Social Science and Human Research Bulletin

Living in the digital age has brought numerous benefits; however, it has also introduced significant challenges to mental well-being. The demands of constant connectivity, excessive information influx, and the necessity to remain digitally engaged have adversely affected individuals' mental health. This increased awareness of mental fitness has led us to seek solutions such as metacognitive practices (i.e., mindfulness), which offer significant mental health benefits. Recognized advantages of collaborative intelligence include increased efficiency and creativity. For these benefits to be realized, effective human-artificial intelligence collaboration is essential. The potential of artificial intelligence to revolutionize spirituality is considerable; it has rapidly emerged as a transformative force in the domain of spirituality, often referred to as techno-animism, thereby transforming how tasks are executed. This study explores contemplative metacognitive practices, such as mindfulness, alongside technological practices, such as techno-animism, emphasizing their potential contributions to mental health and spirituality.  By examining the concepts of mindfulness and techno-animism, we aim to foster a connection between Eastern and Western cultures, ultimately enriching the public’s spiritual experience and overall well-being.

metacognition, mindfulness, techno-animism, religion, spirituality, artificial intelligence, computer-human interaction

1. Akama, Yoko, and Ann Light. 2015. "Towards mindfulness: Between a detour and a portal." In Proceedings of the 33rd Annual ACM Conference Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pp. 625-637.  https://doi.org/10.1145/2702613.2732498.
2. Antoniou, Rea, Noah Cryns, J. Clayton Young, Valentina Diaz, Joel Kramer, and Winston Chiong. 2024 "The Association between Trait Mindfulness and Metacognitive Efficiency in Healthy Older Adults." PsyArXiv . https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/db3mk 
3. Beran, Tanya N., Alejandro Ramirez-Serrano, Roman Kuzyk, Meghann Fior, and Sarah Nugent. 2011. "Understanding how children understand robots: Perceived animism in child–robot interaction." International Journal of Human-Computer Studies 69, no. 7-8: 539-550. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhcs.2011.04.003
4. Carmody, James, George Reed, Jean Kristeller, and Phillip Merriam. 2008. “Mindfulness, Spirituality, and Health-Related Symptoms.” Journal of Psychosomatic Research 64 (4): 393–403. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18374738/.
5. Cavalcanti, M. L. 2003. “Conhecer Desconhecendo: A Etnografia do Espiritismo e do Carnaval Carioca.” In Pesquisas Urbanas: Desafios do Trabalho Antropológico.
6. Chems-Maarif, Ryad, Kate Cavanagh, Ruth Baer, Jenny Gu, and Clara Strauss. 2026. "Measuring mindfulness: A systematic review and evaluation of self-report mindfulness scales." Clinical Psychology Review: 102719. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2026.102719
7. Churchill, J., and T. Murray. 2020. “Integrating Adult Developmental and Metacognitive Theory with Indo-Tibetan Contemplative Essence Psychology.” Integr. Rev a Transdisciplinary Transcult. J. New Thought Res Prax. 16 (1).
8. Compson, Jane F. 2017. "Is mindfulness secular or religious, and does it matter?." In Practitioner's guide to ethics and mindfulness-based interventions, pp. 23-44. Cham: Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64924-5_2.
9. Danatzis, Ilias, Joy M. Field, and Mahesh Subramony. 2025. "Creating human-technology synergies at the organizational frontlines." Journal of Business Research 200: 115562. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115562
10. Datta, D. M. 1997. The Six Ways of Knowing: A Critical Study of the Advaita Theory of Knowledge. Motilal Banarsidass.
11. De Benedittis, Giuseppe. 2015. "Neural mechanisms of hypnosis and meditation." Journal of Physiology-Paris 109, no. 4-6: 152-164. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jphysparis.2015.11.001
12. Descola, P., and G. Pálsson. 1996. “Nature and Society: Anthropological Perspectives Introduction.” In Nature & Society: Anthropological Perspectives.
13. Dixit, S., and K. P. Dammani. 2024. “Exploring Metacognitive Strategies through the Lens of Bhagavad Gita: A Philosophical Inquiry." ALOCHANA JOURNAL (ISSN NO:2231-6329) VOLUME 13 ISSUE 4 
14. Dorjee, Dusana. 2016. “Defining Contemplative Science: The Metacognitive Self-Regulatory Capacity of the Mind, Context of Meditation Practice and Modes of Existential Awareness.” Frontiers in Psychology 7 (V): 1788. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27909417/.
