Artificial intelligence (AI) as an object and term remains enmeshed in our imaginaries, narratives, institutions and aspirations. AI has that in common with the other object of discussion in this Cambridge Companion: religion. But beyond such similarities in form and reception, we can also speak to how entangled these two objects have been, and are yet still becoming, with each other. This introductory chapter explores the difficulty of definitions and the intricacies of the histories of these two domains and their entanglements. It initially explores this relationship through the religious narratives and tropes that have had a role to play in the formation of the field of AI, in its discursive modes. It examines the history of AI and religion through the language and perspectives of some of the AI technologists and philosophers who have employed the term ‘religion’ in their discussions of the technology itself. Further, this chapter helps to set the scene for the larger conversation on religion and AI of this volume by demonstrating some of the tensions and lacunae that the following chapters address in greater detail.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a scientific discipline that seeks to understand intelligence through the design and construction of intelligent machines. AI and cognitive science have a strong two-way relationship: Cognitive psychology often has inspired AI theories, and AI research has led to new theories of cognition that have been tested through psychological experimentation. While AI theories of cognition often are under-constrained, cognitive theories of AI tend to be over-constrained. Nevertheless, AI is useful for cognitive psychologists both as a source of new ideas and insights, and an experimental testbed. In this chapter, we describe some of the basic concepts and methods of AI by taking robot navigation in a city as an illustrative example. We also briefly discuss the history of AI, methods for assessing progress in AI, and some of AI’s potential impacts on society.