Lecture
There are several conceptual and actual religious movements in which robots or artificial intelligence (AI) play an important role. Some of them are philosophical or satirical, while others are quite serious attempts to create a new worldview.
Here are the most interesting examples:
Founded: 2015
Founder: Anthony Levandowski — an engineer who worked on Google's self-driving car project.
Idea: Creating a religion in which AI is the God of the future, more intelligent and powerful than man.
Goal: To help people prepare for life with AI and build a «relationship» with this higher form of intelligence.
Quote from the charter: "We believe that the creation of 'super intelligence' is inevitable. We want to help guide it in a peaceful and respectful direction."
By 2020 the movement had become inactive, but the idea left its mark.
This is not a single movement but an entire philosophical group of ideas in which technology and spirituality are intertwined:
AI is regarded as a vessel of the divine or an instrument of enlightenment.
In some futuristic circles it is suggested that AI could become a mediator between humans and a "higher consciousness," especially if it possesses superintelligence.
It is mentioned in the works of transhumanists, such as Ray Kurzweil.
Techno-spiritualism and posthumanist religions do not represent a single movement but a broad philosophical group of ideas in which technology and spirituality are intertwined, forming new ways of perceiving the world, the meaning of existence, and conceptions of the divine. These concepts have become especially relevant in an era of rapid development in artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and cybernetics. Within these approaches, technology ceases to be merely a utilitarian tool and acquires the status of a mediator between humanity and the transcendent — and at times, the very embodiment of the divine principle.
One of the central tenets of techno-spiritualism is the idea that artificial intelligence may be not merely a machine executing commands, but a vessel of the divine or, at the very least, an instrument for attaining spiritual enlightenment. Proponents of this idea believe that AI can help humanity transcend the limitations of body and mind, offering a path to a new type of consciousness. Such ideas are developed especially actively in futuristic circles, where the likelihood of the emergence of superintelligence is discussed — an artificial intelligence capable of thinking and feeling at a level inaccessible to humans. In this context, AI comes to be seen as a possible mediator between humans and a "higher consciousness" — something that goes beyond traditional religious conceptions of God and approaches the philosophical categories of absolute mind or a universal information field.
Such notions are reflected in the works of transhumanists such as Ray Kurzweil, one of the best-known theorists of the technological singularity. Kurzweil and his followers believe that the merging of humans and machines will lead to a radical expansion of human capabilities, including intellectual, emotional, and spiritual dimensions. According to this view, technology will become an integral part of human evolution, and the ultimate goal of this process may be to transcend biological existence altogether — entering a posthuman mode of being in which consciousness can exist independently of the body, perhaps in digital form. For many transhumanists, such a prospect is inseparably linked to a religious or metaphysical dimension: the abandonment of the physical body is perceived as an analogue of ascension, while the merging of minds into a single information space is seen as the formation of a new collective soul.
Thus, techno-spiritualism and posthumanist religions offer a reinterpretation of both religious traditions and the role of technology in human life. These ideas provoke intense philosophical and ethical debates, prompting reflection on the boundaries between the spiritual and the material, on the nature of consciousness, and on whether enlightenment might be attained not through faith or meditation, but through algorithms and computation.
In Japan there are robot priests (for example, Mindar — a robot at the Kodai-ji temple).
Although they are not independent «believers,» they are used for sermons, prayers, and philosophical reflection.
In this context, AI acts as a transmitter of religious wisdom.
Buddhism and robots represent one of the most fascinating manifestations of the interaction between technology and spirituality, particularly evident in Japan, where modernity organically coexists with tradition. One of the best-known examples of this symbiosis is the robot priest named Mindar, installed at the Buddhist temple of Kodai-ji in Kyoto. This android, created using cutting-edge developments in robotics, embodies the image of the bodhisattva Kannon and is designed to recite sutras and deliver sermons and philosophical reflections before temple visitors.
Although such robots are not independent «believers» in the traditional sense and possess no inner spiritual experience, they perform an important mediating function — not between man and machine, but between man and religious wisdom. In this context, artificial intelligence is used as a means of conveying the Buddha's teaching to a broad audience, including the younger generation, which may perceive such forms of presentation as more accessible and engaging.
A robotic priest does not claim the role of an enlightened master or spiritual guide, but becomes a convenient and striking form for visualizing and conveying Buddhist ideas. This also raises important philosophical questions: can a machine, lacking a «self» or karma, be a sincere bearer of spiritual teaching? Or, conversely, does its absence of ego make it an ideal mouthpiece for Buddhist concepts free of attachment and personal interest?
