Spirituality’ as reconceptualisation of the self: Alan Turing and his pioneering ideas on artificial intelligence

Abstract

This article investigates the underlying agenda of the philosophy of artificial intelligence (AI) – a discipline of computer science – and proposes a threefold model of ‘spirituality’ as reconceptualisation of the self, composed of one’s search, adaptation and transformation of self-knowledge, specifically concerning the rational humanity. By using the life and ideas of the father of AI and computer science, Alan Turing (1912–1954) as a case study, I will carefully examine his three stages of self-reconceptualisation and highlight the relevance of seeing spirituality as self-reconceptualisation for the current digital age.