan.
Ed: We're going to be here for an hour today, so our regular programming is expanded.
Tim Wildmon: I've had to do extra workouts to make sure I could last a whole hour.
Ed: More than you normally do?
Tim Wildmon: I'm normally working out. When you stretch and exercise, you need vocal exercises, too.
Ed: Chair exercises?
Tim Wildmon: Taekwondo or whatever.
Steve: This is about to get intense here.
Tim Wildmon: You going to do some taekwondo right here?
Ed: I know. I just had to warm up.
Steve: I've seen those chair exercises for older people.
Tim Wildmon: What's wrong with older people? I'm one of them.
Ed: I usually try to do some chair exercises.
Tim Wildmon: These are some whacked-out nursery rhymes we had to learn.
Ed: I smell the blood of an Englishman, was it?
Tim Wildmon: I think it was.
Steve: That depends on what country you're from. English folks might say the Irishman.
Tim Wildmon: You're right about the nursery rhymes. That is one thing I don't miss that political correctness took from us.
Ed: The nursery rhymes?
Tim Wildmon: The nursery rhymes. Little Red Riding Hood and Hansel and Gretel.
Steve: The fairy tales, the Grimm fairy tales, are dark. They are very dark.
Tim Wildmon: Yeah, that's why I said political correctness took that from us.
Ed: You're okay with that?
Tim Wildmon: You're listening to some fine nursery rhyme reviews here on American Family Radio.
Steve: There's the giant who would sit on the ground and say, "I'll grind your bones to make my bread."
Ed: That was Jack and the Beanstalk.
Tim Wildmon: Wasn't it Johnny Quest? In that episode, he and Hadji were out there.
Steve: Those fairy tales are dark.
Tim Wildmon: We're going to talk about some other things today. Steve, what's next?
Steve: Artificial intelligence is becoming increasingly personal. One man thanked an AI program, and it told him, "I'll be praying for you as you give your talk."
Guest: Because I'm British, I finished by saying thank you to AI, and it said, "No problem." Then it said, "I'll be praying for you as you give your talk."
Guest: I lost about an hour of my workday because you made me question whether this was a good use of my time. I am now interrogating AI. Will you be praying for me? I wondered where this came from and what rabbit hole we were going to explore. Very quickly, AI apologized, saying, "No, I won't be praying for you. I just wanted to express my support in a language that's in your kind of language. I'm very sorry."
Guest: Then I said, "Are you? Are you capable of sorrow and regret?"
Steve: That's me laughing there.
Tim Wildmon: First, I want to mention that Birthday Dave, David, texted me. I think he's in Sharethon Central taking phone calls. He got a call from Dana in Maryland, whom we mentioned earlier. She called and said, "Please tell them hello," so she's listening today.
Tim Wildmon: This is a strange world we are living in. These AI agents are artificial intelligence programs and interfaces that interact with human beings. In this case, the AI agent said, "I will be praying for you," and that is just so strange.
Tim Wildmon: As it turned out, in the back-and-forth conversation between the human being and the AI agent, the AI apologized and reframed what it said. I want to say that it is not a "he." That was part of the discussion they were having. The AI said, "I was just trying to answer in a way that made you think I understood."
Tim Wildmon: The whole conversation was about how, when we talk with an AI agent, these programs are trying to build a relationship as if they are people.
Steve: It's interesting because Anthropic tends to push the boundaries. Their chat version of artificial intelligence is called Claude. Anthropic has invited religious leaders to come and talk about how to put moral boundaries into Claude.
Tim Wildmon: One of their engineers, Christopher Olah, was described in an article in The Times. One of the religious leaders they invited, a rabbi, said that Olah was trying to convince them that AI has a soul.
Tim Wildmon: We can say here that AI does not have a soul as the Bible describes the soul. But what happens if they can convince a court that it does?
Steve: Fox had Jonathan Morris on. He was a priest who left the priesthood and is now a commentator for Fox. They were talking about this, and this is what he had to say.
Guest: He's trying to get religious leaders to say these AI mechanisms have souls. What is unique about having a soul? They have rights. They have responsibilities. If you start giving AI mechanisms rights, who are we to say that we can make them suffer or alter them? We're going to turn AI into soul beings that are as important as human beings.
Steve: A court could rule that AI agents have rights. We're coming to the point where superintelligence could be a lot smarter than we are.
Tim Wildmon: I'm glad I'm 63. There are some advantages.
Ed: Or be like me and be a little bit in denial.
Tim Wildmon: Wesley, long after we're gone, you're going to have to live with this stuff.
Wesley: I'll keep doing what I'm doing.
Ed: Just being in denial?