15. Dura, Ioan. 2018. “Defining the Indefinable”: The Hermeneutics of the Upanishadic Negation neti, neti in Sankara’s Apophatic Theology." In Proceedings of the XXIII World Congress of Philosophy, vol. 16, pp. 89-94. https://doi.org/10.5840/wcp23201816576
16. Ehmann, Sebastian, Idil Sezer, Arielle S. Keller, Isaac N. Treves, and Matthew D. Sacchet. 2025. "Attention and meditative development: A review and synthesis of long-term meditators and outlook for the study of advanced meditation." NeuroImage: 121602. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121602
17. Gao, X. 2021. Animism and Artificial Intelligence (Master's thesis, Pratt Institute).
18. Gould, H., and H. Walters. 2020. “Bad Buddhists, Good Robots: Techno-Salvationist Designs for Nirvana.” Journal of Global Buddhism 21. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4147487.
19. Franco, Maria Isabel Betancur. 2026. "Design Guidelines for the Therapeutic Use of AI in Grief." Journal of Responsible Technology: 100148. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrt.2026.100148
20. Ho, Manh-Tung, Ngoc-Thang B. Le, Peter Mantello, Manh-Toan Ho, and Nader Ghotbi. 2023. "Understanding the acceptance of emotional artificial intelligence in Japanese healthcare system: a cross-sectional survey of clinic visitors’ attitude." Technology in Society 72: 102166. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2022.102166
21. Hölzel, Britta K., Ulrich Ott, Hannes Hempel, Andrea Hackl, Katharina Wolf, Rudolf Stark, and Dieter Vaitl. 2007. “Differential Engagement of Anterior Cingulate and Adjacent Medial Frontal Cortex in Adept Meditators and Non-meditators.” Neuroscience Letters 421 (1): 16–21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neulet.2007.04.074, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17548160/.
22. Ih-Ren, Mong A. 2015. “Miracle of Mindfulness: Buddhist and Biblical Perspectives.” Asia Journal of Theology 29 (1).
23. Ijaz, Shahid, Muhammad T. Khalily, and Irshad Ahmad. 2017. “Mindfulness in Salah Prayer and Its Association with Mental Health.” Journal of Religion & Health 56 (6): 2297–307. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-017-0413-1, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28502025/.
24. Ikram, Maryam, Waqas Mehmood, Syed Muhammad Umer Saleem, and Shamsiah Banu Mohamad Hanefar. 2026. "Exploring the nexus of governance and AI ethics: Using systematic literature review for future direction." Data and Information Management 10, no. 3: 100122. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dim.2026.100122
25. Iqbal, Nabeel, and Muhammad I. Hossain. 2021. “Self-Development in the Holy Qur’an: The Important Role of Metacognition.” International Journal of Quranic Research 13 (2): 29–42. https://doi.org/10.22452/quranica.vol13no2.2.
26. Jankowski, Tomasz, and Pawel Holas. 2014. “Metacognitive Model of Mindfulness.” Consciousness & Cognit. 28 (1): 64–80. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2014.06.005, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25038535/.
27. Jensen, Casper B., and Anders Blok. 2013. “Techno-Animism in Japan: Shinto Cosmograms, Actor-Network Theory, and the Enabling Powers of Non-human Agencies.” Theory, Culture & Society 30 (2): 84–115. https://doi.org/10.1177/0263276412456564.
28. Johnson, D. A. 2018. “Apophatic Spirituality in Contemporary Christian Practice: A Mindfulness Approach.”
29. Jung, In-Taek, ChungHa Lee, In-Chang Baek, Dongik Oh, Youjin Choi, KyungJoong Kim, Duk-Jo Kong, and Jin-Hyuk Hong. 2026. "GPTalk: LLM-based virtual companions for metacognitive growth in self-regulated e-learning." International Journal of Human-Computer Studies: 103754. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhcs.2026.103754
30. Kaplan, Joanna O. 1981. “Amazonian Anthropology.” Journal of Latin American Studies 13 (1): 151–64. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0022216x00006209.
31. Kasturiratna, KTA Sandeeshwara, and Andree Hartanto. 2025. "Attachment to Artificial Intelligence: Development of the AI Attachment Scale, Construct Validation, and the Psychological Mechanisms of Human–AI Attachment." Computers in Human Behavior Reports: 100912. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chbr.2025.100912
32. Kim, Ryan SangBaek. 2026. "Interrupting resonant amplification: A mechanistic and design framework for human–AI interaction." Computers in Human Behavior Reports 21: 100975. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chbr.2026.100975
33. Knabb, Joshua J. 2012. “Centering Prayer as an Alternative to Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression Relapse Prevention.” Journal of Religion & Health 51 (3): 908–24. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20924682/.
