Being Human? Artificial Intelligence and Eschatological Visions of Personhood in Christian and Islamic Theology

Abstract

Abstract: This article explores the theological implications of artificial intelligence (AI) for human identity and personhood from both Christian and Islamic perspectives. As AI increasingly simulates capacities once considered uniquely human—such as cognition, creativity, and emotional responsiveness—it raises fundamental questions about what, if anything, irreducibly distinguishes humans from machines. Drawing on theological anthropology and eschatology, the article examines whether and how doctrines such as the imago Dei in Christianity and khalīfat Allāh in Islam are challenged, transformed, or rearticulated in light of artificial cognition. Special attention is given to concepts of soul, consciousness, and the afterlife, including critical engagement with transhumanist visions of digital immortality. Employing a comparative and dialogical approach, the article argues that religious traditions provide indispensable resources for articulating the spiritual, ethical, and metaphysical dimensions of personhood. Rather than offering definitive answers, it opens up a space for theological imagination and interreligious reflection at the intersection of AI, eschatology, and human identity in an increasingly technologically advanced world.