Robotics Reference
In-Depth Information
one, an extraterrestrial encounter, a higher plane of consciousness or a
visit from God.
The scientists who discovered the God Module believe it might be
some sort of physiological seat of religious belief. They have performed
a further study comparing epileptic subjects with different groups of
non-epileptics as well as with individuals who characterized themselves
as extremely religious. The electrical brain activity of the subjects was
recorded while they were shown a series of words, and the God module
zones of the epileptics and the religious group exhibited similar responses
to words involving God and faith. No tests were carried out to determine
whether the brains of atheists and agnostics might not exhibit this effect,
but the weight of evidence among the strong believers was considered by
the scientists to be impressive.
The UCSD team commented that “These studies do not in any way
negate the validity of religious experience or God, they merely provide an
explanation in terms of brain regions that may be involved.” [20] And
a spokesman for Richard Harries, the Bishop of Oxford, responded that
whether there is a God Module is a question for scientists, not theolo-
gians: “It would not be surprising if God had created us with a physical
facility for belief.” [21]
This research raises the question: “When robots have beliefs and the
capacity to understand, will they, or at least some of them, be religious?”
Well, why not? As Edmund Furse points out in his article “Arguments
Against Strong AI”, “Just as when a child is brought up we want it to
come to know God, the same argument applies to robots. Why should
God not desire the salvation of robots?” [22]
Furse is an AI researcher and cognitive scientist, and a practising
Christian. He made a significant contribution to this little-discussed
topic in a fascinating lecture delivered at the University of Glamorgan
in May 1996. No better exposition on the religious life of robots has yet
been published, and I therefore make no apologies for reproducing the
relevantsectionofhislecturehereinfull.
Introduction
What will be the religious experience of robots? In answering this
question I inevitably also address the question about the religious
life of humans. If intelligent robots are curious about the world,
surely they will be curious about religion. Just as a robot may wish
to read Jane Austin, Newton's
Principia
,orPlato's
Republic
,hemay
