Doug Smith

Doug Smith is a passionate voice in the epic battle against screen addictions, especially through his award-winning book, [Un]Intentional: How Screens Secretly Shape Your Desires, and How You Can Break Free. Doug loves to help individuals and families break free from screen addiction so they can live out their God-given purpose. Doug and his wife Lyneta are happy empty nesters and are blessed with four grown daughters.

Archives

WHY DO CHATBOTS LEAD LEARNERS ASTRAY?

How interface‑level social cues encourage relational engagement with chatbots
Doug Smith
December 31, 2025
Big Tech’s signature exploitative strategies optimize for engagement, not for truth. By manipulating our behavioural psychology in this way, chatbots become top of mind when we have a question about anything, or just need a friend.

The serious limitations on what AI can do in education

Interrogating trust, power, and data governance in the era of neuro‑surveillance
Doug Smith
December 30, 2025
Have we become so accustomed to surveillance capitalism that we are completely blinded to the implications? Or has Big Tech become so trustworthy that we can trust them to handle the data of student brain states with benevolent intent?

Doug Smith: A Critical Look at Apple’s Virtual Reality Headset

Robert J. Marks and Doug Smith
November 27, 2025
What happens when you let Big Tech control how you see the world? Apple recently released a new model of the Apple Vision Pro headset. Although it can provide immersive experiences, what are the potential downsides to furthering our connection to the digital realm? On this episode of Mind Matters News out of the vault, host Robert J. Marks welcomes Doug Smith to the show to discuss the human impact of virtual reality technology. Doug is a senior software engineer with Covenant Eyes who is interested in the psychological impact of modern media. Our addiction to screens is addressed in his book Intentional: How Screens Secretly Shape Your Desires and How You Can Break Free. Doug works to help individuals and families break free from screen addiction so they can live out their …

Kids and Chatbots: How Dissenting Views Got Me Disinvited

As a lifelong software engineer, I am an insider on a topic like this and I know that their programming makes them unsuitable for children
Doug Smith
November 16, 2025
I also believe that their programmed tendency to lead to addictive relationships makes them unsuitable for adults as well but that’s another topic.

Should We Use Generative AI Chatbots to Spark Our Creativity?

What if we become so disconnected from human ways of knowing that real life relationships, desires, and reality itself begins to shrivel away?
Doug Smith
June 5, 2025
Jeremy Utley uses unmistakably spiritual, almost salvation-like language: epiphanies, transformation. GenAI is a savior, and Utley is a prophet…

Gen AI: A Neutral Tool? Let’s Look More Closely

All technologies change us. Some technologies change us in ways where the harms far outweigh any benefits.
Doug Smith
February 9, 2025
GenAI is not neutral. It rides on our God-given gift of language, builds trust that leaves us open to deception, and changes us in ways we don’t notice.

AI and the Destructive Lies of the Tool Trope

You've heard this, right? “Technology isn’t good or bad; it’s a tool, it’s just how you use it that matters.” False.
Doug Smith
January 26, 2025
Because LLM AIs never understand a single word, image, video, or line of code, they can’t know whether anything they say is right, true, or good.

How to Rise Above Addictive Technologies to Find Real Freedom

Doug Smith and Robert J. Marks
August 8, 2024
On this episode, software engineer and author Doug Smith concludes his conversation with host Robert Marks about the false promises of technologies like VR (virtual reality) and AI. Smith and Marks discuss the Apple Vision Pro VR headset and the promotion of spirituality in its marketing. They explore the idea of AI spirituality and the belief in the singularity. The conversation touches on the writings of Marshall McLuhan and Jacques Ellul, philosophers of technology who predicted the current impact of technology on society. The conversation rounds out with the importance of leading a disciplined life and the need to be cautious and mindful of the impact of technology on our lives. Additional Resources Follow Doug Smith at ThatDougSmith.com Doug Smith writing about …

Doug Smith on The Pitfalls of Virtual Reality (VR)

Doug Smith
August 1, 2024
On this episode, software engineer and author Doug Smith discusses the growing problem of virtual reality (VR) pornography and its negative effects. He also talks about Apple’s new VR headset, Vision Pro, and raises concerns about its potential impact on users. Smith criticizes Apple’s marketing of Vision Pro, highlighting the false vision, false connection, and false control it promotes. He emphasizes the addictive nature of VR and its potential to distort users’ perception of reality. Smith wraps the conversation by urging people to ask deeper questions and consider the consequences before embracing new technologies like VR. Additional Resoucres Follow Doug Smith at ThatDougSmith.com Doug Smith writing about Apple Vision Pro See Through the False …

How My World Looked Inside Apple Vision Pro

I felt everything the script intended for me to feel. But I left with a lot of questions
Doug Smith
June 19, 2024
What happens when people perceive reality differently? Will our painfully divided culture will be even more fractured?

Getting Intentional About Your Screens

Andrew McDiarmid and Doug Smith
November 24, 2022
Our obsession today with screens is, often unintentionally, taking us to places we regret. We use these windows into the world for hours every day, often unaware how intentional content creators and app designers are in shaping our decisions and forming harmful habits.