Understanding Religion and Artificial Intelligence

Meaning-Making in the Digital Age
1. Auflage 2025
ISBN: 978-1-032-55725-0
Verlag: Routledge

Buch, Englisch, 286 Seiten, Format (B × H): 161 mm x 240 mm, Gewicht: 599 g

Is artificial intelligence just another tool, or is it something more… Special? In Understanding Religion and Artificial Intelligence: Meaning-Making in the Digital Age, Randall Reed and Tracy J. Trothen delve into this provocative question, revealing how our perceptions of AI are deeply intertwined with age-old human impulses to define the extraordinary.

Introducing their innovative “Model of the Special,” Reed and Trothen illuminate how individuals, groups, and cultures dynamically shape AI’s meaning, ranging from the mundane to the Sacred and Demonic. Through compelling case studies—from AI chatbots, sport, and art to self-driving cars and “Deadbots”—the authors explore how narratives of awe, fear, and even transcendence position AI as a truly “Special thing” in our modern world.

Drawing on insights from religious studies, ethics, and sociology, this interdisciplinary exploration provides a crucial framework for understanding the profound societal, ethical, and spiritual implications of AI. Understanding Religion and Artificial Intelligence invites readers to engage in vital conversations about AI’s impact on meaning, values, and the very fabric of human experience in this rapidly evolving digital age. Prepare to see AI—and ourselves—in a whole new light.

Zielgruppe

Undergraduate Advanced and Undergraduate Core

Autoren/Hrsg.

Reed, Randall

Trothen, Tracy J.

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Religionswissenschaft Allgemein Religion & Wissenschaft

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Introduction: AI as a Special Thing; Part I Practical Applications of AI: Special Relationships?; 1. Social Chatbots: Replika and Other AI “Friends”; 2. Mindy and More: Aging Adults and Intelligent Assistive Technologies; 3. AI Agents: Self-Driving Cars, Military Drones, and AI Assistants; Part II Special Things x 2? What Happens When AI Is Added to Things that Are Already Special? 4. AI Art and Religion; 5. AI in Sport: Just a Game? Part III Engaging AI in Education and Research 6. Teaching and Learning with AI; 7. Using AI for Human Simulation; Part IV Seeking a Deeper Understanding of AI 8. “I’m So Sorry For Your Loss…”: Is Consciousness a Special Thing that AI Might Have?; 9. Large Language Models Metaphors: How We Think about AI; Conclusion: Mapping the Special in an Age of AI

Über Autor(innen)

Randall Reed is Professor of Religious Studies at Appalachian State University, USA.

Tracy J. Trothen is Professor of Ethics, School of Religion and School of Rehabilitation Therapy, at Queen's University, Canada.