Rethinking Humanity's Devotion to Technology

Some secular theologians believe technology has become dangerously cult-like.

Reviewed by Gary Drevitch

Key points

• Technology influences our values and ethics, echoing structures seen in religion.
• Algorithms and tech systems can shape human behavior, limiting autonomy and transparency.
• Transhumanism may be ethically risky, defining technological progress as fundamentally beneficial.
• Reframing technology as a tool, not a belief system, is vital for ethical growth and societal balance.

Technology has increasingly fulfilled roles historically served by religion, providing meaning, purpose, and answers to existential anxieties. This shift follows a broader historical pattern in which dominant cultural frameworks transitioned from theology in the Middle Ages to politics during the Enlightenment and later to economics during the Industrial Revolution. Technology is the latest framework to address humanity's desires for control and transcendence​.

Greg Epstein, a humanist chaplain at Harvard and MIT, echoes this idea in his book Tech Agnostic, describing how Silicon Valley's cultural practices align with the organizational structures and influence tactics of religious systems. These parallels include hierarchical authority, uncritical devotion, and communal rituals​​. In the book, he asks, "Who is profiting from these tech-centric futures, and how can we center humanity at the heart of engineering?" He is now focused on how technology has become a part of our every interaction with the world and how some technology leaders use the cult playbook to line their pockets further.

Technological Binding

Technology can "bind" us in ways similar to religious doctrines. Social platforms dictate behavior, limiting autonomy while creating systems of control. Technology is not always value-neutral: It can govern human lives through comprehensive, esoteric rules, some of which we are asked to accept with blind faith. Examples include Facebook's data algorithms and geo-fencing technologies, which subtly manage our behavior.

Algorithms can operate like modern-day esoteric doctrines, forces we revere and obey, their inner workings opaque yet profoundly influential. We approach them with a mix of awe and suspicion, striving to understand their cryptic logic while shaping our lives around their judgments. Now, there exist entire courses and marketing strategies that seek to teach us their mythos so that we may thrive.

Epstein builds on this by noting that some tech leaders even adopt apocalyptic narratives akin to religious dogma, prioritizing AI preservation over pressing global challenges like climate change. This "techno-paganism" reduces human lives to mere contributors to data ecosystems, eroding individuality and ethical reflection​​.

He describes how the Influence Continuum and the BITE Model of Authoritarian Control assisted him in further designing and illuminating his theories. To Epstein, some technology organizations mirror destructive cults, with carefully constructed manipulations at the core.

Some technology leaders directly mirror the stereotypical cult leader profile of malignant narcissism. However, Epstein also notes that in addition to the cult model of indoctrination, technological communities have some of the most powerful tools for achieving thought reform and emotional manipulation that civilizations have ever witnessed.

Transhumanism and the Mythology of Progress

The rise of transhumanism—enhancing human capabilities through AI, genetics, and nanotechnology—further illustrates how technology can operate as a theology. Adherents often view progress as salvation, a notion deeply rooted in traditional religious aspirations for transcendence. Yet this techno-centric worldview risks redefining the "good life" solely as physical and cognitive enhancement, sidelining virtues like empathy and community​​.

Critics like Joel Dinerstein have highlighted the "techno-fundamentalism" embedded in American culture, in which technology is a secular theology promising a utopian future. This new fundamentalism parallels the religious narrative of ultimate redemption but often neglects the ethical and societal costs of such promises.

Transhumanism's framing of progress as salvation also perpetuates a mythology that elevates any single technological advancement as inherently virtuous. This mindset risks dehumanizing individuals by valuing enhancement over ethics and reducing humanity to data points in a digital ecosystem.

Reclaiming Technology as a Tool

Some advocate for a paradigm shift. Technology must be reframed not as an end but as a tool—a means of helping humanity and facilitating ethical growth. Modern-day theologians now suggest we return to original concepts of technology: a method of interacting with the world and not as something through which we reframe our existence.

Epstein similarly argues for "tech agnosticism," encouraging skepticism and critical engagement with technological advances. He envisions a future in which humanity reclaims control, ensuring that innovation serves people rather than enslaving them​.

Technology, while transformative, must not replace human values. By recognizing its theological underpinnings, societies can balance innovation with ethical responsibility. Reforming our relationship with technology is possible and essential for safeguarding humanity's future. The ultimate goal of technology should be to enrich human lives, not to rule them and not to force us to follow its doctrine.