Chatbots as oracles: How AI is giving new life to the ancient practice of seeking answers from inscrutable sources

By Webb Keane, George Herbert Mead Distinguished University Professor of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ambuj Tewari, Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Michigan, The Conversation · September 29, 2026

Human beings have always turned to oracles and divination for answers to difficult questions. Today, AI might be fulfilling that role.

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