# The Fruit of the Spirit of Technology

A spiritual audit of human invention from 6000 BC to present. Scores 124 major technologies on each of the nine fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22–23) plus a separate Deception measure, then plots the trajectory across human history.

This is one of five studies in the EconFaithAI project. Companion studies cover childhood-influence channels, tech-sector economic concentration, tech-sector religious profile, and machine-vs-human intelligence.

## Files in this project

| File | Purpose |
|---|---|
| `REPORT_Fruit_of_Spirit_Tech.html` / `.pdf` | Main report — executive summary, methodology, trajectory analysis, best/worst performers, per-fruit breakdown, the 2010s inflection, sources, limitations. |
| `references/README.md` / `.pdf` | This document. |
| `references/Methodology.md` / `.pdf` | Detailed scoring methodology, rationale for the −1 to +1 scale, anchoring sources. |
| `references/Limitations_and_Defensibility.md` / `.pdf` | Standalone limitations document. |
| `references/Technology_Scores.csv` / `.xlsx` | Full 124-technology dataset with all nine fruit scores, composite, deception, rolling averages, and sources. |

## Headline findings

**Technology was net-positive for the fruits of the Spirit for 8,000 years.** The rolling-average composite score remained positive (0.10–0.38) from irrigation systems in 3000 BC through the early 2000s. Tools that fed people, healed them, connected them, and reduced suffering dominated the inventory.

**The composite flipped negative in 2013.** With the critical-mass adoption of Twitter, the iPhone, and social-media platforms generally, the rolling-average composite crossed below zero for the first time in the recorded inventory. It has not recovered.

**Deception is at all-time highs.** The rolling-average Deception score climbed from approximately 0 in 1900 to **0.37 by 2024**. Deepfake technology scores 0.9 — the highest single-technology Deception score in the inventory.

**The fruits most damaged by modern digital technology are self-control and patience.** Across the 12 worst-scoring technologies of the last 15 years, those two fruits average −0.5 and −0.4 respectively. Faithfulness (truth/trustworthiness) is also under sustained pressure.

## The nine fruits

From Galatians 5:22–23 — the New Testament's measure of soul-formation:

- **Love** (agápē) — sacrificial care
- **Joy** (chará) — deep contentment
- **Peace** (eirḗnē) — wholeness, rest
- **Patience** (makrothumía) — long-suffering
- **Kindness** (chrēstótēs) — goodness in action
- **Goodness** (agathōsýnē) — moral integrity
- **Faithfulness** (pístis) — trustworthiness
- **Gentleness** (praǘtēs) — strength under control
- **Self-control** (enkráteia) — mastery over impulse

## What this report does not claim

- Does not claim every individual user of a low-scoring technology is harmed.
- Does not claim high-scoring technologies have no costs (vaccines have side-effect rates; printing also enabled propaganda).
- Does not claim the fruits of the Spirit are the only valid frame for evaluating technology.
- Does not claim the trajectory is irreversible (recent positive-scoring technologies — solar, MRI, CRISPR, Tesla EV — suggest counter-trend examples exist).

## What this report does claim

- Under the methodology described, technology was net-positive for the fruits of the Spirit for almost all of human history.
- The composite rolling average crossed below zero in the early 2010s, primarily driven by engagement-optimized digital platforms.
- The Deception rolling average is at all-time highs.
- The fruits most damaged by modern digital technology are self-control, patience, and faithfulness.

## Suggested next iterations

- **Workshop the scoring with a panel** to test inter-rater reliability and produce per-cell error bars.
- **Add a fourth axis** — utility/practical-good score independent of fruit-formation, so the comparison isn't framed as fruit-vs-utility.
- **Geographic disaggregation** — does a technology score differently in different cultural/religious contexts?
- **Time series of per-fruit averages** rather than only composite — show which fruits are gaining or losing across eras.

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*Version 1.0, May 2026. Built for the EconFaithAI project.*