In this chapter I describe different scholarly perspectives on the process of relating religious information and religious knowledge and project those perspectives onto advances in information technology. I do this by exploring the spectrum of theological to religious studies perspectives on exposure to pluralist religious information from human-to-human communication and through technology. Understanding this spectrum helps inform how experiences with religious information delivered via artificial intelligence technology may be interpreted by people from different backgrounds. This exploration provides additional support and texture to the theoretical findings from the literature review and informs the design of the empirical research of the present study. It also introduces important considerations for the analysis of the research results and the discussion of the theoretical and empirical findings that lead to insights, conclusions and suggestions for future research. Specifically, this chapter identifies ways in which people of different orientations relative to religion and spirituality react to new technology relative to its use in presenting information that affects the way people live their lives, including and especially religious information. The literature reviewed (Campbell 2010, 2013) suggests that while some people and groups are predisposed to resist the combination of technology and religious information some are more open and curious about it. These predispositions and their impact on how people respond to religious information being presented by AI entities is central to this study. As explored in Chap. 1 , religious information becomes religious knowledge as part of an iterative process that starts with encountering new information, meaning-making and reflection on that information and ultimately use of that information in daily life. This use requires experimentation and practice to become part of this “lived religion”. As a reminder, in this study, the attributes of artificial intelligence being studied are the appearance of human-like interaction and the targeting of the content to an individual. The participant experience will be a human-to-machine interaction that mimics a basic human-to-human interaction on existential issues and questions.

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Relating Religious Information and Religious Knowledge

  • Shanen J. Boettcher

摘要

In this chapter I describe different scholarly perspectives on the process of relating religious information and religious knowledge and project those perspectives onto advances in information technology. I do this by exploring the spectrum of theological to religious studies perspectives on exposure to pluralist religious information from human-to-human communication and through technology. Understanding this spectrum helps inform how experiences with religious information delivered via artificial intelligence technology may be interpreted by people from different backgrounds. This exploration provides additional support and texture to the theoretical findings from the literature review and informs the design of the empirical research of the present study. It also introduces important considerations for the analysis of the research results and the discussion of the theoretical and empirical findings that lead to insights, conclusions and suggestions for future research. Specifically, this chapter identifies ways in which people of different orientations relative to religion and spirituality react to new technology relative to its use in presenting information that affects the way people live their lives, including and especially religious information. The literature reviewed (Campbell 2010, 2013) suggests that while some people and groups are predisposed to resist the combination of technology and religious information some are more open and curious about it. These predispositions and their impact on how people respond to religious information being presented by AI entities is central to this study. As explored in Chap. 1 , religious information becomes religious knowledge as part of an iterative process that starts with encountering new information, meaning-making and reflection on that information and ultimately use of that information in daily life. This use requires experimentation and practice to become part of this “lived religion”. As a reminder, in this study, the attributes of artificial intelligence being studied are the appearance of human-like interaction and the targeting of the content to an individual. The participant experience will be a human-to-machine interaction that mimics a basic human-to-human interaction on existential issues and questions.