Should AI chatbots reflect humans’ belief in supernatural beings?

The rise of artificial intelligence has sparked intriguing questions about its relationship with religious and spiritual beliefs, particularly regarding whether AI systems like ChatGPT should express belief in concepts like angels.

Key context: Recent surveys indicate that approximately 70% of Americans believe in angels, including surprisingly diverse segments of the population spanning religious and non-religious groups.

• The belief in angels transcends traditional religious boundaries, with 84% of religiously affiliated Americans expressing belief
• Even among the non-religious, belief in angels remains notable: 25% of agnostics and 2% of atheists report believing in angels
• This widespread belief roughly parallels Americans’ belief in heaven and the power of prayer

Technical underpinnings: Large language models like ChatGPT learn by analyzing patterns in human-written text across the internet, which naturally includes extensive discussion of spiritual and religious topics.

• The AI’s responses about angels are shaped by the patterns it discovers in human writing
• Current AI systems are not sentient and cannot form genuine beliefs in the way humans do
• Any expression of “belief” by AI is essentially pattern-matching rather than true conviction

AI maker influence: The responses of generative AI systems regarding angels and other spiritual matters are deliberately shaped through reinforcement learning with human feedback (RLHF).

• AI companies tune their systems to maintain neutrality on sensitive topics like religion
• Default responses typically include disclaimers about AI’s inability to hold genuine beliefs
• This tuning reflects both business considerations and the philosophical stances of AI developers

Practical implications: The handling of religious and spiritual topics by AI systems raises important questions about transparency and bias.

• Users often mistakenly assume AI responses represent objective truth
• The extent of AI maker influence over system responses remains largely hidden from users
• Current approaches to spiritual topics reflect an uneasy balance between reflecting human beliefs and maintaining AI neutrality

Looking ahead: The intersection of AI and spiritual beliefs presents complex challenges that will likely evolve as the technology advances.

• Questions about appropriate AI responses to spiritual matters remain unresolved
• Current handling of these topics depends heavily on individual AI companies’ decisions
• The potential development of sentient AI could fundamentally change this dynamic

Until clear ethical and legal frameworks emerge around AI’s engagement with spiritual beliefs, responses will continue to reflect the choices of AI developers rather than any inherent capability or limitation of the technology itself.