A postphenomenological analysis of the mediation of Artificial Intelligence in the experience of the Sacred

Abstract

This article examines the embodied relationship between Artificial Intelligence and the experience of the sacred from a postphenomenological perspective, contributing to contemporary theological knowledge. The inquiry arises from tensions generated by the question: What is AI, and in what ways, if any, does it influence the experience of the sacred? Consequently, the objective is to analyze AI agency in experiencing the sacred within the emerging context of digital normality, thereby understanding AI’s potential as an embodied technological object and its capacity for agency in embodying transcendence and life’s meaning. To achieve this aim, qualitative research was conducted through narrative methods grounded in theological hermeneutics, supported by analyses carried out using Python libraries on 416 short CAP-type narratives. The findings indicate that AI acts as an active mediator in sacred experiences, transforming the way the lifeworld is revealed to subjects. Such technological mediation affects not only everyday decisions and practices but also the emotional dimensions related to fundamental human inquiries into being, meaning, and truth. Postphenomenological analysis revealed that, although these transformations do not directly alter intentional consciousness, they significantly reshape the subjective and cultural horizons of world perception, underscoring the necessity of interdisciplinary approaches in the humanistic understanding of Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI).