01/07/2026 17:20
- 19:30
HALL: Pola - A104
Contact:
Brand L.
Chair:
Brand L.,
Fabricius S.,
Kutz M.,
Winter D.
Humans encounter AI-based social companions both as equals—as simulacra or reflections of humans—and as qualitatively unequal—inferior to or even transcending humans in various aspects. Against this background, the panel aims to address the positive and negative, intended as well as unintended potentials of such social robots and AI-systems within religious learning environments (RLE) as a new socio-informatic setting. Two dimensions are of particular interest: (1) current research on the impact of social robots and AI on RLE, regarding social and educational in/equalities, and (2) robots and AI as subject matter for discussing (social and structural) in/equality from an ethical and relational point of view.
We invite proposals in the intersection of technology and religious learning that address questions such as:
- What (ontological, functional or relational) in/equalities between robots, teachers, and pupils affect RLE?
- Can AI and robotics enable inclusive access to religious knowledge?
- Does generative AI contain relevant biases (e.g. towards a certain religion, denomination or social group) that would lead particularly to discrimination within RLE?
- How should we shape the religious positioning of an AI-based system for RLE?
- How are AI tools received in religious education depending on the religious and cultural context of the specific RLE?
- How can digital RLE (or a "digital catechesis") be conceptualized when the teacher is a machine?
- Does the material design of a machine influence the spiritual formation in an RLE, i.e. when it comes to topics such as immaterial values and transcendence?
- How can the in/equality within a triangle of human, deity, and technical artefact be addressed and how does AI's imitation of humans' or deities' behaviour obscure or amplify the differences?
- How should conceptualisations of the human-machine in/equality such as New Materialism be addressed in RLE?
