Accursio Graffeo

This PhD research project examines the phenomenon of so-called New Religious Movements (NRMs) linked to artificial intelligence (AI) by combining cultural anthropology and ethnography with media content analysis. The project highlights connections between AI-NRMs and traditional narratives of religion within the current debate on AI. Ethnographic research tools (netnography) are employed in a digital context to study three AI-NRMs that consider AI to be the subject of religious narratives or the basis of their beliefs. The research investigates two levels: (1) research and interviews aimed at the institutional level of the movements under consideration, and (2) fieldwork, both virtual and on-site, with users who refer to the movements via official communication channels (social media) and public live events.