Religion and Artificial Intelligence: Philosophical Dimensions

Dear Colleagues,

Artificial intelligence is undeniably the most discussed and studied technology in the last few years. This is understandable because it has become pervasive in almost all aspects of life. Its ability to seemingly think by itself and to surpass human beings in many cognitive areas has prompted many to believe that it will take over human beings’ dominant position in the natural order, which implies a very uncertain future for humans in general, to say the least.

This growing power of AI thus opens up various channels to determine whether religion could help us navigate this challenging territory. As an embodiment of ancient wisdom, religion appears to have many aspects which could illuminate how we should view and direct the course and development of AI, or understand the position of AI vis-à-vis that of human beings, or in any other way that could help us understand AI and the relation to its human and natural environment better. Please note, however, that the Special Issue is looking for the philosophical aspects of the intersection between AI and religion, not a social scientific study of the two.

We are thus pleased to invite you to contribute to this Special Issue on the philosophical dimensions of AI and religion. The aim of the issue is to investigate various ways in which AI and religion are interrelated. For example, articles in the Special Issue might examine how insights from a religion could provide a new way of thinking about the ethics of AI, or how the ontology of AI can be illuminated through a look at the teaching of a religion. A well-known example of a Japanese robot monk is a clear illustration of a certain form of integration of the power of AI and religion, which could give rise to many philosophical questions. Will AI be able to act as a monk or a preacher? What would it mean for us if AI can become our religious teacher, from whom we learn to practice and understand the meaning of religious teachings? Would it then be appropriate to call AI a religious master? In addition, articles that deal with how to harness the power of machine learning to create ‘religious goods’ or to contribute to the furtherance of religious objectives are also welcome.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Religious ethics and AI ethics;
• Ontological investigation of AI from a religious perspective;
• AI and the philosophy of religion;
• AI for social and religious good.

We request that, prior to submitting a manuscript, interested authors initially submit a proposed title and an abstract of 200–500 words summarizing their intended contribution. Please send this to Dr. Jerd Bandasak ([email protected]) or to the Philosophies Editorial Office ([email protected]). Abstracts will be reviewed by the guest editors for the purposes of ensuring a proper fit within the scope of the Special Issue. Full manuscripts will undergo a double-blind peer review.

We look forward to receiving your contributions. Thank you very much.

Prof. Dr. Soraj Hongladarom
Dr. Jerd Bandasak
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Philosophies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• artificial intelligence
• religion
• consciousness
• ethics
• ontology
• epistemology
• robots
• spirituality
• machine learning