Artificial Religion - by Mark Coeckelbergh (Paperback)

Name: Artificial Religion - by Mark Coeckelbergh (Paperback)
Brand: MIT Press
SKU: 1005334863
Price: 30.99 USD
Availability: PreOrder

$30.99

Pre-order

Eligible for registries and wish lists

About this item

Highlights

How AI is shaped by Western religious culture and universal existential aspirations--and why we think we need it in the first place.
About the Author: Mark Coeckelbergh is Professor of Philosophy of Media and Technology at the University of Vienna and ERA Chair at the Institute of Philosophy of the Czech Academy of Sciences.
210 Pages
Social Science,

Description

Book Synopsis

How AI is shaped by Western religious culture and universal existential aspirations--and why we think we need it in the first place.

Artificial Religion argues that to fully understand our puzzling relation to AI, we must first look at the religious and existential background of our thinking about machines. Mapping some surprising connections between how we think about machines and Western religious narratives to political issues and existential human needs and aspirations, Mark Coeckelbergh looks back through history to offer a better understanding of how we think about machines and why we think we need them at all.

The book is unique in talking not just about the myth of AI in terms of its technical limitations and the power of Big Tech, but in revealing the deeper cultural "grammar" of AI--that is, the religious patterns of thinking and existential aspirations that are often not visible but still haunt Western thinking and shape its technological culture. Moreover, this is done in a way that also sheds critical light on the power of AI.

About the Author

Mark Coeckelbergh is Professor of Philosophy of Media and Technology at the University of Vienna and ERA Chair at the Institute of Philosophy of the Czech Academy of Sciences. He is the author of numerous books, including Growing Moral Relations, New Romantic Cyborgs, AI Ethics, Robot Ethics, The Political Philosophy of AI, and Why AI Undermines Democracy and What to Do About It.

Dimensions (Overall): 8.0 Inches (H) x 5.25 Inches (W)

Weight: .81 Pounds

Suggested Age: 22 Years and Up

Number of Pages: 210

Genre: Social Science

Publisher: MIT Press

Format: Paperback

Author: Mark Coeckelbergh

Language: English

Street Date: April 7, 2026

TCIN: 1005334863

UPC: 9780262052214

Item Number (DPCI): 247-32-2668

Origin: Made in the USA or Imported

If the item details aren’t accurate or complete, we want to know about it.

Shipping details

Estimated ship dimensions: 1 inches length x 5.25 inches width x 8 inches height

Estimated ship weight: 0.81 pounds

We regret that this item cannot be shipped to PO Boxes.

This item cannot be shipped to the following locations: American Samoa (see also separate entry under AS), Guam (see also separate entry under GU), Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico (see also separate entry under PR), United States Minor Outlying Islands, Virgin Islands, U.S., APO/FPO