This article examines how new digital technologies reshape religious belief, practice, and authority structures. It employs a diverse range of disciplines, from theology to computer science and sociology, to build a triadic relationship of religion, technology, and informatics. It examines the effects of online devotions, mobile apps, and virtual reality on the reconstruction of ritual time, space, and embodiment, allowing for wider accessibility with a corresponding risk of disembodied rituals and the presence of digital divides. It then discusses the computer-based analysis of sacred scriptures, pointing to improvements in scale-based and pattern detection, but noting the risk of eroding symbolic meanings and injecting bias into training sets. It considers the role of recommendation algorithms and social media as algorithmic mediators that amplify certain voices, create echo chambers, and channel new forms of power from clergy to influencers and AI-created avatars. An ethical section examines diverse world views on artificial intelligence, focusing on commonalities based on dignity, justice, and accountability, and proposing value-sensitive design that involves feedback from technologists and faith groups. Case studies across various traditions document adaptability and resistance, presenting communities as active co-designers rather than passive consumers. The article finishes by calling for inter-disciplinary collaboration, longitudinal ethnography, and open governance of platforms to ensure that technology complements rather than distorts the sacred. Together, it maps continuity and transformation within belief systems amidst digital acceleration and attendant risks.

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Mediating the Sacred in the Digital Age: Computational Approaches to Religious Practice, Ethics, and Discourse

  • Christos Papakostas

摘要

This article examines how new digital technologies reshape religious belief, practice, and authority structures. It employs a diverse range of disciplines, from theology to computer science and sociology, to build a triadic relationship of religion, technology, and informatics. It examines the effects of online devotions, mobile apps, and virtual reality on the reconstruction of ritual time, space, and embodiment, allowing for wider accessibility with a corresponding risk of disembodied rituals and the presence of digital divides. It then discusses the computer-based analysis of sacred scriptures, pointing to improvements in scale-based and pattern detection, but noting the risk of eroding symbolic meanings and injecting bias into training sets. It considers the role of recommendation algorithms and social media as algorithmic mediators that amplify certain voices, create echo chambers, and channel new forms of power from clergy to influencers and AI-created avatars. An ethical section examines diverse world views on artificial intelligence, focusing on commonalities based on dignity, justice, and accountability, and proposing value-sensitive design that involves feedback from technologists and faith groups. Case studies across various traditions document adaptability and resistance, presenting communities as active co-designers rather than passive consumers. The article finishes by calling for inter-disciplinary collaboration, longitudinal ethnography, and open governance of platforms to ensure that technology complements rather than distorts the sacred. Together, it maps continuity and transformation within belief systems amidst digital acceleration and attendant risks.