244 - Guest: Beth Singler, Anthropologist of Religion in AI, part 2

This and all episodes at: https://aiandyou.net/ . On the recent wrap-up/predictions panel we had so much fascinating discussion about AI in religion with panelist Beth Singler that I said we should have her back on the show by herself to talk about that, so here she is! Beth is the Assistant Professor in Digital Religions and co-lead of the Media Existential Encounters and Evolving Technology Lab at the University of Zurich, where she leads projects on religion and AI. As an anthropologist, her research addresses the human, religious, cultural, social, and ethical implications of developments in AI and robotics.  She received the 2021 Digital Religion Research Award from the Network for New Media, Religion, and Digital Culture Studies. Her popular science communication work includes a series of award-winning short documentaries on AI. She is co-editor of the Cambridge Companion to Religion and AI, and author of Religion and AI: An Introduction, both published last year.  In part 2, we talk about Roko’s Basilisk, which is a concept that changes your life the moment you find out what it is, experiences of AI saying that it’s a God, the reverse Garland test (that’s based on ex Machina), simulation theories starting with Plato’s Cave, more chatbot priests, how Beth does research, and… Battlestar Galactica. All this plus our usual look at today's AI headlines. Transcript and URLs referenced at HumanCusp Blog.        

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