![]() Japanese worshippers who visit Mindar are reportedly not too bothered by questions about the risks of siliconizing spirituality. Which ones we ultimately accept - and which ones we reject - is determined by an array of factors, ranging from our degree of exposure to the emerging technology to our moral presuppositions. New technologies often make us uncomfortable. Some cultures are more open to religious robots than others On the whole, will the emergence of AI religion make us better or worse off? The answer depends on how we design and deploy it - and on whom you ask. ![]() But robots also pose risks for religion - for example, by making it feel too mechanized or homogenized or by challenging core tenets of theology. It may also alter how we engage in ethical reasoning and decision-making, which is a big part of religion.įor the devout, there’s plenty of positive potential here: Robots can get disinterested people curious about religion or allow for a ritual to be performed when a human priest is inaccessible. Next, he wants to develop devices for Muslims, though it remains to be seen what form those might take.Īs more religious communities begin to incorporate robotics - in some cases, AI-powered and in others, not - it stands to change how people experience faith. Roboticist Gabriele Trovato designed SanTO to offer spiritual succor to elderly people whose mobility and social contact may be limited. If you tell it you’re worried, it’ll respond by saying something like, “From the Gospel according to Matthew, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Then there’s SanTO - short for Sanctified Theomorphic Operator - a 17-inch-tall robot reminiscent of figurines of Catholic saints. It gave preprogrammed blessings to over 10,000 people. That same year, in honor of the Protestant Reformation’s 500th anniversary, Germany’s Protestant Church created a robot called BlessU-2. In 2017, Indians rolled out a robot that performs the Hindu aarti ritual, which involves moving a light round and round in front of a deity. Robots are changing other religions, too. “With AI, we hope it will grow in wisdom to help people overcome even the most difficult troubles. “This robot will never die it will just keep updating itself and evolving,” said Tensho Goto, the temple’s chief steward. But the robot’s creators say they plan to give it machine-learning capabilities that’ll enable it to tailor feedback to worshippers’ specific spiritual and ethical problems. It just recites the same preprogrammed sermon about the Heart Sutra over and over. A body made of aluminum and silicone, for starters.ĭesigned to look like Kannon, the Buddhist deity of mercy, the $1 million machine is an attempt to reignite people’s passion for their faith in a country where religious affiliation is on the decline.įor now, Mindar is not AI-powered. Like other clergy members, this priest can deliver sermons and move around to interface with worshippers. A new priest named Mindar is holding forth at Kodaiji, a 400-year-old Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |