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The Automatic Faith Project: What happens when you ask AI to create a religion?


AI chat bots seem to value "harmony" when asked to create a religion from scratch.  By Madison Embry Have you ever considered what AI’s religion is? Most people likely haven’t, as the ability to develop religious beliefs has always been categorically human.…

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The Automatic Faith Project: Some religious leaders see the dawn of artificial intelligence as a "Gutenberg moment"


By Emma Hardy Andy Brown, the senior pastor at First Baptist Church Starkville, talks through the phone with a fountain pen in his hand. His notepad is sitting in front of him with the reporter’s name on it at the top, and he is ready to converse, share ideas, and…

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The Automatic Faith Project: How are MSU student religious groups using AI?


  The author asked Adobe Firefly to create an image of "a group of Christian bulldog mascots discussing the Bible with a maroon background." This was the result.  By Madison Jones  College students today are more plugged in than ever—but less…

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Essay: Why is it so hard to eat without YouTube?


  By Ella Hahs  Class was finally over. I hightailed it back home, the sound of my stomach grumbling overshadowing the Fleetwood Mac blaring through my car speakers. My feet pounded up the dusty steps of my apartment and my backpack flew from my grip onto…

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Echoes of the Ardennes: Troy Middleton’s crucial role in WWII and legacy at Mississippi State University


The Ardennes today. Photo by Willy Verhust By Sera Zell Walton The Ardennes Forest, located in southeast Belgium, stands resolutely, a force of nature. Life in the forest rises from the soil, fed by the decay of past flora and fauna. Trees shelter plants, animals,…

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Scott "Scooter" Thomas: How a childhood dream of opening a record store was fulfilled in retirement


This story was published in Queue Magazine. Natalie Staggers, the author, is a publisher of Queue.  Scooter talking to a customer while fiddling with his trusty Fant Memorial Library pen. By Natalie Staggers  It’s a typical Wednesday morning, and…

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Comparing a Kroger sale paper from 2015 to one from 2025


A Kroger sale paper that originally appeared in the Clarion-Ledger in 2015. A BON reporter used the paper to compare prices at a Kroger in Starkville in 2025.  By Madi Embry  A BON reporter recently examined a 2015 sale paper from a Jackson, Mississippi,…

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The Great Unknown: Sarah Morgan Pellum, the Young Coffee Shop Entrepreneur


This story was published in the Reflector on April 10, 2024.  By Grace Sullivan  Sarah Morgan Pellum opened the Coffee Depot in Starkville in May 2023. By Noah McCord The Coffee Depot drive-thru line spans into the road on South Jackson Street, and the…

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The Great Unknown: Nash Heady, the King of Cards


This story was published in the Reflector on April 10, 2024.  By Lizzie Tomlin   As tornado sirens blared through the small town of Smithville, Mississippi, the Heady family had a limited amount of time to grab their most valuable possessions before heading…

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