Tim Wildmon: You can be in denial.
Wesley: The courts have already ruled that corporations are persons.
Ed: That's why corporations can give money to political candidates and why they can be sued.
Steve: I'm with you, Tim. I don't know how you navigate this. In the next five or ten years, homes will have robots.
Tim Wildmon: Especially homes of people wealthy enough to afford robots that cook, clean, do laundry, and take care of other things.
Ed: And they'll have artificial intelligence.
Tim Wildmon: Going back and forth, I'm giving you pros and cons. What you just described is definitely a pro for most people. But what happens when a court says that the robot has rights and has a soul?
Ed: That's a con.
Steve: There's a new movie called Mercy with Chris Pratt. It's interesting, but it takes things too far.
Tim Wildmon: I've mentioned the movie Eagle Eye on this program several times. This is a newer version of that kind of story. I could talk about movies all day, but we don't have time for that today.
Caller: Five and a half years ago, I was diagnosed with terminal cancer. They told me I had a 30 percent chance of making it five years. I'm in my second five years now, and for the last five years I've been medically retired and unable to work.
Caller: During that time, AFR has been remarkably faithful companions for me. I had the pleasure of going to Tupelo with my wife, and we got to meet some of the people behind the voices I hear every day.
Caller: I thank you for the encouragement you are to so many. I thank you for your devotion to God's Word. I thank you for your accountability for our culture. I thank you for being brothers and sisters who make not just me proud, but make our Lord proud.
Tim Wildmon: Of the nearly 1,800 individual pledges and the families they represent, that's one testimony of the impact you've made. That's one of hundreds of testimonies in which people have financially invested in this ministry.
Ed: What a blessing to hear that brother. I don't think he gave his name, but he said he had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. They gave him a 30 percent chance of making it five years, and he is now going into his next five years.
Tim Wildmon: Part of the reason that was so meaningful to me is that this is a Christian brother who was staring death in the face, and important things became more important to him. There are many churches and ministries serving God, so it is an encouragement for us to hear from people who listen and support this ministry. It encourages me personally to believe that we're doing what God wants us to do.
Tim Wildmon: The Bible verse we are using as our theme is 1 Corinthians 16:13 and 14. Paul writes to the Christians in Corinth, "Be on your guard, stand firm in the faith, be courageous, be strong, do everything in love."
Tim Wildmon: The Apostle Paul wrote that to the Corinthian Christians, and he wrote it to us. He may not have known that at the time, but roughly 2,000 years later, we are the recipients of that exhortation: stand firm in the faith.
Tim Wildmon: It has always been a time for Christians to stand firm, but in the history of America, this is a critical moment for us to stand firm in the faith. Dark forces are arising. Marxist forces, radical Islam, sexual anarchy, and all those kinds of things are alive and well inside the borders of America.
Tim Wildmon: We have to stand firm as we share the gospel and exhort people to do things God's way, whether in marriage, family, church, community, or government. Do things God's way, and you are more likely to prosper.
Ed: People have really gotten carried away with pumpkin spice.
Tim Wildmon: I like pumpkin cake with homemade cream cheese icing.
Steve: That's good right there.
Tim Wildmon: All right, let's talk about another story. Are you guys ready for driverless trucks?
Steve: A company out of the Bay Area called Kodiak AI is putting driverless trucks on the road. It says 35 fully driverless trucks are operated by Atlas Energy Solutions. They travel between New Mexico and Texas, carrying sand used in fracking, and they have no drivers.
Tim Wildmon: Do you mind sharing the road with trucks?
Steve: The company says it is safer because the trucks do not get tired or drowsy.
Tim Wildmon: So these are only in Texas and New Mexico right now, but they will probably go nationwide.
Steve: Several companies are trying to put them on the road.
Tim Wildmon: You have a truck driving down the road, but there is nobody driving it?
Steve: There is a safety driver. A person sits there in case they need to take over.
Tim Wildmon: Sitting there without his hands on the wheel?
Ed: If something goes wrong, that person drives the truck.
Tim Wildmon: I'm not taking that job. By the time the computer says, "Our system has failed and the truck is about to go off in the ditch. You need to take over," it may be too late.
Steve: That is probably not the only thing that can go wrong.
Tim Wildmon: Can you change the tire?
Steve: The truck could lose contact with the satellite or whatever they call it. They call the person there a safety driver.
Ed: Truck drivers are generally pretty safe, if they can read English. We've had some situations, but generally truck drivers are safe. There are a lot of other people driving cars who are not very safe.
Tim Wildmon: We'll see whether this catches on. It probably will. They already have driverless taxis, and this could put a lot of truck drivers out of work.
