In the final episode of the fourth season of the What Does It Profit? Podcast, Dr. Dawn explores the impacts of artificial intelligence on religion . 

Dr. Dawn speaks to Josh Franklin, a rabbi at the Jewish Center of the Hamptons in New York, who used the chatbot ChatGPT to help write one of his sermons. Rabbi Franklin tells us his thoughts on how he hopes AI can be used as a tool for people to become more spiritual.

We also hear from Mark Graves, a researcher and director with the organization AI and Faith, and Dr. Damien Patrick Williams, an assistant professor of philosophy and data science at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Both Graves and Williams see AI as a tool that can alter the way people engage with faith. 

As we navigate this new frontier brought on by the rise of AI, we should continue to ask: In the work that we do, and the investments that we make, what does it profit?

WDIP is powered by the Solidarity Economy Workshop at Georgetown University. Engage with us on LinkedIn. We'd love to get to know you. Thanks for listening!

On this episode of the What Does It Profit? podcast, hitch a ride along with Dr. Dawn as she explores the potential impacts of artificial intelligence on public transportation in the U.S. 

In this episode, we hear first from Bill Domanico, a retired New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) driver, who talks about the ways technology changed during his career. 

We then turn to Barry Wilson and Anthony Garland with the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689, which represents DC’s Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) employees. Wilson and Garland explain how the union is trying to rein in AI and protect jobs. 

WDIP is powered by the Solidarity Economy Workshop at Georgetown University. Engage with us on LinkedIn. We'd love to get to know you. Thanks for listening!

This Thanksgiving week on the What Does It Profit? podcast we’re taking a break from this season’s AI theme to extend some thank you-s. Listen in for a re-air of our award-winning Season 3 episode, “Brewing Change: Labor Organizing at Starbucks.”

Loyal listeners know that in this episode we left off with the story of the triumph of unionizing efforts in Buffalo, New York, which is where Starbucks Workers United got started. We also left off anticipating the annual shareholder meeting where concerned shareholders were seeking an independent analysis of the company’s labor practices. Then just two weeks later, we were anticipating a U.S. Senate hearing to call to task the ex-CEO Howard Shultz for the company’s alleged labor law violations.

Eight months later, this story isn’t over. Since the original release of this episode, the Starbucks labor campaign has gained strength. Now, over 360 Starbucks locations have voted for a union and Starbucks Workers United claims over 9,000 union partners. But, even still, there is no contract. But that’s not stopping the baristas. As of last Friday, we saw the Red Cup Rebellion -- a strike on the company’s biggest sales event of the season.

So now, we want to say thank you to all those brave baristas who have inspired striking workers from a variety of industries this year. 

We also want to thank those concerned investors who value the socially-conscious Starbucks brand.

And we want to thank those in the U.S. Senate working on labor policy oversight and for holding corporations accountable.  

Should listeners want to engage, you can (1) offer your support for the Starbucks Worker United campaign, and/or (2) join the Twitter (X) support network using #NoContractNoCoffee, #StarbucksSolidarity, #WorkersUnited, and #wdip.”

WDIP is powered by the Solidarity Economy Workshop at Georgetown University. Engage with us on LinkedIn. We'd love to get to know you. Thanks for listening!