Beyond Belief

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Religion & Ethics

Series exploring the place and nature of faith in today's world

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Beyond Belief: fAIth

fAIth

BBC Radio 4 - Beyond Belief, fAIth

AI influences how we interact with everything – and religion is no exception.

AI is increasingly being incorporated into religious worship.  Robot priests are delivering sermons, robot monks are spreading wisdom and robotic arms carrying out ceremonies.

Artificial intelligence influences how we interact with everything – and religion is no exception. 

AI technology is increasingly being incorporated into religious worship.  Robot priests are delivering sermons, chatbots are reciting prayers, robot monks are spreading wisdom and robotic arms are carrying out ceremonies. 

Aleem Maqbool speaks with robotics specialist, Gabriele Trovato, creator of SanTO, a robotic Catholic priest that delivers sermons, gives advice and joins worshippers in prayers.  

This sparks a discussion on whether AI will transform how people experience religion and the potential outcomes involved.

Aleem is joined by:

Professor Subramanian Ramamoorthy - Chair of Robot Learning and Autonomy and Director of the Institute of Perception, Action and Behaviour in the School of Informatics at the University of Edinburgh

Rabbi Laura Janner-Klausner - Rabbi at Bromley Reform Synagogue and former Senior Rabbi to Reform Judaism

The Right Reverend Steven Croft - Bishop of Oxford, member of the House of Lords Select Committee on AI and a founding board member for the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation 

Assistant Producer: Linda Walker

Producer: Alexa Good

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