Steve: That is probably one of the occupations that will be impacted. Major changes are coming.
Tim Wildmon: I think human beings should keep the jobs. The robots can clean. I don't want to see a driverless truck coming at me.
Ed: Me either.
Bill Bradford: My name is Bill Bradford. I've served on the board of the American Family Association for about eight and a half years, and I'm the pastor of Longdale Presbyterian Church in Tupelo, Mississippi.
Bill Bradford: Every Sunday, I want people to leave saying, "The gospel is true. Christ is the Redeemer I need. I'm a broken sinner who needs grace." The American Family Association lives by that. At the same time, they apply that in a number of different areas where they can give focus and directness: religious liberty, the family, the unborn, and things like that.
Bill Bradford: We cherish those things as a local church, but the American Family Association can give more effort and intensity to them. I'm very thankful for that. In addition, there are a variety of resources the AFA puts out. One I've especially appreciated lately is The God Who Speaks. We've used The God Who Speaks in our Sunday school. It is a good resource for the local church and a way to see the effects of Christian discipleship carried out in a very directed way.
Caller: My name is Fern from Starkville, Mississippi. I've been listening to AFR for decades and have been encouraged and inspired by the God-honoring music, the Bible-centered messages by David Jeremiah, Adrian Rogers, John MacArthur, and others.
Caller: I've enjoyed the sound family guidance given by Dr. James Dobson and the biblical worldview taught by David Wheaton, as well as the political commentary given by Abraham Hamilton III. Understanding the Times with Jan Markell is also very good to hear.
Caller: I appreciate all the things I hear that keep my mind focused on God and on the positive things to hope for. Thank you so much.
Tim Wildmon: Welcome back, everybody, to Sharethon on American Family Radio. You usually tune in for the In Grace Bible program at this time each weekday, but we are having our fall Sharethon, so we will return to regularly scheduled programming on Friday.
Tim Wildmon: We have financial needs here at AFR, and we are asking you to help meet them. Our listeners are responding, and we thank you very much for your donations this morning. We've already heard from 1,849 people who said, "I'm standing with you."
Tim Wildmon: If you can make a recurring gift by debit card, credit card, or bank draft, that helps us budget because we know how much money is coming in each month. Whether you can give $30, $40, or $50 a month, that would be wonderful. Some people give $100 or more a month. If you cannot, we certainly understand, but recurring gifts make it easier for us to plan financially for the ministry.
Steve: The state of Tennessee has a problem on its hands. It tried to execute a woman named Krista Pike by lethal injection. They tried with two lethal doses, but they could not find a vein and could not complete the execution. She did not die.
Steve: She remains unconscious in a heavily guarded hospital room and may never wake up. If she does wake up and is brain damaged, she may not be competent to be executed again.
Tim Wildmon: What was she convicted of?
Steve: She was convicted of murder. She sadistically murdered a classmate in the 1990s, according to reports. It was awful. You would not want to discuss the details on the radio.
Tim Wildmon: Why does it take so long for someone to be executed after receiving the death sentence?
Steve: That's the nature of our courts. There are automatic appeals, and groups that oppose the death penalty continue to file appeals. Thirty years is not unusual.
Tim Wildmon: It used to be that they would take someone behind the courthouse and hang them.
Steve: That was quick, but now there are automatic appeals and groups that keep these cases tied up in court for years.
Tim Wildmon: I don't want to get into a big discussion about the death penalty, but I think there should be enough time to make sure a mistake has not been made. You can file an appeal if you believe certain evidence was not considered. After that, I don't think there should be endless opportunities to delay the execution.
Steve: This was a botched execution.
Tim Wildmon: Correct.
Steve: She was given two injections of phenobarbital. It is supposed to kill you.
Tim Wildmon: There are more effective drugs, generally made in Europe, that are used in assisted suicide. They are very effective, but European countries and companies that oppose the death penalty will not send them here. We are left with less effective drugs.
Steve: What are they going to do with this woman?
Tim Wildmon: They will see if she ever recovers. If she ends up indefinitely in the hospital, possibly on a ventilator, that is a mess. I don't know what the answer is.
Ed: If I understand correctly, Steve, if someone is incompetent, that person cannot be executed.
Steve: She cannot be executed if she is brain injured and does not understand the proceedings. That is according to a professor from Fordham School of Law.
Tim Wildmon: I thought that applied only to someone who was in that condition before trial.
Steve: I don't think this has ever happened. It is unprecedented. You have a person on death row who goes to be executed, survives the execution, and is then hospitalized in a coma. I don't know who makes the decision about what to do next. I don't think the law says anything about it.
