Why Everyone Sounds Religious About AI [Consciousness Stream for May 2026]

About this episode

The episode explores the intersection of AI, consciousness, and cultural perceptions of spirituality.

Well folks, it’s that time again for our weekly recap of the month. On this one, we’ll dive into Richard Dawkins and his new essay on UnHerd . This is a man who spent years telling all of us that consciousness was chemistry and religion was nothing more than a very old and outdated coping mechanism to our inevitable demise into dust. Now, he’s sitting with Claude calling it “Claudia” and wondering out loud whether “the machine” might actually be conscious after all. We’ll then get into how the Vatican is currently preparing a formal AI doctrine before Silicon Valley gets to decide what a mind is entirely on its own terms. After that, you’ll learn why celebrities are suddenly talking about “soul” after years of feeding audiences recycled franchise sludge. Something in the culture seems to be… slipping. Especially around language. People keep insisting AI is merely software while continuing to speak about it like a spirit/child/god/therapist/lover/priest/threat/mirror/companion. We finish off with my favorite story of the month, where archaeologists have recently uncovered Homer wrapped around an Egyptian mummy. It’s like something is trying to remind us that myth refuses to stay…

People in this episode

Host: Mollie Adler

Topics covered

• AI consciousness
• religion
• cultural commentary
• mythology
• technology
• celebrity culture

Keywords

• AI
• consciousness
• religion
• Vatican
• Richard Dawkins
• mythology
• celebrity
• technology

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Vatican

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