Professor Beth Singler, University of Zurich, Religion and AI: Entanglements, Imaginaries, and Futures

Drawing on her ethnographic research and years of expertise in the field, Professor Singler will present examples of the complexity of the relationship between religion and AI. From the narratives of difference and rejection, to the implicit religiosity of accelerationism and transhumanism, the connections between religion and AI are best expressed and understood with attention given to religion and to the methods and approaches of religious studies. As we exist in the post-AI age, what more changes can we expect in the development of digital religions and the society around them. And what issues are already here, while we are still scanning the horizon of AI's potential?

Beth is a leading authority AI, and her research explores the social, ethical, philosophical and religious implications of advances in Artificial Intelligence and robotics. In 2024 she published Religion and AI: An Introduction (Routledge) and The Cambridge Companion to Religion and AI (co-edited with Fraser Watts). Beth’s extensive public engagement includes various interviews and public talks, and the Radio 4 documentary, I’ll Be Back: 40 Years of The Terminator.