
Artificial Intelligence Shows Why Atheism Is Unpopular - Animats
https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/07/artificial-intelligence-religion-atheism/565076/?single_page=true
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irickt
This points to some interesting research but the title is clickbait. First,
"artificial intelligence" is actually agent-based simulation. Second, the
article barely mentions atheism, but if ones digs into the sources you find
that given their models in these simulations "people tend to secularize when
four factors are present: existential security (you have enough money and
food), personal freedom (you’re free to choose whether to believe or not),
pluralism (you have a welcoming attitude to diversity), and education (you’ve
got some training in the sciences and humanities). If even one of these
factors is absent, the whole secularization process slows down."

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theonemind
+1 clickbait title.

In addition to what you say, they mention some erosion in the US of two of
those pillars as the explanation for decreased secularism: pluralism
apparently not in fashion (seems a bit weak; as a fashion, it waxes and wanes,
and the wording feels to me to try to explain a decades-long trend (lack of US
secularism) with a political fashion-of-the-day (waning pluralism)), and
"eroded" education (eroded by...the mere existence of private schools? Private
schools may provide better education than public schools in some cases, though
they do give the option of religious schooling, and perhaps mostly get used
for that. So, ok, then we say that religious education gets used in religious
societies, so not teaching secularism results in people using religion? But,
you would expect that in a religious society already, right? This doesn't
really tease out cause and effect or provide any real support for the supposed
erosion of this educational pillar, I don't think. It doesn't warrant this
much analysis, as they really don't go into it.)

They don't provide much of a compelling or well-supported argument or even
much discussion relating to anything in that headline.

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irickt
Good points. It all depends on the assumptions of the models.

They said that the software is available but it's not in an obvious public
place.

