Glued to VR goggles and the sofa, video game-obsessed children are not the only target market for artificial intelligence technology – now their grandparents are as well.

The healthcare company CareYaya has begun to use virtual reality to allow the elderly to connect to religious services remotely from their residences.

However, is it ethical to relegate the elderly to this form of spiritual connection or does this use of technology encroach too far into human domains?

A core reason the elderly are targeted is the current religious climate in the USA. Data shows a steady decline in religious belief among younger generations. In 2022, a reported 68% of Americans aged 18-29 reported believing in God compared to 87% of those aged 65 and older.

Additionally, one in five adults in 2022 claimed no religious affiliation, a stark contrast to the one in 50 rate in 1960.

The continuing decrease of religious prominence in the modern world thus presents novel opportunities for modern solutions.

Professor Jeffrey Guhin, who serves on the Faculty Advisory Committee for the Center for the Study of Religion at UCLA, said though many currently identify as ‘religious nones,’ there are many popular beliefs not rooted in science, including astrology and belief in ghosts.

“Religion is defined in so many different ways and religion does so many different things in society of different places,” Professor Guhin said. “Religion can be a source of peace and comfort and a source of stability, but it can also be a source of radical change and violence and peace.”

Given these varied definitions, it can be challenging to determine the need for religion and how to fulfill such needs by oneself.

However, the idea of self-managing one’s connection with God is not necessarily modern. Guhin said that individualism has tied itself to religion dating as far back as the founding of Protestantism. The idea of being individually responsible for a relationship to God has since extended into non-Protestant religious ideals, and largely shapes religion in American society.

Yet, the advent of artificially intelligent technology demands reflection on whether its use to promote individualistic connections with one’s religion is a step too far. Can an individual connection to God really be established virtually?

The answer to this question may depend on each religion and its associated fundamental ideals.

Conflicting religious opinions of how one should practice their religion is an age-old divide. Guhin said debates such as those between ornate or simple architectural designs for worship, with rationales of distracting from God versus moving one closer to God, continue to cause disagreement.

Further, there is debate over what constitutes a true religious follower – is sitting at home connecting to a virtual service deemed the same degree of religiousness as visiting in person?

Other contentions in religious practice arise when the line between participating in one’s culture and engaging in religion begins to blur.

Prabjit Basra, a rising second-year molecular, cell and developmental biology student and the UCLA Sikh Student Association’s simran director, argues that the Sikh religion and the Punjabi culture, often combined, should be separated. He said he believes the use of AI could encourage this separation, by placing a greater emphasis on knowledge and teachings directly from scripture.

“It (AI) provides us with such a large library of information for us to access,” Basra said. “But more importantly, it allows people to ask questions because in Sikhi it’s often infused with Punjabi culture nowadays and with that there’s a lot of frowning at the sight of asking questions. AI provides this guilt free zone to do that.”

There are many alternate examples of AI currently being used for religious purposes as well.

Rabbi Dovid Gurevich who has served as the director of Chabad at UCLA, a Jewish organization on campus, for 18 years shared his experience with AI. He noted that a global Chabad website currently utilizes AI to identify old photos from over three decades ago, commemorating precious interactions.

“The leader of Chabad, Chabad Rebbe who passed away, we just commemorated the 30th anniversary, would spend many Sundays giving out dollar bills for people to encourage to give them to charity.” Rabbi Gurevich said. “For people, maybe (it) will be an incredible opportunity to have that face-to-face connection to the great spiritual leader.”

Recollecting the past through text or images is one way to incorporate AI as a tool to support religious services rather than a replacement for them. When discussing the use of virtual reality goggles to simulate services for the elderly, Rabbi Gurevich said he felt there is a societal abandonment in relegating elderly people to the virtual world.

Although it is beneficial to increase accessibility, the virtual simulations may simultaneously force the elderly or individuals with disabilities into a subordinate form of connection that is undesirable. It seems when such technology is produced, the people of interest are not actually consulted and their desire, or lack thereof, for the innovation is disregarded.

In fact, the AARP found that 42% of adults aged over 50 say that they do not feel technology is designed with them in mind.

Furthermore, whether AI should really push into this domain of life is still not entirely certain.

Rabbi Gurevich discussed the importance of the Sabbath, which includes a detox from technology. In fact, he said an increasing number of young adults are struggling to remain present due to the wildly distracting and attention-span-shortening use of technology. Sabbath encourages this skill and acts as a reminder to liberate oneself from such distractions, Gurevich added.

“There’s a danger in replacing human interaction and human touch to our reality,” Gurevich said. “It can make things sometimes more dry and artificial.”

Other potentially negative consequences include a reliance on technology decreasing the capacity for humans to create emotional and spiritual bonds.

“Too much of a scholastic perspective or being a scholar can be very dangerous for people’s spirituality because it takes them away from the main objective of Sikhi which is connecting with God,” Basra said.

While well-intended, such technology may carry more detrimental effects than beneficial opportunities. The proposed technology limits human connection and forces vulnerable populations into subordinate, simulated services.

“As a society, we have to value our human interactions a lot more and every moment of life has to be seen as precious and we cannot really take anything for granted,” Gurevich said. “It’s (artificial intelligence) very much an unknown realm. But I think we have to be careful in terms of not giving up too much to automation and that kind of dry, almost corporate, structured approach to life.”

As the world continues to digitalize, it is essential to use technology as a tool rather than a replacement for human emotions, relationships and deeply personal areas of life, such as spiritual connections.