Theological Dimensions of Humanlike Robots: A Roadmap for Theological Inquiry

Abstract

The design and use of humanlike robots such as Sophia and Mindar present numerous theological challenges. Some of these issues have received theological attention since the early days of artificial intelligence and pertain to what I categorize as dimensions of (1) anthropology and (2) eschatology. However, the proliferation of robots into social domains in the past decade introduces further dimensions concerning (3) ethics and (4) religious practice. Most of these challenges are however unaccompanied by theological inquiry. To stimulate this much needed research, I describe and develop the theological implications of humanlike robots in four dimensions by tracing extant theological responses and drawing from related disciplines.