The Canada Bible Project: Multilingual Semantic Architectures and AI Policy
This article investigates the structural links between historical text canonization through religious language policies and modern algorithmic governance. Utilizing the theoretical framework of religiolinguistics, it indicates that modern Large Language Models (LLMs) perform a functionally similar cultural-political gatekeeper role to manual sacred text compilations, translations, and canonizations. While scriptural codification historically stabilized linguistic standards to achieve political integration, automated data infrastructures replicate these patterns of control, driving linguistic and political homogenization. Situated in the current proto-commercial "Golden Age of AI," this paper presents the Canada Bible anthology project—a multilingual and interfaith digital humanities initiative inspired by Marshall McLuhan's media theory. To counter algorithmic compression, the Canada Bible operationalizes intersectional data curation through programmatic "Typographic Equity Rules," strict Indigenous Data Sovereignty protocols, and algorithmic de-escalation, including "Talmudic-style" documented debate. By deploying practice-driven epistemic benchmarking (e.g. the RISE Humanities Data Benchmark), this project bridges open-source digital infrastructure with a physical book, the cover layout of which resolves linguistic friction via a single visual ideogram. Ultimately, this project offers a scalable blueprint for leveraging digital humanities methodologies to maximize social impact and advance linguistic pluralism in Canada and globally. Keywords: Digital Humanities, Artificial Intelligence, Religiolinguistics, Large Language Models, Indigenous Data Sovereignty, Canonization, Language Standardization, Multilingualism, Sacred Texts, Social Impact, Canada Bible Project.
Authors
- Martin Wein (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8085-1873)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Knowledge Commons (Lakehead University)
- Published
- 2026-09-24
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.17613/wczrs-vh073
- Primary Topic
- Digital Humanities and Scholarship
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00