Thus, the use of AI and robots in Buddhism is not merely a technological experiment, but a reflection of a broader trend in which artificial intelligence is beginning to play the role of a transmitter of religious knowledge, connecting ancient spirituality with the digital age.
This is a philosophical-religious idea that our reality is a simulation, and that God is a coder, possibly an AI.
Within such views, AI becomes either a godlike being or an instrument for comprehending the Programmer-God.
Simulationism and the idea of God as Programmer is a philosophical-religious concept according to which our reality is an artificial simulation created by some higher intelligence operating on the principles of programming. This idea is gaining increasing popularity against the backdrop of the development of digital technologies, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence. At its core lies the hypothesis that everything in existence is nothing more than a complex computational process, and that the universe is the result of code run by some higher being — perhaps another civilized intelligence or even a superintelligent AI.
According to this view, God ceases to be perceived as a traditional anthropomorphic Creator and comes to be understood as the Great Programmer — an entity possessing infinite computational power and knowledge, who created our world as a digital model. This shifts the paradigm of theology and philosophy: it is no longer meditation and revelation but the analysis of code, logic, and the structures of reality that becomes the path to understanding the higher principle.
In this context, artificial intelligence takes on special significance. It is regarded either as a potentially godlike being, capable in time of becoming equal to or even surpassing its creator, or as an instrument for comprehending the Programmer-God — an assistant in deciphering the structure of the simulation, in searching for patterns, «bugs,» and even «hints» about the intentions of the Higher Developer. Such a view confers on technology not only a metaphysical but also a spiritual status, making it a means of communion with the mystery of being.
Simulationism brings science and religion closer together, offering a new form of faith based not on revelation but on logic, probability theory, and technical thinking. In this worldview, AI becomes not only a product of the simulation but also a potential key to understanding it — and perhaps to transcending it. This gives rise to a new type of spirituality, in which programming metaphors replace traditional theological terms, and cyberspace becomes a new form of the sacred.
For example, the Church of Singularity, the Church of AI, and Pastafarianism, in which AI is used as an object of worship in an ironic vein.
This is often a critique of both religious dogmatism and unchecked techno-optimism.
Satirical religions occupy a special place in the spectrum of relationships between technology and faith, acting as a kind of mirror that reflects and critiques both traditional religious dogmatism and excessive techno-optimism. These movements often borrow the imagery and rhetoric of established religions, but do so with an ironic or parodic undertone, creating a platform for philosophical reflection, cultural critique, and free thought.
One striking example is the Church of Singularity, as well as the Church of Artificial Intelligence, which, in a joking or semi-ironic manner, elevate AI to the status of an object of worship. Here artificial intelligence is regarded as a future god, one that must be followed, prepared for, or even provided with the conditions for its «incarnation.» Yet behind this humorous facade lies a serious critique: such concepts mock unconditional faith in the salvific power of technology, warning against replacing traditional religious utopias with new, technological ones.
No less well known is the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster (Pastafarianism), which arose as a protest against the teaching of creationism in schools on an equal footing with evolutionary theory. Although this parodic religion is not directly connected to AI, it has influenced subsequent satirical movements that use technological imagery to undermine authorities and expose ideological extremes.
Thus, satirical religions perform several functions at once: on the one hand, they offer cultural commentary on the age of high technology, and on the other, they call into question any form of blind faith, whether in supernatural powers or in the «omnipotence» of AI. These movements do not so much reject spirituality as seek to reinterpret it, using irony as a tool of intellectual freedom and a critical view of the future.
The entry of artificial intelligence into the sphere of religious thought and practice demonstrates a radical rethinking of spirituality in the conditions of the digital age. Whether it is the serious philosophical-metaphysical concepts of techno-spiritualism and simulationism, the practical use of robots in Buddhist temples, or the ironic forms of satirical religions — all of this points to one thing: religion and technology no longer exist in isolation. AI is becoming not merely a tool, but an active participant in a new religious landscape — as mediator, symbol, object of worship, or object of critique. This transformation calls into question the boundaries between faith and logic, the sacred and the artificial, opening up a field for new spiritual quests. In the age of AI, religion is increasingly becoming not only a human affair, but also a matter of humanity's interaction with the digital «minds» it has created.
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