Wow. I have been thinking about this concept a lot lately. What are we filling that gap with? As a society, we no longer have a shared "enchantment" of the world, and yet, the world seems to becoming more enchanted as AI enters our daily life. I recently read a book called "God Human Animal Machine" that absolutely blew me away. The author went to a Seminary to study biblical theology and ended up losing her faith and becoming obsessed with machines. The parallels she makes between religion and technology were incredible.
Thanks for the book rec! It sounds super interesting, and definitely in the sphere of thought I’m trying to explore.
I’ve been thinking a lot about how the “three B’s” of religion (belief, behavior, and belonging) are still very much with us, but are being redistributed through things like technology, media, political identity, academia, therapy, etc.
What’s wild is how these neo-religious frameworks feel both corporately standardized and ideologically siloed—mass-produced, but also fragmented into echo chambers.
I’d love to hear which parts of the book stood out to you!
Interesting thoughts! It makes me think about how deeply human our desire is for both belonging and certainty. We want to feel part of something bigger (even if it’s mass-produced) AND we want to feel like we’re right or on the “true” path (even if that means narrowing our view).
One of the things she said that stood out to me was some of these big questions about consciousness and meaning in life were questions once asked to God, and now are being asked to AI. With all the updates in technology, our understanding of consciousness is still largely a mystery.
Wow. I have been thinking about this concept a lot lately. What are we filling that gap with? As a society, we no longer have a shared "enchantment" of the world, and yet, the world seems to becoming more enchanted as AI enters our daily life. I recently read a book called "God Human Animal Machine" that absolutely blew me away. The author went to a Seminary to study biblical theology and ended up losing her faith and becoming obsessed with machines. The parallels she makes between religion and technology were incredible.
Thanks for the book rec! It sounds super interesting, and definitely in the sphere of thought I’m trying to explore.
I’ve been thinking a lot about how the “three B’s” of religion (belief, behavior, and belonging) are still very much with us, but are being redistributed through things like technology, media, political identity, academia, therapy, etc.
What’s wild is how these neo-religious frameworks feel both corporately standardized and ideologically siloed—mass-produced, but also fragmented into echo chambers.
I’d love to hear which parts of the book stood out to you!
Interesting thoughts! It makes me think about how deeply human our desire is for both belonging and certainty. We want to feel part of something bigger (even if it’s mass-produced) AND we want to feel like we’re right or on the “true” path (even if that means narrowing our view).
One of the things she said that stood out to me was some of these big questions about consciousness and meaning in life were questions once asked to God, and now are being asked to AI. With all the updates in technology, our understanding of consciousness is still largely a mystery.
Life is loopy
amen
Splendid piece of writing, insightful and timely. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks David! I'm glad you resonated with it!