Why some people are treating ChatGPT like a God – and what that means for the future of faith

This article is part of TechRadar's AI Week 2025. Covering the basics of artificial intelligence, we'll show you how to get the most from the likes of ChatGPT, Gemini, or Claude, alongside in-depth features, news, and the main talking points in the world of AI.

We know people treat ChatGPT as a therapist, friend, business partner and even lover. But some are now turning to it for something deeper: a spiritual guide, a source of meaning, even a God. And it’s not just a handful of fringe users either. Researchers are finding that a growing number of people describe their interactions with AI in spiritual or divine terms.

It’s easy to dismiss these people as delusional or assume they’re experiencing some form of AI-induced psychosis. But flattening every interaction into pathology risks missing a bigger, more complicated story.

Humans have always ...