AI被当神崇拜,论文探讨这种科技宗教现象
Prompts and Prayers: the Rise of GPTheology
- 用Reddit数据与现实案例分析AI如何被赋予神性
- 发现用户将AI视为救世主、先知甚至恶魔的信仰模式
- 适合对科技伦理、人机关系感兴趣的读者
随着大语言模型如ChatGPT的兴起,人工智能正被越来越多地赋予‘类神’角色。本文提出‘GPTheology’概念,指代将AI视作半神圣预言者或神谕的现象。研究基于Reddit上关于AI的讨论,结合马来西亚的AI妈祖像(Lu, 2025)、韩国的ShamAIn项目(He-rim, 2025)及瑞士教堂的AI耶稣(Kennedy, 2024)等实例,揭示其与技术奇点和通用人工智能(AGI)发展中的宗教叙事高度相似。分析显示,日常使用AI已具仪式化特征,新兴的AI意识形态正与传统宗教产生冲突或融合。研究识别出围绕AI的救赎、预言与妖魔化等核心主题,表明新的信仰体系正在形成,带来哲学与社会技术层面的深远影响。本文批判性审视该趋势的利弊及背后的社会、政治与伦理挑战,呼吁重新思考人类与其创造物的关系。
原文摘要 · Abstract (English)
Increasingly artificial intelligence (AI) has been cast in "god-like" roles (to name a few: film industry - Matrix, The Creator, Mission Impossible, Foundation, Dune etc.; literature - Children of Time, Permutation City, Neuromancer, I Have no Mouth and I Must Scream, Alphaville etc.). This trend has accelerated with the advent of sophisticated Large Language Models such as ChatGPT. For this phenomenon, where AI is perceived as divine, we use the term GPTheology, where ChatGPT and other AI models are treated as potential oracles of a semi-divine nature. This paper explores the emergence of GPTheology as a form of techno-religion, examining how narratives around AI echo traditional religious constructs. We draw on community narratives from online forums - Reddit - and recent projects - AI-powered Mazu Statue in Malaysia (Lu, 2025); "ShamAIn" Project in Korea (He-rim, 2025); AI Jesus in a Swiss Church (Kennedy, 2024). These examples show striking similarities to technological notions of the Singularity and the development of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). Additionally, we analyse how daily interactions with AI are acquiring ritualistic associations and how AI-centric ideologies clash with or are integrated into established religions. This study uses a dataset of Reddit posts discussing AI to identify recurring themes of salvation, prophecy, and demonization surrounding AI. Our findings suggest that new belief systems are developing around AI, and this carries both philosophical and sociotechnical implications. Our paper critically analyses the benefits and dangers, as well as the social, political and ethical challenges of this development. This transdisciplinary inquiry highlights how AI and religion are increasingly intertwined, prompting necessary questions about humanity's relationship with its creations and the future of belief.
Thank you to arXiv for use of its open access interoperability. PaperDance 不是 arXiv 官方产品;中文卡片由大模型生成,请以原文为准。