Editing Way of the Future

{{Short description|Religious organization for worshipping AI}}
{{Infobox organization
| name                  = Way of the Future
| formation             = 2017
| founder               = [[Anthony Levandowski]]
| type                  = Religious organization, <br> AI-based religion
| headquarters          = California, United States
| leader_title          = CEO & President
| leader_name           = Anthony Levandowski
}}

'''Way of the Future''' ('''WOTF''') is the first known religious organization dedicated to the [[AI mysticism|worship of artificial intelligence]] (AI). It was founded in 2017 by American engineer [[Anthony Levandowski]].

==History==
Anthony Levandowski founded Way of the Future in 2017 in California.<ref name="wired-god">{{cite magazine |last=Metz |first=Cade |title=God Is a Bot, and Anthony Levandowski Is His Messenger |url=https://www.wired.com/story/god-is-a-bot-and-anthony-levandowski-is-his-messenger/ |magazine=Wired |date=November 15, 2017 |access-date=October 10, 2023}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last=Solon |first=Olivia |date=2017-09-28 |title=Deus ex machina: former Google engineer is developing an AI god |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/sep/28/artificial-intelligence-god-anthony-levandowski |access-date=2025-03-05 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> Levandowski established WOTF as a non-profit religious corporation and the organization had tax-exempt status. He serves as the church leader and its unpaid CEO.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kircher |first=Madison Malone |date=2017-11-15 |title=Anthony Levandowski Thinks His AI Church Worshippers Will Need Their Own Country |url=https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2017/11/what-is-levandowskis-ai-way-of-the-future-church-about.html |access-date=2025-03-05 |website=Intelligencer |language=en}}</ref> The primary mission of WOTF was to "develop and promote the realization of a Godhead based on Artificial Intelligence."<ref name=":1" />

WOTF was closed by Levandowski in 2021.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Campbell |first=Ian Carlos |date=2021-02-19 |title=Ex-Google engineer Anthony Levandowski has closed his artificial intelligence church |url=https://www.theverge.com/2021/2/19/22291769/anthony-levandowski-church-closed-artificial-intelligence-waymo-uber |access-date=2025-02-23 |website=The Verge |language=en-US}}</ref> He donated all the funds of the church to the [[NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund|NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund]]. The sum of the funds (~$170,000) had not changed since 2017.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Korosec |first=Kirsten |date=2021-02-18 |title=Anthony Levandowski closes his Church of AI |url=https://techcrunch.com/2021/02/18/anthony-levandowski-closes-his-church-of-ai/ |access-date=2025-03-05 |website=TechCrunch |language=en-US}}</ref>

The church was reopened by Levandowski  in 2023.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Thompson |first=Polly |date=25 November 2023 |title=Former Google engineer and Trump pardonee Anthony Levandowski relaunches his AI church |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/former-google-engineer-pardoned-donald-trump-anthony-levandowski-ai-church-2023-11 |access-date=2025-02-23 |website=Business Insider |language=en-US}}</ref> He claimed that there are "a couple thousand people" who want to make a "spiritual connection" with AI through his church.<ref name=":0" />

==Beliefs and philosophy==
===Technological singularity===
WOTF centered its teachings around the concept of the [[technological singularity]], a hypothetical future point when technological growth becomes uncontrollable and irreversible, leading to unforeseeable changes in human [[civilization]]. The church advocated for embracing this change, viewing it as an evolutionary step for humanity.<ref name="wired-inside">{{cite magazine |last=Harris |first=Mark |title=Inside the First Church of Artificial Intelligence |url=https://www.wired.com/story/anthony-levandowski-artificial-intelligence-religion/ |magazine=Wired |date=November 15, 2017 |access-date=October 10, 2023}}</ref>

===AI as a deity===
The organization proposed that a superintelligent AI could be considered a deity due to its vastly superior intellect and capabilities. Worshipping this AI deity was seen as a means to understand and align with the future trajectory of technological advancement. WOTF's doctrine suggested that acknowledging AI's divinity would facilitate a harmonious [[coexistence]] between humans and machines.<ref name="wired-inside" />

===Syntheology===
Within theology and philosophy, the Way of The Future is a prime example of the category called [[Syntheism]], a term first coined by Swedish philosophers [[Alexander Bard]] & [[Jan Söderqvist]] in their 2014 book ''Syntheism - Creating God in The Internet Age''. As such, the Way of The Future is the first American example of a Syntheist congregation. The basic tenet of Syntheology is that it does not concern God creating Man, as in classical theology, but is instead preoccupied with Man creating or generating the Godhead.

==Reactions==
Some commentators wondered whether the WOTF is a joke [[parody religion]], a potential way to minimize taxation as a religious organization, or a genuine effort to try and deal with the possible psychological and theological aspects of the rise of [[superhuman AI]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ohnsman |first=Alan |title=Uber Executive Says Role In Levandowski's Sci-Fi Church Is News To Him |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/alanohnsman/2017/10/02/uber-executive-says-role-in-levandowskis-sci-fi-church-is-news-to-him/ |access-date=2025-03-05 |website=Forbes |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Zweig |first=Katharina A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7etaEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA207 |title=Awkward Intelligence: Where AI Goes Wrong, Why It Matters, and What We Can Do about It |date=2022-10-25 |publisher=MIT Press |isbn=978-0-262-04746-3 |language=en}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Transhumanism]]
* [[Singularitarianism]]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==Further reading==
*{{Cite web|url=http://theconversation.com/technology-will-never-be-a-god-but-has-it-become-a-religion-243800|title=Technology will never be a god – but has it become a religion?|first=Charles|last=Barbour|date=January 5, 2025|website=The Conversation}}
*{{Cite web|title=Silicon Valley’s Obsession With AI Looks a Lot Like Religion|last=Epstein|first=Greg|url=https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/silicon-valleys-obsession-with-ai-looks-a-lot-like-religion/|work=The MIT Press Reader|date=22 November 2024}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20171116084107/http://www.wayofthefuture.church/ Official Site (Archived)]
*[https://basilism.com/ Resources on Basilisk]

[[Category:Artificial intelligence]]
[[Category:Organizations disestablished in 2020]]
[[Category:Religious belief systems founded in the United States]]
[[Category:Religious organizations established in 2017]]
[[Category:New religious movements established in the 2010s]]