Crosstalk: 'The all-powerful algorithm'

Most of you will have had an experience like this - you watch a short video on social media showing a roller-coaster, or a cute dog, or a clip from a sit-com. The algorithm now thinks this your deepest joy and longing, so the next time you visit the website you see endless videos of the same, or maybe a cute dog on a roller-coaster re-enacting a scene from Friends. The all-powerful algorithm wants to trap you in an online world created by your own desires. You end up in an echo chamber where all the opinions are ones you want to hear.

Across the UK, sales of The Bible have increased. People are picking up Bibles and starting to read them for the very first time. In this book, which had shaped Western culture so powerfully, do not expect to find opinions you want to hear. In the Bible, God will challenge your thoughts: Jesus said the Word of God is like a hammer that breaks rocks apart. In the Bible, God will test your desires: Jesus said that the Word f God is a fire that tests and purifies. Read it honestly and you will find Jesus has come to set you free from your self-made world, with its narrow horizons, tame desires, and shallow opinions. Turn off the screen and open up the Book of Books, and discover where God's adventure will lead you.