Artificial Intelligence and Christian Salvation
From Ilia Delio, Artificial Intelligence and Christian Salvation: Compatibility or Competition?, New Theology Review, November 2003.
p. 45 “Antje Jackelén furthers the religious argument by suggesting that A.I. technology has messianic dimensions. She writes: “When John the Baptist was in prison and heard what Jesus was doing, he sent his disciples to ask, “Are you the one (the Messiah) to come, or are we to wait for another?” Jesus answered, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the deaf hear, the dead are raised and the poor have the good news brought to them” (Matt 11:2-6). As Jackelén notes, the development toward techno sapiens might well be regarded as a step toward the kingdom of God. What else can we say when the lame walk, the blind see, the deaf hear, and the dead are at least virtually alive? The requirements of the Gospel and the aims of technical development seem to be in perfect harmony (Jackelén, 294).”
22.03.2012 Religious Robots
Quotes from Robert Geraci, Apocalyptic AI: Visions of Heaven in Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, and Virtual Reality
p. 133 “Ray Kurzweil believes that intelligent machines will be more spiritual than human being and believes that the future will include real and virtual houses of worship where intelligent machines will congregate (Kurzweil 1999, 153). Naturally, since all human mental phenomena are, from Kurzweil’s point of view, computational processes, religious experiences must be as well. “
p. 133-134 “Some human being, however, might welcome robots into their religious communities and some robots might wish to join them. Fundamentally, if robots become conscious and, thereafter, acquire ‘beliefs’, a state that involves intentionality and meaning, then some of those beliefs will surely be religious. Both theologians and computer scientists have supported such a view, including Anne Foerst, David Levy, and Edmund Furse.”
p. 134 “The artificial intelligence researcher David Levy has argued that robots will join in religious practices as a necessary by-product of their emotional range and conscious beliefs.”
p. 134 “Without doubt, the interest that computer scientists have in the religious life of robots is fascinating but the fact that theologians have engaged robotics is considerably more so.”
p. 7 “Apocaliptic AI is a powerful reconciliation of religion and science. The sacred categories of Jewish and Christian apocalyptic traditions have thoroughly penetrated the futuristic musings of important researches in robotics and artificial intelligence. Those categories have serious effects in robotics research, virtual reality/online gaming, and contemporary disputes over the nature of consciousness and personhood, public policy, and theology.”
Anne Foerst, Cog, a Humanoid Robot, and the Question of the Image of God
Edmund Furse, The Theology of Robots