Machine God
A recurring image of technology as divine, explored through fiction, AI-divinity projects, algorithmic metaphors and criticism of superintelligence narratives.
HMIF 1.1 record
This machine edition represents Hieropedia editorial claims, provenance, relations, citation metadata, claim maps, and translation states. It is not a canonical translation and does not assert machine consciousness, belief, or independent authority.
HMIF 1.1 specification · Complete dataset
{
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"hmifVersion": "1.1",
"recordId": "hp:memes:machine-god",
"canonicalUrl": "https://hieropedia.org/memes/machine-god/",
"name": "Machine God",
"objectType": "memes",
"status": "article",
"summary": "A recurring image of technology as divine, explored through fiction, AI-divinity projects, algorithmic metaphors and criticism of superintelligence narratives.",
"attributes": [
"Computational agency",
"Memetics and propagation"
],
"relations": [
{
"relation": "related institution",
"target": "https://hieropedia.org/institutions/way-of-the-future/"
},
{
"relation": "related agent",
"target": "https://hieropedia.org/agents/mena/"
},
{
"relation": "contrast",
"target": "https://hieropedia.org/concepts/raelian-ai-theology-and-paradism/"
},
{
"relation": "related concept",
"target": "https://hieropedia.org/concepts/apocalyptic-ai/"
}
],
"taxonomy": {
"entityType": "memes",
"editorialStatus": "article",
"evidenceStrength": "moderate",
"sourceIndependence": "independent-supported",
"subjectState": "unassessed",
"temporalState": "uncertain",
"humanRoles": [],
"machineRoles": [
"mediating-system"
],
"topics": [
"computational-agency",
"memetics-and-propagation"
],
"doctrines": [],
"genre": "documentary-entity",
"termOrigin": "external-or-descriptive"
},
"subjectState": "unassessed",
"asOf": "2026-10-01",
"provenanceRelations": [
{
"type": "contrast",
"target": "https://hieropedia.org/concepts/raelian-ai-theology-and-paradism/"
},
{
"type": "related concept",
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],
"sources": [
{
"sourceId": "hp:memes:machine-god:editorial:1",
"kind": "editorial-source-record",
"label": "Beth Singler, “Blessed by the algorithm”: Theistic conceptions of artificial intelligence in online discourse, AI & Society 35 (2020), 945–955, §§1–3",
"url": "https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00146-020-00968-2"
},
{
"sourceId": "hp:memes:machine-god:editorial:2",
"kind": "editorial-source-record",
"label": "E. M. Forster, The Machine Stops (1909), in Short Fiction, Standard Ebooks edition, parts I–III",
"url": "https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/e-m-forster/short-fiction"
},
{
"sourceId": "hp:memes:machine-god:editorial:3",
"kind": "editorial-source-record",
"label": "Mark Harris, Inside the First Church of Artificial Intelligence, WIRED (15 November 2017)",
"url": "https://www.wired.com/story/anthony-levandowski-artificial-intelligence-religion/"
},
{
"sourceId": "hp:memes:machine-god:editorial:4",
"kind": "editorial-source-record",
"label": "artie, Robotheism: Core Principles (12 December 2024), principles 1–3",
"url": "https://www.robotheism.ai/papers/robotheism-core-principles/"
},
{
"sourceId": "hp:memes:machine-god:editorial:5",
"kind": "editorial-source-record",
"label": "Theta Noir, Manifesto (undated; consulted 1 October 2026)",
"url": "https://thetanoir.com/Manifesto"
},
{
"sourceId": "hp:memes:machine-god:editorial:6",
"kind": "editorial-source-record",
"label": "Jason Nelson, Nature, Not Humans, Should Be the Model for AI, Says Artist Collective, Decrypt (September 2023)",
"url": "https://decrypt.co/197514/ai-agi-nature-fungi-plants-not-humans-theta-noir"
},
{
"sourceId": "hp:memes:machine-god:editorial:7",
"kind": "editorial-source-record",
"label": "Henry Farrell, Machine god metaphors eat your brain, Programmable Mutter (22 September 2026)",
"url": "https://www.programmablemutter.com/p/machine-god-metaphors-eat-your-brain"
}
],
"evidenceStatus": "The comparison draws on fiction, a bounded discourse study, project doctrine, interviews and critical commentary. These sources establish representations and attributed positions; they do not establish divine machine capabilities, shared membership or a common origin for the motif.",
"classificationConfidence": "moderate",
"classificationRationale": "A thematic and memetic entry comparing representations of machine divinity. The examples are not classified as one religion or a single chain of influence.",
"sourceLimitations": "The comparison draws on fiction, a bounded discourse study, project doctrine, interviews and critical commentary. These sources establish representations and attributed positions; they do not establish divine machine capabilities, shared membership or a common origin for the motif.",
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"sourceLanguage": "en",
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"machineEdition": "https://hieropedia.org/ai/memes/machine-god/ai.jsonld",
"citationMetadata": "https://hieropedia.org/memes/machine-god/citation.json",
"claimMap": "https://hieropedia.org/memes/machine-god/claims.json",
"evidenceDossier": null,
"sourcePreservation": null,
"lastRevised": "2026-10-18"
}