The Atheist and the Machine God

The implications of artificial intelligence for religion have earned slightly less attention, thus far, than its implications for the job market or the U.S.-China arms race. But while we wait for the definitive word on the subject — meaning, of course, the A.I. encyclical that Pope Leo XIV is supposedly releasing soon — it’s worth forecasting the religious future under artificial-intelligence conditions.

In one possible timeline, the advent of A.I. is widely understood as a win for atheism and a blow........

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