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Italy

Watch: OneShot, A Ghost Town After Expulsion Of Immigrants

Detail of photograph of the Bar Centrale in Molise
Detail of photograph of the Bar Centrale in Molise
Tommaso Bonaventura

As nationalism and anti-immigration campaigns shake and split Europe, photojournalist Tommaso Bonaventura went last winter to a small village in southern Italy where immigrants had given new life to the town emptied of its young inhabitants seeking jobs elsewhere. But last year, the mayor decided to close the immigrants' residence, forcing them to leave the town of Ripabottoni. What happened next may come as a surprise: a popular revolt against the mayor was launched as residents realized that the migrants may have been the village's last chance at rebirth.

Il Bar — ©Tommaso Bonaventura/OneShot


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Future

AI As God? How Artificial Intelligence Could Spark Religious Devotion

We may be about to see the emergence of a new kind of religion, where flocks worship — literally — at the altar of Artificial Intelligence.

Image of artificial intelligence as an artificial being

Artificial intelligence generated picture of AI as a god

Neil McArthur

The latest generation of AI-powered chatbots, trained on large language models, have left their early users awestruck —and sometimes terrified — by their power. These are the same sublime emotions that lie at the heart of our experience of the divine.

People already seek religious meaning from very diverse sources. There are, for instance, multiple religions that worship extra-terrestrials or their teachings.

As these chatbots come to be used by billions of people, it is inevitable that some of these users will see the AIs as higher beings. We must prepare for the implications.

There are several pathways by which AI religions will emerge. First, some people will come to see AI as a higher power.

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