Overview

Religion and artificial intelligence are now deeply enmeshed in humanity's collective imagination, narratives, institutions, and aspirations. Their growing entanglement also runs counter to several dominant narratives that engage with long-standing historical discussions regarding the relationship between the 'sacred” and the 'secular' - technology and science. This Cambridge Companion explores the fields of Religion and AI comprehensively and provides an authoritative guide to their symbiotic relationship. It examines established topics, such as transhumanism, together with new and emerging fields, notably, computer simulations of religion. Specific chapters are devoted to Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism, while others demonstrate that entanglements between religion and AI are not always encapsulated through such a paradigm. Collectively, the volume addresses issues that AI raises for religions, and contributions that AI has made to religious studies, especially the conceptual and philosophical issues inherent in the concept of an intelligent machine, and social-cultural work on attitudes to AI and its impact on contemporary life. The diverse perspectives in this Companion demonstrate how all religions are now interacting with artificial intelligence.

Full Product Details

Author:   Beth Singler (Universität Zürich) ,  Fraser Watts (University of Cambridge)
Publisher:   Cambridge University Press
Imprint:   Cambridge University Press
ISBN:  

9781316516034

ISBN 10:   1316516032
Pages:   325
Publication Date:   31 December 2024
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Forthcoming
Availability:   Not yet available, will be POD  
This item is yet to be released. You can pre-order this item and we will dispatch it to you upon it's release. This is a print on demand item which is still yet to be released.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction Beth Singler and Fraser Watts; 2. Steps toward android intelligence William Clocksin; Part I. Religions and Ai: 3. Hinduism and artificial intelligence Robert Geraci and Stephen Kaplan; 4. The Buddha in AI/Robotics Hannah Gould and Keiko Nishimura; 5. Artificial intelligence and Jewish thought David Zvi Kalman; 6. Artificial intelligence and christianity: friends or foes? Marius Dorobantu; 7. Islam and artificial intelligence Yaqub Chaudhary; Part II. Social & Moral Issues: 8. Transhumanism and transcendence Ilia Delio; 9. The eschatological future of artificial intelligence: savior or apocalypse? Noreen Herzfeld; 10. AI ethics and ethical ai Paula Boddington; 11. Black theology x artificial intelligence Philip Butler; 12. Imag(in)ing human-Robot relationships Scott Midson; Part III. Religious Studies: 13. The anthropology and sociology of religion and ai Beth Singler; 14. Simulating religion F. LeRon Shults and Wesley J. Wildman; 15. Cognitive modelling of spiritual practices Fraser Watts; 16. Artificial companions and spiritual enhancement Yorick Wilks.

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Author Information

Beth Singler is the Assistant Professor in Digital Religion(s) at the University of Zurich. Her first book, Indigo Children: New Age Experimentation with Self and Science (2017) is the first ethnography of a New Age group who define their identity and spirituality in relation to their view of science. She is also the author of Religion and AI: Rejection, Adoption, Adaption. She is also a Fellow of the International Society for Science and Religion, an Associate Fellow of Homerton College, University of Cambridge, an Associate Professor at the Digital Society Initiative, UZH, and a member of the Human Augmentation Research Network. Her publications, interviews, and talks are available at bvlsingler.com. Fraser Watts is a former Senior Scientist at the UK Medical Research Council's Applied Psychology Unit in Cambridge and has served as President of the British Psychological Society. Until retirement he was Reader in Theology and Science in the University of Cambridge, Director of the Psychology and Religion Research Group, and a Fellow of Queens' College. He has also been President of the International Society for Science and Religion, of which he is now Executive Secretary. He is also Visiting Professor in Psychology of Religion at the University of Lincoln.

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