The Religious Roots of Technology: How 18th Century Philosophy and 21st Century Films Drive Popular Beliefs about the Supernatural Nature of AI
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Speaker
Dr. Heidi Ann Campbell, Visiting Professor, NUS CNM (Digital Religion); and Professor of Communication, Affiliate in Religious Studies, Presidential Impact Fellow, Texas A&M University.
Dr. Heidi A Campbell is Professor of Communication, an affiliate faculty in Religious Studies, and a Presidential Impact Fellow at Texas A&M University. She is also director of the Network for New Media, Religion and Digital Culture Studies, and a founder of the study of Digital Religion. Her award-winning research focuses on the intersection of technology, religion, digital culture, and Jewish, Muslim & Christian media negotiations. She is author of over 100 articles and 14 books including When Religion Meets New Media (2010), Digital Creatives and the Rethinking Religious Authority (2021) and The Oxford Handbook on Digital Religion (2024). She has been quoted extensively in news outlets such as the Houston Chronicle, USA Today, The Guardian, Wall Street Journal, and on the BBC.
Abstract
There is a historical narrative that has often portrayed technology as a spiritual force and its development as a religious enterprise. Drawing on her book God & Technology (Cambridge, 2025), Campbell highlights 4 conceptual models she suggests have informed popular cinematographic depictions of Artificial Intelligence. These, she suggests, are rooted in 18th-century philosophical discussions and beliefs about the implicit, religious-like nature of our technologies, which have implications for how we understand the current AI revolution.
