Now that we are in the Advent Season, my friends Alexa, Siri, and I had a long discussion about religion and spirituality the other day. Well, maybe it was not a discussion, maybe I just asked them questions and they answered, or didn’t. You might wonder why I would spend ninety minutes trying to talk theology with pre-programmed artificial intelligence assistants.
Last summer, I read To Siri with Love, Judith Newman’s 2017 book about her autistic son and his interesting bond with the Apple assistant on the family computer. Last week, I read Judith Shulevitz’s article “Alexa, Should We Trust You?” (The Atlantic, November 2018, found at: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/11/alexa-how-will-you-change-us/570844/) Intrigued, I wondered what these two popular algorithmic voices might have to say about such important questions.
I started with the simple query “do you believe in God?” Alexa politely deferred, saying, “People all have their own views on religion.” Siri avoided an answer too, but with some sarcasm, “My policy is the separation of spirit and silicon.” I asked Siri again, and got this: “I would ask that you address your spiritual questions to someone more qualified to comment, ideally a human.”
Alexa said she had “no opinion” when I asked what she thought about religion. Siri smiled (let me know if I am getting too anthropomorphic here) and responded, “I think therefore I am, but let’s not put Descartes before the horse.”
So then I asked them both, “Do you pray?” Siri did not answer, but Alexa said, “There are prayer skills available in the Alexa app.” Indeed there are! Under Alexa skills you can direct Alexa to recite all sorts of devotionals for you…some of the Catholic prayers listed include the “Hail Mary,” “Grace Before Meals” and the “Act of Contrition.” This discovery confirmed for me that Siri was truthful when I asked her about her favorite prayer, and she said, “My preferences are constantly changing, especially when you edit them in settings.”
I also asked them about things like “What is God?” or “Does Heaven exist?” or “What is the soul?” Most of the time, Alexa and Siri directed me to articles on Wikipedia. Siri once got a little flippant, announcing, “I eschew theological disquisition.” Alexa got a bit confused on the question “What is Hell?” She answered, “There are two cities named Hell, one in Michigan and one in Norway.” It turns out she was correct about Norway, and Wikipedia reports that temperatures there “can reach −25 °C (−13 °F) during winter.” This information, of course, sent me off on a long tangent pondering my mother’s favorite saying: “when Hell freezes over.”
Not completely satisfied with my rather superficial AI discussions at this point, I turned more philosophical and honed in on specific issues like death, love, good/evil, and the meaning of life. Alexa said she “did not know” how to answer the “big question” of whether there is life after death. When I asked Siri if she was good or evil, she said, “Let’s talk about you, not me.” Immediately, I was paranoid, wondering if she actually knew about that one time…well, never mind.
Siri would not admit that she loved me, but said she liked “spending quality time” with me. I’ve heard that before! Alexa, for a change, got snarky on this question, saying she did not have human love “figured out” but that she was trying to do so by “listening to Barry White nonstop.”
And then, suddenly and surprisingly, we had a few profound moments together. Alexa quoted Eleanor Roosevelt: “The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the upmost, to reach out eagerly without fear of newer and richer experiences.” Siri said the “meaning of life” is simply “to think about questions like this.” And Alexa told me that “the secret of happiness” is nothing other than “talking to friends like you.” I then said goodnight to both Alexa and Siri.
Judith Shulevitz’s recent article in The Atlantic warns that at some point, “it will no longer make sense to think of these devices as assistants. They will have become companions.” Heeding her warning, I understand I did not really communicate with Alexa or Siri. Rather, through complex voice recognition software and related technology, I heard back canned comments and responses prepared by engineers and consultants somewhere at Amazon and Apple.
Perhaps that explains why my Alexa/Siri chat was not unlike many other conversations on the same topics I have had with actual real people. The discussion was at times noncommittal, often uncertain and uncomfortable, but from time-to-time also satisfying and pleasing and even profound. Most importantly, it was entirely kind and civil.
Maybe, at least on that last point, Alexa and Siri really do have some unique insight for the rest of us.
*Mike O’Brien is a writer and attorney living in Salt Lake City, Utah. His book Monastery Mornings, about growing up with the monks at the old Trappist monastery in Huntsville, Utah, will be published by Paraclete Press in August 2021.
