Artificial Intelligence and the Study of Religion (original) (raw)

This paper was presented at the Innovative Methods in the Study of Religion Conference in London in 2010, as part of AHRC/ESRC RELIGION & SOCIETY PROGRAMME and RELEMERGE RESEARCH PROGRAMME. It investigates the emergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) research as a distinctive phenomenon focusing on concepts of belief and transcendental, spiritual concepts of being, which brings out new meaning of religion and spirituality in the modern context by creating a new human species. As both the agent and the object, and itself a creation of human beings through immanent practice, AI as such puts mankind into a paradox as both creature and creator. By simultaneously contributing to a better understanding of how both science and religion “works” and how the study of emergent spiritualities and religious movements cannot be limited to secularized categories, frameworks, and taxonomies that would posit humanistic science as a domain entirely distinct from the religious, I am seeking to provide some illumination as to the nature of spirituality in contemporary society. In sum, a critical analysis of AI from this perspective will offer a novel way to value modern practice and phenomenon and provide a unique perspective on broader research values in religious studies.