From the Golem to Freedom: A Study on Technology and Religion [Hardcover]

With a particular focus on social media, G?bor L. Ambrus explores how human beingsrelate to contemporary information technology.Ambrus argues that religious traditions  such as Judaism and Christianity, as well as secular philosophical thought inspired by religion  can be invoked to describe both the freedom and 'unfreedom' of the user of information technology.

To illustrate how individuals relate to technology in a restricted and totalitarian online environment, Ambrus adopts the figure and legend of the golem from Jewish mysticism. At the same time, his argument features other religious concepts and themes to describe an alternative to our present predicament of 'unfreedom', while not seeking to portray any 'redemption' outside the technological environment.

At the core of his argument, Ambrus presents the experience of nothingness as a source of freedom, opening up the possibility for a free relationship for us all with information technology.

What could be more incompatible than religion and technology? The two phenomena seem to have nothing in common. The challenge for Ambrus ... is to discuss previous classic and contemporary attempts to connect the two ... Recommended [for a]dvanced undergraduates through faculty. CHOICE

This is a rich philosophical discussion of the religious 'spell' of contemporary information technology that includes a powerful political analysis: as users of technology we are locked into a 'dialectic of unfreedom' with our golem slave technologies & Highly recommended reading for anyone willing to look further than the one-liners of tabloid AI ethics. Mark Coeckelbergh, University of Vienna, Austria

This is an important contribution to the field and a topical resource as we learn to cope with the massive challenges presented by social media and other forms on Internet-based tle