“Blessed by the algorithm”: Theistic conceptions of artificial intelligence in online discourse

Abstract

My first long haul flight that didn't fill up and an empty row for me. I have been blessed by the algorithm ". The phrase 'blessed by the algorithm' expresses the feeling of having been fortunate in what appears on your feed on various social media platforms, or in the success or virality of your content as a creator, or in what gig economy jobs you are offered. However, we can also place it within wider public discourse employing theistic conceptions of AI. Building on anthropological fieldwork into the 'entanglements of AI and Religion' (Singler 2017a), this article will explore how 'blessed by the algorithm' tweets are indicative of the impact of theistic AI narratives: modes of thinking about AI in an implicitly religious way. This thinking also represents continuities that push back against the secularisation thesis and other grand narratives of disenchantment that claim secularity occurs because of technological and intellectual progress. This article will also explore new religious movements, where theistic conceptions of AI entangle technological aspirations with religious ones.Publisher's Note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Drone culture: perspectives on autonomy and anonymity

“…This approaches Thacker's "dark media" (2014), the mediation between two realities that "theologizes media theory" (Coley and Lockwood 2015, 9). This cultural image fits into broader theistic narratives of AI in which perceptions of autonomy ascribe agency and therefore power to technical systems (Singler 2020), apt for the mysticisation of drone culture in the 'godlike' perspective able to see all, know all and destroy all while remaining invulnerable.…”

The AI Creation Meme: A Case Study of the New Visibility of Religion in Artificial Intelligence Discourse

“…My previous research into the religious expressions, motifs, and behaviors of transhumanist and post-humanist groups has demonstrated continuities of thought even in aggressively secular, or New Atheist, spaces (see Singler 2018bSingler , 2019. We can also see how popular discourse is also informed by both religious motifs and symbolism when engaging with new technology, as in the case of the 'Blessed by the Algorithm' tweets I have explored in a forthcoming article (Singler 2020). Such continuities support the view (seen in Bellar et al 2013 with regards to lived religion and religious memes) that the 'religious' and the 'secular' are fluid categories when it comes to responses to technology and the narratives that emerge around it.…”

#FuckTheAlgorithm: algorithmic imaginaries and political resistance

“…As one artist described, "after scouring the internet I was able to find a few tips or at the very least credited rumours on how we can get the Instagram gods back in our favor" [33], alongside an animated GIF of "Fuck this algorithm". The appeal to platform gods recalls the theistic conceptions (or narratives and imaginaries) that Singler [36] identified in #BlessedByTheAlgorithm, paired with the inverted hashtag of despair and hatred at the capricious systems that can define success or failure and thereby social and material value online.…”