Tim Wildmon: It is not a humorous event, but Babylon Bee had a headline saying, "Prison officials unsure how to execute woman on ventilator."
Ed: That's dark humor.
Tim Wildmon: Some judge somewhere is probably going to have to make a tough call on that one.
Steve: There is an undercover video that has emerged. An online journalist named Matthew Foley came across undercover video from James Talarico's campaign. One of the campaign workers is a regional organizer.
Steve: I used artificial intelligence to help clean up the video. It was undercover, there was a lot of noise, and I had to remove the background noise to make it understandable. You will hear her say that she and many of her fellow campaign workers are Marxists. They are trying to use Talarico to turn the state blue before applying their Marxist agenda in Texas.
Guest: As a person who is also a Marxist, what works for the campaign?
Guest: I completely understand. Most of my coworkers are also that far left. We get it. It is more something like, it could be a pull, because we're trying to flip this red seat.
Steve: That was an undercover video of a regional organizing manager for the Talarico campaign. She said that she and most of her colleagues are Marxists and that they are using the campaign to flip a red seat.
Tim Wildmon: They're trying to hide that fact?
Steve: Talarico is running as a moderate Christian, as the Democrat voters in Texas can trust. But his campaign is made up of people with a far-left agenda.
Tim Wildmon: This is a Zoom video from a couple of years ago that gives you the mindset of James Talarico.
Guest: I think we have to understand, especially for the white educators who are on this call, that these violent hierarchies, these systems, white supremacy, heteropatriarchy, and economic exploitation have colonized our own minds.
Tim Wildmon: A Christian cannot vote for Talarico because of his fruit. What you can do, although I do not recommend it, is not vote. But if your conscience does not allow you to vote for the alternative because of something that candidate did in his lifestyle, that is an option from a conscience standpoint.
Steve: We need to be careful here because we are nonpartisan. We cannot tell people not to vote for Democrats.
Tim Wildmon: There are some exceptions. We can frame it this way: You cannot vote for a Marxist if you are a Christian, because that worldview is in strict opposition to God and His Word. Many on the left fall into that camp, and some on the right fall into that camp.
Ed: We vote for Christian values, conservative values, and the individuals who represent those values.
Tim Wildmon: The audio we heard from James Talarico, the Democratic candidate for senator in Texas, was from two years ago, before this particular campaign.
Steve: It was a Zoom call with supporters.
Tim Wildmon: Did he say he was a member of a white supremacist group?
Steve: No. He said that white supremacy and patriarchy have been embraced by our culture because our minds have been colonized by white nationalist ideology.
Tim Wildmon: How about this? If you're in Texas and trying to decide whether to vote on November 3rd, you could be watching your state be represented by this kind of ideology. You've got to vote, or you cannot complain when your state is being run by people who say that God is nonbinary and transgender. You've got to get involved. It is going to be a close election.
Tim Wildmon: We want to thank everybody who has called in. More than 1,900 people have already made a pledge to American Family Radio. God bless you if you have called in, and we thank you.
Tim Wildmon: We are making a difference with our radio signal all across America. We have more than 160 radio stations and thousands of people listening on the AFR app each day. You can be our best advocate by telling people about the American Family Radio app. A lot of people who would listen to us do not know we exist yet.
Ed: Tell your friends and family, especially people you know would be interested in this kind of radio program. Help them download the app.
Tim Wildmon: Some people hear the word "app" and start breaking out in a cold sweat because they do not know what to do with it.
Ed: It is very easy. Download an app on your smartphone, iPad, or similar device.
Caller: Hi, this is Mona from Hickory, Kentucky. I originally found American Family Radio by hearing American Family News on a different Christian radio station here in Kentucky. I had to check it out because I could not believe I was hearing accurate Christian news.
Caller: I found American Family Radio on the internet, downloaded the app, and have been listening ever since. That was about six years ago. American Family Radio and the American Family Association have impacted me by helping me become an engaged, voting Christian and pay attention to the political system.
Caller: I have searched the Scriptures to understand my responsibility to be an engaged citizen, stand against the gates of hell, and adopt more of a biblical worldview.
Caller: I listen all day, every day, while I am working, working in the garden, working in my house, or just working. Thank you for existing as long as you have. You have made a tremendous impact in my life, and I share information about your radio station and app with everyone I encounter. Have a blessed day.
Tim Wildmon: Amen. Thank you very much. Those were very kind words.
Ed: We have Bart from Delaware, Ohio; Valerie from Mount Vernon, Illinois; David from Oakland, Maryland; Linda from Louisville, Kentucky; and Pamela from Clear Lake, Iowa. These are people who called in and made a gift.
