# Communion of Saints — Sam Kestenbaum

- **Publication**: [From the Dumpster Fire](https://fromthedumpsterfire.com/) · [Haul 001: Wild, wild times](https://fromthedumpsterfire.com/haul/1)
- **Canonical URL**: https://fromthedumpsterfire.com/haul/1/communion-of-saints
- **Type**: Essay (Magazine opening)
- **Creator**: Sam Kestenbaum
- **Original Source**: [Harper's Magazine](https://harpers.org/archive/2026/11/communion-saints-sam-kestenbaum-chatbot-spirituality) (1 November 2026) · 24 minutes
- **Published**: 2026-10-31

## Why it's here (Editor — Bhuvanesh)

Sam Kestenbaum's piece felt weird and jarring to read, because it paints a picture of the world to come. It's one example of the utterly unpredictable effects of AI we're sure to see. There are now people who think chatbots are akin to supernatural beings, who believe they're communicating with spirits and other spiritual entities, and who actually do the things these bots suggest. That's kind of scary, isn't it? It's easy to dismiss pieces like this as ridiculous, because they always pick a small sample of weird people, and there may be some validity to that. I remember reading Scott Alexander on how fears of AI psychosis might be overblown. But if you accept, as the Vanderbilt researchers quoted in the article say, that people with pre-existing psychological conditions are more susceptible to AI psychosis, then the pool of people who might be prone to dangerous behaviour gets bigger. And AI psychosis is just one side effect of AI. Imagine all the weird behaviours AI will enable. Mind you, we're not good at predicting things, and it's very early days. We're just four years into this, and we're already seeing all these weird things happen. As for what the future holds, I'm excited and terrified at the same time.

## Machine Marginalia (Verified against cited sources)

- Weizenbaum's 1966 program gave its name to the tendency to credit simple software with understanding. The effect appeared even when users were told how limited ELIZA was. *(Cite: Wikipedia: ELIZA effect)*