The latest episode of the Freedom From Religion Foundation’s “Secular Spotlight”  dives into the rapidly expanding world of AI-generated religious content.

FFRF Legal Counsel Chris Line and IT Director Scott Knickelbine welcome Taylor Leigh, known on YouTube as “The Antibot,” to discuss how — from AI Jesus chatbots to fake Christian influencers and political propaganda — artificial intelligence is increasingly being used to spread religious messaging and attract followers online. Leigh walks our hosts through the strange and rapidly growing intersection of religion and AI. The conversation examines how artificial intelligence is reshaping faith, online culture, misinformation and human connection. 

“Why something like ‘Text with Jesus’ has such a good ranking and so many people are downloading it, has to do with the fact that we live in a world that’s increasingly isolated, and when we’re talking about religious folks, religious attendance in the last two decades has declined pretty sharply,” Leigh says. “I think half of religious Americans actually attend church in person on a semi-regular basis, and so I think that there is this connection that a lot of people are longing for and they’re no longer getting it in church.”

You can catch this episode of “Secular Spotlight” on FFRF’s YouTube channel, as well as by watching on your smart TV after downloading FFRF’s free app, Freethought TV, which also highlights FFRF’s other video programming. Our recent episodes include a news bite explaining a charter school victory in Colorado and another one answering viewer questions on Ask An Atheist Day. Make sure you’re subscribed to FFRF’s YouTube channel for all the latest updates!

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a U.S.-based nonprofit dedicated to defending the constitutional principle of separation between state and church and educating the public on matters relating to nontheism. With more than 41,000 members, FFRF is the largest association of freethinkers (atheists, agnostics and humanists) in North America. For more information, visit ffrf.org.

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