How much like us?

Abstract The recent phenomenon of anthropomorphizing artificial intelligences (AIs) is uniquely provocative for philosophy of religion because of its tendency to place AIs in an analogous position to divinity vis-à-vis humans in spite of AIs being human artefacts. In the case of divinity, intelligent mental capacities are, and in the case of AIs are sometimes presented as inevitably becoming, not just equivalent but in fact superior to their realization in humans. Philosophers of religion would do well to learn from discussions of anthropomorphism in AI, in conversation with the historical debates over anthropomorphizing divinity, and to remember that evolved cognitive biases may lose their adaptive functions as the cultural context shifts, and even become maladaptive.

Authors

Publication Details

Journal
Religious Studies
Published
2025-09-02
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1017/s0034412525000228
Primary Topic
Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
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article

How much like us?

Lawrence A. Whitney
Religious Studies
Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion
article

How much like us?

Lawrence A. Whitney
article en

Abstract

Abstract The recent phenomenon of anthropomorphizing artificial intelligences (AIs) is uniquely provocative for philosophy of religion because of its tendency to place AIs in an analogous position to divinity vis-à-vis humans in spite of AIs being human artefacts. In the case of divinity, intelligent mental capacities are, and in the case of AIs are sometimes presented as inevitably becoming, not just equivalent but in fact superior to their realization in humans. Philosophers of religion would do well to learn from discussions of anthropomorphism in AI, in conversation with the historical debates over anthropomorphizing divinity, and to remember that evolved cognitive biases may lose their adaptive functions as the cultural context shifts, and even become maladaptive.

Religious StudiesVol. 61(4)
Openalex Percentile: Top 73%
Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion
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