This session presents cutting-edge research on the use of artificial intelligence to simulate religious societies and explore dynamics of belief, practice, conflict, and cooperation. It will showcase projects employing multi-agent systems and other AI models to understand complex religious phenomena, from the evolution of religious practices to the mechanisms of interfaith dialogue and conflict resolution. By creating virtual environments where religious behaviors and social dynamics can be studied in detail, these projects offer new perspectives on the study of religion as a human creative act. Speakers will discuss the theoretical underpinnings, methodological challenges, and potential insights gained from simulating religious life in artificial societies, highlighting the contribution of AI to the academic study of religion.
This project investigates the role of generative AI in fostering ethical development through video games, focusing on the design of non-playable characters (NPCs) to influence players' moral reasoning. Utilizing GPT-4 for both Ethical Assessment AI (EAAI) and Narrative Guidance AI (NGAI), this study aims to evaluate and guide players' decisions within a text-based game, rooted in theological ethical frameworks. By integrating complex ethical dilemmas that mirror moral complexities from religious traditions, the research explores AI's potential in virtue cultivation. The methodology includes developing a simple game interface, employing AI for ethical assessment and narrative adaptation, and integrating theological ethics into game design. Expected outcomes include insights into AI's capability for moral reasoning enhancement and recommendations for incorporating ethical principles into AI-driven designs. This approach signifies a paradigm shift in technology's role, envisioning AI as a tool for personal and moral development.
Using Open.AI’s ChatGPT, I am creating three separate chatbots with three unique specializations and personalities: one St. Francis of Assisi, one St. Thérèse of Lisieux, and one St. Thomas More. I am training these GPTs on information about their respective saint's lives, works, and beliefs using a mix of primary and secondary academic sources. The s[ai]nts will be made accessible through a web app for users to engage in conversation with the chatbot and hopefully find the dialogue meaningful to their religious experience. My paper will detail the development of the s[ai]nts, investigation of their reception within religious communities, and explanation of the results of this project.
The utilization of multi-agent artificial intelligence (MAAI) in modeling religious dynamics, social conflicts, and pathways to peace represents a significant advancement in computational social sciences and humanities. This presentation outlines an MAAI approach used in several international, interdisciplinary research projects, focusing on the integrative process and empirical insights that have emerged in the author's work with the United Nations Development Program in Palestine and Bosnia & Herzegovina, as well as Northern Ireland and South Sudan. Each model was constructed with the help of religious studies subject matter experts, incorporating religious factors and variables into the cognitive architectures and social network interactions of the simulated agents that populate the ‘artificial societies.’ Such AI models provide scholars and stakeholders with a digital laboratory in which they can run simulation experiments to discover the conditions under which – and the processes by which – intergroup religious conflict can be mitigated and peaceful cooperation can be promoted.