This panel seeks to unravel the intricate web connecting Artificial Intelligence (AI) with the study and understanding of religion, shedding light on how AI impacts and is influenced by religious concepts, practices, and ethics. It brings together three distinct but interrelated explorations into this emerging field. The first segment addresses AI's role in compassionate care for dementia patients, reflecting on how the integration of technology in healthcare settings poses questions about compassion, identity, and the ethical dimensions informed by religious and cultural values. The second discussion explores AI and Ann Taves's idea of 'special things'. Is AI itself a special thing? And if so, how does it relate to other applications of specialness in things from art to conversation? The final presentation advocates for the application of AI in analyzing religious rituals, suggesting that AI can significantly enhance our understanding of religious expressions and practices through sophisticated, data-driven analyses.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming increasingly pervasive across many global societies with healthcare often at the leading edge. However, the incentives for technical innovation and financial gain driving efficient AI healthcare automation can interfere with patient care and increase health inequity. Focusing on developing compassionate AI reorients AI development to improve patient care, health outcomes, and well-being. Palliative dementia care by AI raises many issues around memory, identity, suffering, end of life, and dying well that are significant for world religions, religious scholarship, and the intertwined religious and cultural values informing secular societies. I examine three religious and ethical concerns in AI exemplary compassionate care of those with dementia: the value of exemplary compassion by AI instead of typical, human-level compassion; the nature and ethics of human relationship with compassionate AI; and the implications for caregiver stress and burnout, especially in the context of aggressive personality change in dementia.
This paper investigates the nuanced relationship between artificial intelligence (A.I.) and religion, focusing on the discourse that elevates A.I. to a status reminiscent of religious artifacts. By examining the application of religious language and concepts to A.I., we propose that viewing A.I. through the lens of "specialness," as defined by Ann Taves, offers a novel approach to understanding societal reactions to technological advancements. Taves's framework helps dissect debates on A.I.'s extraordinary status, contrasting warnings from tech leaders about its potential dangers with skeptics' views of A.I. as mere tools. We argue that disputes over A.I.'s specialness reflect broader perceptions and ascriptions of extraordinary qualities, akin to those attributed to sacred objects. This analysis extends to regulatory appeals and societal dynamics, suggesting that perceptions of A.I. as special have significant implications for its development, regulation, and integration into daily life.
With the steady rise of virtual communication, especially in light of the post-COVID-19 pandemic, we can see a constant rise in televised or online broadcasted sermons worldwide. As a result, for the first time in history, religious scholars have such a quantity of information available for analysis. The question arises- how can we analyze it efficiently while utilizing modern technology? In this paper, I argue that Artificial Intelligence (AI) can and should complement traditional methods like ethnography and textual analysis. Implementation of AI to analyze large data sets of video/audio material will allow scholars to process large quantities of data efficiently and with precision.