ABSTRACT
Few scientific topics raise the fundamental religious and ideological issues as artificial intelligence (AI). A central religious suspicion of AI comes from the idea that creating computers that are like human beings would be 'playing God'. There is a tendency among religious people to be suspicious of AI. Many theological issues about the computers of the future could be summarized in the question of whether or not they will have 'souls'. Computers are revolutionizing industrial production, and an increasing number of expert tasks are now being performed by computers. At best, computers are able to improve their performance through learning and experience. Much computer technology is developed for strictly practical purposes, and any theoretical significance it may have is incidental. Much work has been done on programming computers to simulate various different mental functions. Computers can recognize when a particular kind of emotional reaction, such as anger, would be appropriate.
