Levi Checketts
@lchecketts.bsky.social
Ethicist at Hong Kong Baptist University, focusing on intersection of poverty, new technologies, and Catholic social ethics. Author of Poor Technologies: Artificial Intelligence and the Experience of Poverty.
Never thought I’d see the day when right wing Christians accuse Evangelicals of being too ecumenical to be true Christians.
At least according to this protestor, I’m in the right place as a Catholic! I was worried I’d stand out!
At least according to this protestor, I’m in the right place as a Catholic! I was worried I’d stand out!
October 29, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Never thought I’d see the day when right wing Christians accuse Evangelicals of being too ecumenical to be true Christians.
At least according to this protestor, I’m in the right place as a Catholic! I was worried I’d stand out!
At least according to this protestor, I’m in the right place as a Catholic! I was worried I’d stand out!
So, it should probably be no surprise that the app for the general assembly looks like this, complete with a Leaderboard so you can measure how well you’re engaging with the app compared to your fellow attendees!
6/6
6/6
October 26, 2025 at 1:57 PM
So, it should probably be no surprise that the app for the general assembly looks like this, complete with a Leaderboard so you can measure how well you’re engaging with the app compared to your fellow attendees!
6/6
6/6
But whereas Catholic and ecumenical conversations I’ve been in have treated AI with reservation and due caution, a lot of Evangelicals are more strongly in favor (or dogmatically against) it. Here are some polls for our session on AI illustrating some of the attitudes.
3/6
3/6
October 26, 2025 at 1:57 PM
But whereas Catholic and ecumenical conversations I’ve been in have treated AI with reservation and due caution, a lot of Evangelicals are more strongly in favor (or dogmatically against) it. Here are some polls for our session on AI illustrating some of the attitudes.
3/6
3/6
I’m attending the World Evangelical Alliance General Assembly this week to talk with AI and Faith on AI. In a way it’s similar other meetings I’ve been in like WCC and CCA, insofar as everyone is concerned about AI now.
2/6
2/6
October 26, 2025 at 1:57 PM
I’m attending the World Evangelical Alliance General Assembly this week to talk with AI and Faith on AI. In a way it’s similar other meetings I’ve been in like WCC and CCA, insofar as everyone is concerned about AI now.
2/6
2/6
You couldn’t even get a single US city on this list without creatively combining a couple cities, but they’ve somehow missed that China has more than 18 mega cities?
![List of cities in China by population, Wikipedia page.
As of 2023, the five largest cities in China by population are Chongqing (31.91 million), Shanghai (24.87 million), Beijing (21.86 million), Chengdu (21.403 million) and Guangzhou (18.827 million).[1][2][3] As of 2024, there are 18 megacities[4][5] (cities with a population of over 10 million), including Chongqing, Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Wuhan, Tianjin, Xi'an, Suzhou, Zhengzhou, Hangzhou, Shijiazhuang, Linyi, Dongguan, Qingdao, Changsha and Hefei.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:xzfbubsm44dyrws3u2paznhe/bafkreicgcw6wzkva4qh4xxuvoxp5ur63oexb5f5retpcbkvs4lvgljxgtu@jpeg)
October 23, 2025 at 10:28 AM
You couldn’t even get a single US city on this list without creatively combining a couple cities, but they’ve somehow missed that China has more than 18 mega cities?
Putting “You absolute” before Asian pastry names yields a whole new level of insult
September 23, 2025 at 4:13 PM
Putting “You absolute” before Asian pastry names yields a whole new level of insult
I’m cited on the Social Anthropology page, but whoever cited me probably didn’t read my article.
September 20, 2025 at 9:28 AM
I’m cited on the Social Anthropology page, but whoever cited me probably didn’t read my article.
I think we don’t talk about how big of a phenomenon #ThePrinceofEgypt was. You had Val Kilmer, Jeff Goldblum, Ralph Fiennes, Michelle Pfeiffer, Sandra Bullock, Steve Martin and Martin Short all voicing this religious kids’ movie.
July 27, 2025 at 7:14 AM
I think we don’t talk about how big of a phenomenon #ThePrinceofEgypt was. You had Val Kilmer, Jeff Goldblum, Ralph Fiennes, Michelle Pfeiffer, Sandra Bullock, Steve Martin and Martin Short all voicing this religious kids’ movie.
Like Hicks, Eichenberg made a few woodcuts of this scene, and most of them feature this contrast, some more than others. Consider the devil on the missile, the nuclear power plants or the glowing mountain (a nuclear test site?) in these other versions
July 25, 2025 at 6:35 PM
Like Hicks, Eichenberg made a few woodcuts of this scene, and most of them feature this contrast, some more than others. Consider the devil on the missile, the nuclear power plants or the glowing mountain (a nuclear test site?) in these other versions
Eichenberg uses his background in the opposite way from Hicks. He uses it to contrast his peaceable kingdom rather than articulate it. The bucolic animal co-existence is contrasted against an industrial city, suggesting industry as a great source of evil.
