Peter Biles

Writer and Editor, Center for Science & Culture

Peter Biles is a novelist, short story writer, poet, and essayist. He is the author of three books, most recently the novel Through the Eye of Old Man Kyle. His essays, stories, blogs, and op-eds have been published in places like The American Spectator, Plough, and RealClearBooks & Culture, among many others.

Archives

What Qualifies as a Book Ban?

If a novel has sold millions of copies and can be easily bought in almost any bookstore, how is it "banned"?
Peter Biles
November 12, 2025
Many people on social media pushed back against the claim that Atwood’s famous, bestselling book has in any way been “banned.”

Tech Addiction is Reaching a Frightening New Level

Young people are spending endless time online seeking drug-like states of mind
Peter Biles
November 5, 2025
Kolitz wraps up his article by stressing how this new type of addiction isn’t so far removed from the more culturally accepted forms of mindless scrolling.

On the State of Men and Reading

Valuable advice to students: Learn how to read deeply
Peter Biles
October 30, 2025
Reading great books might not immediately come to mind, but according to professor Shilo Brooks, it just might be a part of the answer.

The Enduring Relevance of The Brothers Karamazov

Dostoevsky opposed materialism and pointed readers to beauty and mystery
Peter Biles
October 24, 2025
The book may not present neat answers to our problems, but it presents a vital picture of what it looks like to cherish life and hold onto to the inherent value of human life.

AI Psychosis and the Need for Human Exceptionalism

I pronounce you husband and chatbot?
Peter Biles
October 14, 2025
AI is a tool with certain potentials and limits across various fields, but basic anthropological confusion can do a lot of damage. What happens when AI programs cease to be seen as mere tools, meant to used in limited ways and used wisely, and are considered “persons?” It sounds silly to pose the question, but that’s where we are. Futurism writer Frank Landymore reports on an Ohio legislative measure to ban human-AI marital unions. The bill must be intended to be preventative, since AI bots and programs aren’t recognized as legal persons (yet), but it speaks to a cultural trend that, if undealt with, could blow out of proportion. Landymore writes, Popular chatbots are capable of being eerily lifelike, effortlessly playing along with any conversation …

Are Digital ID Cards and AI Surveillance on the Horizon?

The man who believes AI-surveillance is in our future is about to have even more influence over social media and its algorithms
Peter Biles
October 4, 2025
Most Americans can't fathom that an unsavory social media post could earn them a knock on their front door a day later. But that's happening in Europe on a near daily basis.

Wanted: Comedian Who is Actually Funny

First Colbert, now Kimmel.
Peter Biles
September 19, 2025
Shows like Kimmel's and Colbert's have long abandoned the usual attempts at humor, which has historically included taking jabs at both sides of the aisle.

Thanks to Our Screens, We’re Heading For a Post-Literate Culture?

Whatever one’s opinions regarding solutions for declining literacy rates, people can always start to brew change in their own lives and communities
Peter Biles
September 2, 2025
Ted Gioia writes, books “offer an escape from the degraded digital domains, where duplicity is now dictated by the largest platforms with the richest owners.”

AI: Tool or Companion?

Personalized AI systems only make sense in a friendless society.
Peter Biles
August 25, 2025
One of the problems of AI-human "relationships" is that, by definition, we cannot relate to a computer, nor can a computer relate to us.