Churches use online analysis tools specifically designed to identify potential new church congregation members by targeting people in personal crises.
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00:00Grief, financial problems, or an impending divorce – it's this information that U.S.
00:07churches are scouring social media profiles for, and they're using AI and big data to
00:11do it.
00:12Because in the wake of crisis, many are likely to turn to faith.
00:16For modern church missionaries, apps sold by commercial providers can compile precise
00:21information on neighborhood communities – who lives next door to whom, and since when, how
00:26many children do they have, what's their background.
00:30Essentially, the programs analyze the data people readily provide online to find out
00:35who is vulnerable.
00:37These individuals are then targeted by churches, they're offered help, or invited to a service.
00:43Mixing data mining – up until now the domain of marketing or political campaigns with religion
00:48– is controversial.
00:53Of course, religious institutions always work with strategies to invoke emotions, but now
01:02these strategies are multiplied and optimized by big data applications.
01:09After all, the data concerned is very intimate, and the community applications are specifically
01:14designed to identify and target people in the middle of a crisis.