From Surveillance to Revelation: How Big Tech is Rewriting Our Religion with AI
Digital Bible or surveillance tool? How Palantir and Pray.com are bringing faith into the AI age
A new “AI Bible” channel is spreading like wildfire online: hundreds of thousands of subscribers on YouTube, millions of followers on Instagram – and videos that stage biblical revelations like Hollywood blockbusters. Monsters, angels, apocalyptic firestorms – religion as a fantasy spectacle. For many young viewers, this is captivating. But the question that remains is: Who’s pulling the strings?
The answer is Pray.com – a commercial app that markets itself as the “world’s leading platform for faith and prayer.” But Pray.com doesn’t operate alone. In December 2023, the company entered into a partnership with Palantir Technologies – the Silicon Valley data giant founded by Peter Thiel, which has worked closely with the US government, the Department of Defense, and intelligence agencies for years.
Palantir: From the “War on Terror” to the Digital Bible
Palantir isn’t just a tech company; it’s the backbone of many Western surveillance networks. Whether it’s drone operations, police departments, or pandemic databases, Palantir provides the software governments use to monitor and profile people in real time. The fact that this company, of all companies, is now involved in the digital redesign of religious content raises explosive questions.
According to press releases, Palantir will use its AI-powered translation technology to translate biblical content into different languages more quickly and cheaply. However, this allows a surveillance company to control how millions of people around the world consume and interpret Bible texts.
Religion as Content – Criticism from Theologians
While audiences enthusiastically celebrate the AI videos, theologians express clear scepticism. “The videos rob the Bible of its power by reducing it to an action movie,” warns Brad East, a professor of theology at Texas State University. It is “depressing that anyone would believe this is spiritually enriching.”
The video below, from the Pulse program, also makes it clear: This isn’t just about new media formats, but about a systematic rewriting of faith. Theological controversies – for example, the rapture – are transformed into visual effects that blend faith with fantasy.
A bigger agenda?
The partnership between Pray.com and Palantir is part of a broader movement, driven by authors like Yuval Noah Harari and WEF think tanks, that calls for religion to be adapted to the AI age. At the same time, Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel is organizing sold-out lecture series on the “Antichrist,” focusing on technology, politics, and theology.
The picture that emerges is one of an ideological transformation in which digital platforms repackage beliefs – not as a spiritual experience, but as controllable content.
Conclusion: Surveillance meets spirituality
The rise of the “AI Bible” is more than a bizarre internet phenomenon. It demonstrates how closely Big Tech, surveillance networks, and religious content are already intertwined. Palantir – the company that has been analysing data on citizens, migration, and wars for years – is now also involved in shaping religious narratives.
Whether it’s about security, health, or faith: whoever controls the algorithms controls reality. And when it comes to the Bible, one should ask: Is faith being spread here – or is a new instrument of power being installed?
yogaesoteric
September 14, 2025
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