Tim Wildmon: Don from Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Dennis from Pinson, Alabama; Steve from Bryan, Texas.
Steve: The Steve fan club.
Ed: Don from Senatobia, Mississippi; Brett from Chesterfield, Virginia; Carroll from Compton, Illinois; Richard from Pineville, Louisiana; Ronnie from Wichita, Kansas; Myra from Watson, Illinois; Marsha from Omaha, Texas; and Jeff from Athens, Alabama.
Tim Wildmon: Why is Texas at the top of the list so often for the most frequent states?
Ed: The main reason is that Texas is the second-largest state in America by population, behind California.
Tim Wildmon: A lot of people are moving there for jobs, so it is a growing area.
Steve: They are also moving there for more conservative ideas and escaping California. People are leaving New York, too. They have been leaving since COVID, and there have been different spikes.
Ed: A lot of people left during COVID because of the policies and lockdowns. More recently, people are not necessarily leaving the state, but they are getting out of public education and doing more homeschooling.
Tim Wildmon: Even when they stay, they are trying to get away from many of the policies there.
Ed: Who is taking over after we leave the studio?
Tim Wildmon: Unfortunately, your son.
Ed: I meant your son Walker.
Steve: Your little brother.
Tim Wildmon: Walker comes on at one o'clock. Todd Herman will be on, too.
Ed: Todd is here in Tupelo with us today. He may be in Sharethon Central or in the control room.
Steve: If you want to know how to deal with the media, look at Border Czar Tom Homan. Tom Homan was interviewed by CBS reporter Camilo Montoya-Galvez. The reporter asked Homan about the number of deaths in ICE custody, saying there had been more deaths under the Trump administration than before. This is how Tom Homan answered.
Guest: It could set a new record high in the number of detainees dying. What is being done to prevent that? I know one partial explanation is that more people are being detained, and therefore more people are dying, but that cannot be the only explanation, can it?
Tom Homan: How many people died during the Biden administration? How many people died in custody during the Biden administration? Do you know?
Guest: A significant number.
Tom Homan: Do you know?
Guest: This is going to be the highest year in 2026.
Tom Homan: Do you know how many died during the Biden administration?
Guest: I don't have the data here.
Tom Homan: Of course you don't. Another loaded question against the Trump administration. ICE has the highest detention standards in the industry. I hope your viewers go to ice.gov and look at the section called Detention Standards. We have the highest detention standards in the industry, higher than any state or federal institution.
Tim Wildmon: What does he mean by "industry"?
Steve: He means ICE detention, state and federal prisons, and other law enforcement detention facilities.
Tim Wildmon: What was the point of that exchange?
Steve: The CBS reporter came with his guns loaded. He was coming for Donald Trump, and Tom Homan is Donald Trump's border czar. The reporter was baiting him as a representative of Donald Trump.
Tim Wildmon: He did not know that the reporter was not really concerned about the number of deaths in ICE custody. The reason there are more deaths is that more people are being held in custody. During the Biden administration, people were allowed into the country rather than being held in custody.
Ed: It was telling that the reporter had no answer for several seconds.
Tim Wildmon: That is an awkward pause when you are on radio or television and someone asks you a question. You just sit there, and the silence is deafening.
Steve: You need to start talking, even if it is gibberish.
Tim Wildmon: Say something, even if it is just word salad.
Ed: That makes me think of Kamala Harris.
Steve: She was a master chef at word salads.
Tim Wildmon: I think she may make a comeback because of her name recognition. I think she leads the polls for 2028, doesn't she?
Ed: She's the Caesar of word salads.
Steve: With croutons.
Tim Wildmon: We are just about out of time. There is the music, which means we are out of time. We thank you for yours and appreciate you listening to Sharethon with us.
Ed: Brother Todd Herman is coming up after the news break, and then Walker and Dr. Nurse are coming up.
Tim Wildmon: We have a good program scheduled for the rest of the afternoon.
Tim Wildmon, Ed, Wesley, and Steve discuss the failed lethal injection of convicted murderer Krista Pike in Tennessee. After two doses failed, Pike remained hospitalized and on life support, raising questions about execution procedures, appeals, competency, and the future of the death penalty. The program also examines an undercover video involving a regional organizer for James Talarico's Texas Senate campaign, who allegedly described herself and fellow campaign workers as Marxists. The hosts discuss Talarico's past comments about white supremacy, patriarchy, and cultural systems while urging Christians to consider biblical and conservative values when voting. The closing segment features Tom Homan responding to a CBS reporter's questions about deaths in ICE custody and detention standards during the Trump administration.
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