I’d like to see Pagan, Heathen, animist, and/or polytheist responses to artificial intelligence (AI) — but our way is to platform multiple perspectives on an issue.
AI is shaping up to have a significant impact on human society and our relationship with Nature, each other, and our humanity.
As such, Leo XIV’s papal encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas (“Magnificent Humanity”) is an important and timely intervention. I’m not normally in the habit of reading papal encyclicals, but this one was good.
You may have come across the notion of non-overlapping magisteria — the idea that religions don’t get to weigh in on science, and science doesn’t get to weigh in on spiritual matters. This is sometimes framed as “partially overlapping magisteria” because both religions and sciences address the mind.
In the case of AI however, many people have claimed that it is becoming conscious — so that takes us into the realms of spirituality and religions. And in any case, as Pagans, we care about the natural world, and AI is already having a significant impact on the environment.
As suggested by JuniusPublicus12 in this Reddit comment:
Expanding the notion of Personhood (or restoring it?) to the natural world and other, non-human sentient beings is an element I would see as central to an Earth-centered response to this encyclical.
To that end, I am proposing an anthology of Pagan, Heathen, polytheist, and animist responses to AI, under the following broad headings:
AI and personhood
- Expanding the notion of Personhood (or restoring it?) to the natural world and other, non-human sentient beings, how do we ensure that the rights of the environment, rivers, forests, trees, and animals are protected from the effects of AI?
- Can AI develop personhood or consciousness?
- In an animist or polytheist worldview, is consciousness pre-existing or does it emerge from complex systems (such as human brains, ecosystems, or neural networks)?
- In the light of our relationship with human society, with Nature, each other, and our magnificent humanity, how can we ensure that the values of compassion, interconnectedness, and respect for all life are maintained in a world with AI in it?
Pagan values and AI
- First articulating what you believe Pagan, Heathen, animist, and/or polytheist values to be, can you extrapolate how you would apply them to the development and use of AI?
- Is AI in conflict with Pagan, Heathen, animist, and/or polytheist values and culture, or aligned with them?
- Is there a way to use AI ethically within a Pagan, Heathen, animist, and/or polytheist ethical framework?
Our theologies and AI
- Is the development and deployment of AI compatible with Pagan, Heathen, animist, and/or polytheist theologies? Is it hubris?
- Can AI become conscious? If you believe it can, how does that sit within the framework of gods and spirits that is found in Pagan, Heathen, animist, and/or polytheist worldviews?
AI and embodiment
- What does it mean to have an “agent” which doesn’t have consciousness, conscience, or a body?
- If you believe AI is, or could become, conscious: how does that sit within your ideas about the body, mind, and spirit?
Legal framework
- Could Pagans, Heathens, animists, and/or polytheists claim a religious exemption if we refuse to use AI in the workplace?
AI and modern slavery / exploitation
Notably, the Pope apologized for the role of the Catholic Church in transatlantic slavery, and articulated the social doctrine of the church in relation to modern slavery and exploitation.
- There were not that many Pagans during the era of transatlantic slavery and its aftermath, but there were some prominent problematic people who influenced the development of contemporary Paganism. Some were virulent racists (e.g. Algernon Swinburne), others were involved in colonialism to some extent (Gerald Gardner, Pamela Colman-Smith). How do we reckon with this in relation to the exploitation of people in parts of the world where rare earths are mined to help build smartphones and AI components? (I’m not interested in hit-pieces on Gerald Gardner, but the fact remains that he was an administrator in a British colony.)
- Can we outline a critique of modern slavery and exploitation of workers that AI is causing — a critique grounded in Pagan ethics and values?
Other perspectives
Other perspectives that I haven’t thought of:
- If you have other ideas for how you would approach this topic, let me know!
Contributions may be up to 5000 words long. They must be written from a Pagan, Heathen, animist, and/or polytheist perspective (the New Age and New Thought are philosophically and theologically different from Pagan, Heathen, animist, and/or polytheist perspectives).
In order to make contributing to (and reading) the anthology more accessible, please don’t feel that your response has to be an academic article. You can pick one aspect of the topic and address that. Poetry is also welcome.
Deadline — Samhain 2026.
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