The contribution modern witch burning? The fear of the church and media before AI first appeared at the online magazine Basic Thinking. You can start the day well every morning via our newsletter update.
The TV broadcaster Welt.TV has launched a new format. Since July 31, 2025, the “AI World” has been a weekly program that is created almost exclusively by artificial intelligence from finding news to moderation. The fear of the new is growing. A comment.
AI is not an issue in the church
The “insurer in the area of the churches” together with the Macromedia University of Applied Sciences in 2024 Digitization study carried out in the church in Germany. A total of over 5,000 people of different denomination have been asked about their internet use and behavior in the digital world.
The results are mixed, but are quite interesting.
- Half (48.9 percent) uses this Internet during the day one to three hours. Around a quarter up to five hours and 17 percent even more than six hours. These are values that correspond to the population average.
- Also with a view to the social media Follow church members and church employees to the current developments. Instagram (58.4 percent) has now replaced Facebook (52.6 percent) as a leading medium.
- Only on the subject Artificial intelligence (AI) believers still have their problems. Just 5.1 percent of those surveyed report that the first AI technologies are used.
Basically, the church in Germany is much more digital than the prejudices against the believers would be obvious. However, with a view to the use of AI, there is also an above -average skepticism.
Fear of AI? Width mass of society against modern trends
This defensive attitude has been widespread in German society for years. In 2023, a survey by the opinion researchers of Civey show that 86 percent of Germans expect negative or mixed effects of AI. Only 14 percent have looked positively into the future.
In fact, it turns out that a kind of division takes place in Germany. This underpins a representative examination of the Bitkom clearly from May 2025.
- Say on the one hand 70 percent The people who do not use AI to be afraid of artificial intelligence.
- On the other hand, people who are already actively working with Chatgpt and Co. 22 percentthat they are afraid of AI.
A similar picture is drawn when it comes to a possible excessive demand in dealing with AI, a future life without AI or the technical “left behind”. There is something like an AI GAP in Germany. The AI users are open, while the AI not users are withdrawing further.
Media as a bridge builder: teaching correctly with AI
Media regularly stir up this fear through contributions and Comments like this. Publishers, TV channels and journalists have an essential task: they should inform about innovations such as AI and contribute to invalidate existing fears.
This is only possible through an active examination of a topic. This means that only when media report on artificial intelligence and actively confront us consumers with artificial intelligence can the citizens learn to recognize the opportunities and risks of AI. The best example of this is the “AI world”.
AI world: an exciting experiment with transparent communication
Who the headings too AI Reads and has not yet dealt with the background, could get the impression that the Axel Springer Group has thrown all of its journalistic guidelines over the proverbial pile and has replaced all editors and moderators by AI.
The reality shows that it is different. Yes, “AI World” is a program that is largely designed by artificial intelligence-from the selection of topics to moderation through an avatar. However, this is a (!) Weekly news program with a length of five minutes, which is nevertheless created by an editor in the last instance.
During the complete program you can read “First TV show-produced and moderated with AI” and already at the intro it says: “I’m not real, but an avatar. But the news that I show you are absolutely real.”
Use opportunities from AI instead of condemning new technology
Instead of seeing everything critically, the “AI world” is a brave project from which many media houses and journalists can learn something. Although the topic of AI has been gaining presence for several years, the new technology has hardly reached the population. This is shown not least by the study for AI use in the church cited at the beginning.
Another beautiful example is that many people do not know that the summaries in Google search from Google Gemini-i.e. a AI-come and are not the truth, but are sometimes also hallucinations. That is why formats such as “AI World” help to carry the strengths and weaknesses of artificial intelligence into the broad mass.
Only in this way can we help to clarify our society and to accompany them on the way that lies ahead of us. Because one thing is clear: artificial intelligence remains. If you don’t deal with it, sooner or later will lose your connection. An existing fear that is quite justified.
A notice: This article is a comment. This is a Journalistic formation formwhich explicitly reflects the opinion of the author and not the entire magazine. The comment does not claim objectivity, but should stimulate opinion formation and is protected as a contribution to opinion by Article 5 of the Basic Law.
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The contribution modern witch burning? The fear of the church and media before AI first appeared on Basic Thinking. Follow us too Google News and Flipboard Or subscribe to our update newsletter.
As a Tech Industry expert, I find the fear of AI and the concept of modern witch burning to be deeply troubling and misguided. The idea of demonizing and persecuting new technologies, such as artificial intelligence, is not only counterproductive but also stifles progress and innovation.
It is important for society to approach new technologies with a sense of curiosity and openness, rather than fear and skepticism. AI has the potential to revolutionize countless industries and improve our daily lives in ways we can’t even imagine yet.
Instead of viewing AI as a threat, we should embrace it as a tool for solving complex problems and advancing human knowledge. By working together to understand and harness the power of AI, we can create a future that is more efficient, sustainable, and equitable for all.
In conclusion, the fear of AI and modern witch burning is a dangerous mindset that hinders progress and innovation. It is crucial for society to approach new technologies with an open mind and a willingness to learn, in order to fully realize the potential benefits they can bring.
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