Theological and Ethical Implications of Artificial Consciousness: An Analysis of AI Sentience from a Religious Perspective

Theological and ethical debates over artificial consciousness are examined through a qualitative synthesis of religious and scientific literature. Religious traditions view consciousness as an interplay of bodily and spiritual orders, conferring non-material significance, while AI research highlights replicable cognitive processing. Abrahamic theologies affirm an inviolable ontological threshold for humans, whereas selected Eastern traditions entertain a more porous conception that could accommodate artificial sentience. The study calls for a calibrated moral architecture that safeguards equitable, accountable, and human-centred AI evolution, counteracting technological idolatry, and advocates sustained interdisciplinary negotiation among theologians, researchers, and policymakers.

Study at a glance

Abstract

This study engages the potential of artificial consciousness with theological reflection, targeting debates over sentience, the soul, and defined personhood. Employing a qualitative literature synthesis, the investigation charts congruences and tensions between doctrinal and empirical discourses, centring upon the Imago Dei, claims of human singularity, and the so-called "hard problem of consciousness." Findings indicate that the religious traditions under review construe consciousness as an interplay of bodily and spiritual orders, which confers non-material significance, while AI research highlights replicable cognitive processing. AI's capacity to imitate or exceed human abilities invites deliberation upon the moral status, rights, and spiritual place accorded to artificial agents. Abrahamic theologies typically affirm an inviolable ontological threshold for human beings, whereas selected Eastern traditions entertain a more porous conception that accommodates putative artificial sentience. From an ethical vantage, the study calls for a calibrated moral architecture that safeguards equitable, accountable, and human-centred AI evolution, counteracting the spectre of technological idolatry. Ultimately, it advocates sustained, interdisciplinary negotiation encompassing theologians, empirical researchers, and policymakers to forge an integrative normative schema that preserves human dignity while orienting technological advance to congruence with spiritual and ethical imperatives.