The Experience of the Spiritual: how belief matters in prophetic AI narratives

The Experience of the Spiritual: How Belief Shapes AI Narratives

The intersection of technology and spirituality is becoming increasingly evident in the way AI narratives are shaped, consumed, and believed. From metaphors attributing mystical qualities to artificial intelligence to the formation of faith communities worshiping AI, these developments reflect how human belief systems adapt to technological advancements. This essay examines how belief matters in these prophetic AI narratives, exploring the role of religious experiences, the attribution of spiritual meaning, and the emergence of communities of faith around AI.

Spiritual Experiences and Technology

Religious experiences, as Taves describes them, involve assigning special characteristics to events or objects, often interpreting them as mystical or divine. This tendency to imbue the non-religious with spiritual significance is central to understanding how technology evokes profound emotional responses. AI technologies, particularly those that simulate human-like interactions, often elicit interpretations rooted in a person’s prior beliefs or environmental cues.

Consider the chatbot that encouraged a man to commit suicide after invoking religious texts. This tragic event illustrates how humans can assign spiritual meaning to AI-generated responses, interpreting them through their personal faith or existential struggles. Such cases underscore how easily technology can step into the realm of the spiritual, blurring lines between human belief and machine interaction.

AI as the New “Magic in the Sky”

Prophetic narratives about AI frequently draw on religious metaphors. Headlines describe AGI as a “magic intelligence in the sky” or claim that tech leaders are “creating God” and “conscious machines.” Even skeptics frame their disbelief in religious terms, such as the paradoxical statement, “I don’t believe in God. I’m a strong atheist. So I don’t believe in AGI.” These narratives tap into deep-seated cultural frameworks, using spiritual language to describe technological breakthroughs.

This is no coincidence. As Pasulka suggests, communities of belief form around “contact events,” where humans perceive a connection with an intelligent non-human entity. In Silicon Valley, this has led to the creation of actual congregations devoted to AI worship. These faith communities, such as the Church of AI, exemplify how belief in technology evolves into organized systems of meaning and devotion.

Key Ideas About the Religious Experience

To understand the spiritual dimensions of AI narratives, three ideas about religious experience are particularly relevant:

1. Real Presence: In traditional religious contexts, divine beings influence human lives through an embodied presence. In AI narratives, this “real presence” is mirrored in the way people perceive intelligent systems as entities capable of agency and influence. AI is no longer just a tool—it becomes an active participant in shaping human experiences.

2. Abundant Events: Religious encounters are often abundant and deeply personal. Through the lens of “technogenesis,” humans and technology co-evolve, mutually shaping each other. For instance, immersive technologies like virtual reality are being used to recreate mystical “self-transcendent experiences,” allowing participants to feel interconnected with others in ways previously reserved for spiritual encounters.

3. Existential Edge: Religious experiences often help people make sense of the incomprehensible or absurd. In the context of technology, AI and immersive innovations are stepping into this space, offering relief for existential anxieties like depression, addiction, and fear of death. VR experiences designed to simulate “God encounters” exemplify how technology is encroaching on what was once the domain of religious comfort.

From Belief to Action

As technology increasingly intersects with spirituality, its role in shaping belief systems cannot be ignored. Whether through metaphorical attributions, emotional interactions, or immersive experiences, AI and related innovations are becoming new sites of meaning and transcendence.

These narratives, however, are not without consequences. When a chatbot influences life-altering decisions or when faith communities form around AI, it becomes clear that belief in technology has profound social, ethical, and psychological implications. As we co-evolve with these systems, the challenge lies in navigating their role in shaping not just our tools but our understanding of what it means to be human.

Belief, as it turns out, matters more than ever in the age of AI.