A theme has developed in New Mexico. Outsiders talk about the state’s beauty and potential, and wonder why it is not an economic powerhouse to rival neighboring states. Tim Draelos, a New Mexico native and retired engineer, carries the same thoughts.
Draelos’ career in the state bridges the edges of technology—specifically artificial intelligence (AI)—and the grounded values of faith and family-first.
He earned a bachelor’s degree from New Mexico State University, worked for Hughes Aircraft in Tucson, completed a master’s degree at the University of Arizona, and eventually joined Sandia National Laboratories. He went on to earn a doctorate from the University of New Mexico while working at Sandia, where his work ranged from image processing, seismic data analysis, and cryptography to AI.
“When I started in AI, it was very exciting,” Draelos says. “But it was not very useful. And now it’s just as exciting in my mind and very useful.”
Draelos recalls working in the early days of AI, from developing an expert system for troubleshooting cars to the modern era, when he launched the Machine Learning and Deep Learning (MLDL) workshop at Sandia in 2017. “An artificial neural network has multiple layers of computational neurons,” he says. “You give it enough data and it can do a pretty good job… Just like our brains… it identifies recognizable features of the data that it’s seen.” But he also warns about AI’s limitations: “They have no ability to discern truth. It’s just data.”
That concern for discernment—between truth and misinformation, good governance and neglect—underlies Draelos’s view of New Mexico’s future. He expresses love for his home state, but also voices frustration. “It’s sort of a love-hate relationship… There’s just so much potential,” he says, noting the climate and natural beauty. “And yet it just hasn’t been stewarded very well… so many people leave.”
Draelos attributes the exodus in part to crime and says leadership in the state could be improved. He says his daughter’s family returned home from the Czech Republic, where “it’s much safer over there,” only to encounter fears about public safety. “It is scary for them,” he says. “To hear gunshots and so on in Albuquerque.”
He also raises concerns about policy decisions in education, crime, and public spending. “We have leaders who just do whatever they feel like… there’s very little that even caring citizens can do about it.”
Yet he has a vision for a better New Mexico, which happens to be anchored in faith. “The parable of the Good Samaritan should motivate Christian churches to love their neighbors, knowing there will be a cost,” he says.
He challenges churches to move beyond Sunday services and engage in civic life: “People live and die based on the decisions of politicians that Christ followers are responsible for electing.”
Draelos doesn’t see faith and science as opposites. “I consider myself just interested in truth. All truth is God’s truth,” he says. “Some truth is scientific… some is spiritual… and they really cooperate.”
He views archaeological and cosmological discoveries as affirming his belief in a creator: “The Big Bang theory is evidence that there was a beginning, that there was a beginner.”
His advocacy is practical as well as philosophical. He proposes churches partner with local institutions: “How can we help law enforcement? How can we support people in the medical community?” He wants pastors to lead more actively, educating congregants about policies and encouraging them to vote. “Many, many Christian believers don’t even vote,” he says.
Draelos believes there is a need for innovation in education. He is an advocate for AI tutors as a way to help meet diverse learning styles. “Imagine a future where there is a teacher who cares about the students… and is able to incorporate an AI tutor into each of their programs,” he says. “So it’s custom to each student… designed to produce the smartest, maybe most aware, maybe most loving.”
According to Draelos, the state can improve. “Even when I talk about the evils… it’s mostly just to illuminate the opportunities,” he says. “Maybe we go to number one in education within a few years.”
He believes that spiritual and technological tools can combine to serve the public good—if stewarded wisely. “AI is just a tool… it’s going to come down to whether it’s used for good, and that’s in the hands of the human users.”
In Draelos’ view, New Mexico’s problems are real, but its possibilities are greater if guided by truth, compassion, and accountability.
