Is Religiosity Giving Way to the Artificial Intelligence Cult? An Investigation1

Abstract

From the beginning of human civilization, a principal belief governing the behavior of humans is the belief in a supernatural being (or beings) called God (gods). This led to formation of religions associated with certain codified instructions for behavior and worship. These instructions laid out what was right and wrong, and humans were spared the cognitive burden of making distinctions. Energies could therefore be devoted to domestic and professional tasks. In the 19th century agnosticism emerged as a significant school of thought pointing to the lack of evidence for the existence of God. As a consequence, there was a weakening of religious beliefs held by humans. This led to human autonomy regarding choice of values and behaviors becoming stronger, a trend captured by the emergence of humanism as a philosophy. Humans now began to exercise autonomy in deciding between right and wrong. While this exercise is time consuming, certain new developments have come to the rescue of humans. In particular, the emergence of Artificial Intelligence -- with its ability to retrieve, collate and process information and carry out tasks – has served to lighten the cognitive burden on humans. But there is a darker side: it has destroyed jobs, exerted downward pressure on wages and dangled the temptation of chatbots and avatars as a means to get respite from economic misery. Government regulation of robotization and the use of chatbots and avatars is called for.