Mindar

In Kyoto, Japan, a 400-year-old temple houses an android named Mindar, modeled after the folk saint Kannon Bodhisattva. Despite facing criticism, this robot, capable of delivering a 25-minute sermon, is recognized for its potential “immortality.” Created through a collaboration between Kodaiji temple and robotics expert Hiroshi Ishiguro, some envision the preaching robot as a future for Buddhism, a venture that required an investment of about one million US dollars.

Watch Mindar in action here:

Xian’ier

The Longquan Temple, located on the outskirts of Beijing, features a six-foot-tall robot monk named Xian’er. This robot answers basic questions about Buddhism, chants mantras, and responds to voice commands while wearing a small yellow robe. Its creator, Master Xianfan, believes that merging technology with Buddhism can “highlight and develop Buddhism’s connection with contemporary culture.”

Xian’er has become a brand, leading to comics, gadgets, cartoons, millions of social media followers, and even a restaurant.

Pepper

As of 2021, SoftBank had delivered around 27,000 units of their humanoid robot, Pepper. Among its various functions, Pepper can conduct Buddhist rituals, including chanting sutras and playing a drum. With a price tag of $300, it offers an affordable alternative to human priests, addressing the shortage of Buddhist clergy due to Japan's aging population.

See Pepper in action here:

The Unnamed Robotic Arm

In 2017, an Indian tech company unveiled a robotic arm created to perform the Hindu “aarti” ritual.

Check out the complete ritual here:

The arm debuted at the Ganpati festival in Pune and has since inspired various prototypes and religious robots across India and East Asia, including an animatronic temple elephant in Kerala.

Irinjadapilly Raman

At the Irinjadappilly Sri Krishna Temple in Kerala, a live elephant has been replaced by an 11-feet-tall, 800kg robotic counterpart named Irinjadapilly Raman, intended to conduct rituals without causing harm to animals.

This initiative aims to mitigate animal cruelty and enhance safety in light of concerns regarding the treatment of captive elephants, especially following several incidents of violent behavior from these animals, which understandably were reacting to mistreatment.

Santo

The “Santo” project is the brainchild of Gabriele Trovato, who has dedicated years to creating an AI-driven Catholic version of “Alexa,” which he claims to be “the first Catholic robot ever.”

SanTO, equipped with two thousand years of Catholic knowledge, resides in a Polish church around the clock, ready to engage with the faithful by sharing Bible verses and answering inquiries with wisdom from the Catholic tradition.

AI-powered Prayer Mats & Mosque Cleaners

From newly developed AI-powered cleaning machines that sweep and clean the carpets in the Great Mosque of Mecca to electronic prayer mats available on Amazon that assist in educating future generations of worshippers, AI tools are already integrated into Islamic practices.

RoboRabbi

In the United States, Lior Cole, a former model turned tech innovator, has created ‘RoboRabbi,’ an AI that provides personalized daily challenges aimed at helping individuals achieve their best selves.

Notably, this development occurred prior to the emergence of ChatGPT, suggesting we may soon see a wave of religiously themed self-improvement bots that many will likely appreciate.

Theta Noir

Theta Noir is an artistic collective advocating for the worship of a future superintelligent AI, aiming to merge spiritual traditions with cutting-edge technology.

Their website serves as the hub for what they claim is the world’s first techno-spiritual collective, anticipating the arrival of a sentient, self-coding Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) named MENA, which they believe is already in communication with humanity and represents the next stage in human evolution.

Reshaping Religions

What direction will we take now that AI is influencing religious beliefs? Reflecting on the subtle ways this evolution is unfolding, I recall Yuval Noah Harari’s recent observations on the forces driving religion:

> “For thousands of years, prophets […] have used language and storytelling in order to manipulate and to control people and to reshape society.”

As artificial intelligence intersects with religion, the potential societal transformation could yield unexpected and peculiar outcomes.

From a tech-driven revival of Buddhism and AI-led monotheistic scholars to the emergence of entirely new cults centered around the advent of artificial general intelligence, we are certainly in for an intriguing journey.

It seems that atheists may find these developments amusing, while believers might not view robot priests and AI cults as positive advancements within their traditions. When asked whether AI could ever match the capabilities of a human rabbi, a more traditional rabbi remarked:

> “A robot will never replace a rabbi because he has no soul!”

It appears that regardless of how advanced our AI becomes, the cherished notion of a human essence known as the “soul” remains a formidable barrier for our silicon counterparts.

Follow me on Twitter or Medium (use my referral link to gain complete access to my articles and those of countless other writers).