معرفی
Beth Singler is Assistant Professor of Digital Religion(s) at the University of Zurich, where she serves as Co-Director of the URPP Digital Religion(s) and Principal Investigator for the project "Post-AI Religion and Religious AI: Reciprocal Disruption and Futures." Previously, she was a Junior Research Fellow in Artificial Intelligence at Homerton College, University of Cambridge, and worked on the Templeton-funded project "Human Identity in an Age of Nearly Human Machines" at the Faraday Institute for Science and Religion.
- Co-Director, URPP Digital Religion(s), University of Zurich (2025-)
- Principal Investigator, "Post-AI Religion" Project (2025-)
- Co-Lead, Media Existential Encounters and Evolving Technology Lab (2023-)
- Assistant Professor in Digital Religion(s), University of Zurich (2022-)
- Director of Studies, Theology, Religion, and Philosophy of Religion, University of Cambridge (2020-2022)
Her research examines the social, ethical, philosophical, and religious implications of advances in artificial intelligence and robotics. Singler employs cultural and digital anthropological methods to explore how religions respond to AI through rejection, adoption, and adaptation frameworks. Her work demonstrates the entanglements of religion and AI, analyzing our imaginaries of these technologies and ideas about their utopian or dystopian futures. She has produced several documentaries, including the award-winning "Pain in the Machine" (2017 AHRC Best Research Film of the Year).
Her recent publications reveal a clear focus on AI's relationship with religious traditions, examining how established religions understand creation within AI contexts and how secular groups interpret AI as a tool for liberation. The articles show increasing attention to post-AI religious formations, existential conversations with AI systems, and the material dimensions of digital religious practices. Her work bridges theoretical analysis with empirical studies of online religious communities and their engagement with emerging technologies.
- AHRC Best Research Film of the Year Award (2017)
- Digital Religion Research Award (2021)
- Fellow of the International Society for Science and Religion
Singler serves on multiple advisory boards including the AAR AI and Religion Unit, the Human Augmentation Research Network, and advisory boards for Templeton-funded projects on biohacking and spiritual yearning. She leads the MEEET Lab at UZH, which investigates media, existential encounters, and evolving technology. Her public engagement includes documentary production and participation in global networks like AI and Faith.