July 25, 2025 at 6:35 PM
Eichenberg uses his background in the opposite way from Hicks. He uses it to contrast his peaceable kingdom rather than articulate it. The bucolic animal co-existence is contrasted against an industrial city, suggesting industry as a great source of evil.
Contrast this with Fritz Eichenberg. Eichenberg worked in woodcuts, and his style is more stark than Hicks’s colorful and idyllic imagery. One can also tell it’s set in an industrial context.
July 25, 2025 at 6:35 PM
Contrast this with Fritz Eichenberg. Eichenberg worked in woodcuts, and his style is more stark than Hicks’s colorful and idyllic imagery. One can also tell it’s set in an industrial context.
An important detail here is the Native Americans and Quakers meeting in an apparently friendly manner in the background. Whatever other colonial visions Hicks had, he believed harmonious existence of Isaiah 6 also meant European settlers living *with* the Native peoples.
July 25, 2025 at 6:35 PM
An important detail here is the Native Americans and Quakers meeting in an apparently friendly manner in the background. Whatever other colonial visions Hicks had, he believed harmonious existence of Isaiah 6 also meant European settlers living *with* the Native peoples.
This Edward Hicks painting (one of several) shows his concept of the Peaceable Kingdom wrapped into a narrative of colonialism. The Peaceable Kingdom is built on the shores of the “New World.”
July 25, 2025 at 6:35 PM
This Edward Hicks painting (one of several) shows his concept of the Peaceable Kingdom wrapped into a narrative of colonialism. The Peaceable Kingdom is built on the shores of the “New World.”
A point I made in my dissertation, which I think is still deeply relevant, is the way we imagine the future. Consider these two Peaceable Kingdom artworks.
July 25, 2025 at 6:35 PM
A point I made in my dissertation, which I think is still deeply relevant, is the way we imagine the future. Consider these two Peaceable Kingdom artworks.
New British swears just dropped
July 14, 2025 at 4:46 AM
New British swears just dropped
Enjoy some doodles. The second is my daughter’s recreation of the Anakin-Obi Wan lightsaber duel, and the one following is Obi Wan-Greivous
July 14, 2025 at 1:15 AM
Enjoy some doodles. The second is my daughter’s recreation of the Anakin-Obi Wan lightsaber duel, and the one following is Obi Wan-Greivous
Behold, I teach you the Overman. K-pop is something to be overcome. What have you done to overcome it?
July 2, 2025 at 1:12 AM
Behold, I teach you the Overman. K-pop is something to be overcome. What have you done to overcome it?
Yesterday’s in-person panelists in the symposium on democratic technologies in Asia at #SPT2025. Highlights include energy communities in South Korea, technological perceptions around aging in Hong Kong, and sex workers’ use of CCTV
June 26, 2025 at 9:11 AM
Yesterday’s in-person panelists in the symposium on democratic technologies in Asia at #SPT2025. Highlights include energy communities in South Korea, technological perceptions around aging in Hong Kong, and sex workers’ use of CCTV
It’s really easy to forget Hong Kong is a concrete jungle surrounded by an almost literal jungle, until you walk into your twelfth floor bathroom at 11:30PM and find a gecko bro chilling in the corner
June 5, 2025 at 3:45 PM
It’s really easy to forget Hong Kong is a concrete jungle surrounded by an almost literal jungle, until you walk into your twelfth floor bathroom at 11:30PM and find a gecko bro chilling in the corner
Delivered my first key note address. Odd experience, given that I took a sharp turn from the attitudes of most presenters in the conference, but it seemed to go over well enough!
April 5, 2025 at 5:55 PM
Delivered my first key note address. Odd experience, given that I took a sharp turn from the attitudes of most presenters in the conference, but it seemed to go over well enough!
In the US for a conference I’m keynoting. Weird experience. I almost called the airport bartender 老闆
April 2, 2025 at 8:38 PM
In the US for a conference I’m keynoting. Weird experience. I almost called the airport bartender 老闆
After the state department cut reneged their grant like a capricious 5 year-old, they asked me to fill out this OMB report, and I honestly didn’t know how to answer this question without saying “Well, we *were* working with such an organization, but you just pulled our funding.”
March 19, 2025 at 1:28 PM
After the state department cut reneged their grant like a capricious 5 year-old, they asked me to fill out this OMB report, and I honestly didn’t know how to answer this question without saying “Well, we *were* working with such an organization, but you just pulled our funding.”
Gave a talk this Monday at Tsinghua University in AI’s underlying instrumental rationality and how it is inherently anti-poor. Great feedback (and inspiration) from Chinese colleagues reflecting on what this means for China’s AI policy.
March 19, 2025 at 1:23 AM
Gave a talk this Monday at Tsinghua University in AI’s underlying instrumental rationality and how it is inherently anti-poor. Great feedback (and inspiration) from Chinese colleagues reflecting on what this means for China’s AI policy.