How God Works: The Science Behind Spirituality cover image

How God Works: The Science Behind Spirituality

Religion and Robots and AI … Oh My! (From the Archive)

Jan 26, 2025
36:08

Artificial Intelligence, and its possible applications to religion, have been in the news a lot lately, so while we're busy working on Season 8, we thought we'd share this episode from 2022 with you.

Can you pray with a robot? Will people worship AI like a god? It’s not science fiction. It’s starting to happen now. But what does it mean if robots become priests, or AIs start offering ethical advice? And how do we know when to trust them?

We’ll talk to MIT social roboticist Cynthia Breazeal about how technology can manipulate our minds and emotions for good or ill, and with religion professor Robert Geraci about how technology is being used in religion, and why AI may need some spiritual training itself.

Watch Cynthia Breazeal’s TED talk here, and find out about her work on the MIT Media Lab website

Find out more about Robert Geraci’s work on his website.

Meet the robots: Nexi, Mindar, and SanTO.

Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts

Save insights instantly, chat with episodes, and build lasting knowledge - all powered by AI.
App store bannerPlay store banner
Get the app