ABSTRACT
Adaptation is perhaps the most difficult of the three kinds of entanglements between religion and AI to observe and contextualise. Noting the adaptation of AI to religion requires surfacing millennia of cultural influence all around the world. When the adaptation of religion to AI occurs, the object – AI – can be invisible as it is implemented as part of larger cultural shifts, becoming ubiquitous and unremarkable. This chapter will provide examples of where this adaptation has occurred and where it has failed, as points of tension arise and what we will call the ‘invisible killer robots’ of AI-enabled decision-making systems become visible again. For religions involved in digital platforms and social media, adapting to the medium may also affect their message, following the work of Marshall McLuhan and others. This chapter will explore some of the more recent adaptations of religious groups to contemporary AI-enabled technology and the platforms that use them. Case Study 9 will look at the shaping effect of algorithmic systems on social media – a space where religions emerge and where believers connect. Case Study 10 explores the adaptations that were necessary during the COVID-19 pandemic and what these have meant for spiritual values and messages. Case Study 11 explores deepfake technology, the new information space it is creating, and its overlaps with religious creativity, as well as its potential harms. We will also consider wider concerns about the societal impacts of AI, including algorithmic bias, algorithms and gender, race and sexuality, automation and the future of work, and the changes that people are making to themselves to suit algorithmic systems.