34. Kochan, Jeff. 2024. "Animism and science in European perspective." Studies in History and Philosophy of Science 103: 46-57. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.shpsa.2023.11.001
35. Kouzalis, Alexios. 2023. “A Group Level Analysis of Self-Evaluations Associated with Cognitive Load.” RUDN Journal of Psychology & Pedagogics 20 (3): 578–87. https://doi.org/10.22363/2313-1683-2023-20-3-578-587.
36. Kouzalis, Alexios, Ksenia Konopkina, and Marie Arsalidou. 2021. “Functional Neuroimaging of Self-Ratings Associated with Cognitive Effort.” In Advances in Cognitive Research, Artificial Intelligence and Neuroinformatics, edited by Boris M. Velichkovsky, Pavel M. Balaban and Vadim L. Ushakov, 413–20. Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-71637-0_47.
37. Kouzalis, Alexios, and Regina V. Ershova. 2024. "A region of interest analysis focusing on the insular and cingulate cortices." Вестник Российского университета дружбы народов. Серия: Психология и педагогика 21, no. 1: 328-339. https://doi.org/10.22363/2313-1683-2024-21-1-328-339
38. Kudesia, Ravi S. 2019. “Mindfulness as Metacognitive Practice.” Academy of Management Review 44 (2): 405–23. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2015.0333.
39. Kudesia, Ravi S., and Ven. T. Nyima. 2015. “Mindfulness Contextualized: An Integration of Buddhist and Neuropsychological Approaches to Cognition.” Mindfulness 6 (4): 910–25. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-014-0337-8.
40. Kunz, Werner H., Laszlo Sajtos, and Carlos Flavián. 2025. "Beyond replacement: human-machine collaboration in the age of AI." Journal of Service Management 36, no. 4: 477-494. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOSM-04-2025-0194
41. Löffler, Diana, Jörn Hurtienne, and Ilona Nord. 2021. “Blessing Robot BlessU2: A Discursive Design Study to Understand the Implications of Social Robots in Religious Contexts.” International Journal of Social Robotics 13 (4): 569–86. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12369-019-00558-3.
42. Londoño Sulkin, Carlos D. 2006. “Instrumental Speeches, Morality, and Masculine Agency among Muinane People (Colombian Amazon).” Tipití 4 (1). https://doi.org/10.70845/2572-3626.1031.
43. Marenko, Betti. 2014. “Neo-animism and Design: A New Paradigm in Object Theory.” Design & Culture 6 (2): 219–41. https://doi.org/10.2752/175470814X14031924627185.
44. Mitropoulou, V. 2023. “Integrating Byzantine Icons in Religious Education.” Teol. Ortodoxă 28 (2): 5–16. https://doi.org/10.47743/ASTO.2023.28.2.1
45. Mortlock, Jutta Tobias, Neil Turner, Anke C. Plagnol, Anya Beaumont, and Mike Bourne. 2026. "From complexity responses to enacted practice: Mindfulness as a multi-level metacognitive capability in project leadership." International Journal of Project Management: 102830. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2026.102830
46. Newman, L. 1997. Descartes’ Epistemology.
47. Norman, Elisabeth. 2017. “Metacognition and Mindfulness: The Role of Fringe Consciousness.” Mindfulness 8 (1): 95–100. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28163796/.
48. Okanda, Mako, Kosuke Taniguchi, Ying Wang, and Shoji Itakura. 2021. "Preschoolers' and adults' animism tendencies toward a humanoid robot." Computers in Human Behavior 118: 106688. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2021.106688
49. Overing, Joanna. 2003. "Today I shall call him ‘Mummy': multiple worlds and classificatory confusion 1." In Reason and morality, pp. 150-178. Routledge
50. Overing, Joanna. 1996. "The conquistadors of the jungle: images of the spanish soldier in piaroa cosmology." INDIANA-Estudios Antropológicos sobre América Latina y el Caribe 14: 179-200.
51. Overing, J., and A. Passes. 2000. “Introduction: Conviviality and the Opening up of Amazonian Anthropology.” In The Anthropology of Love & Anger: The Aesthetics of Conviviality in Native Amazônia.
52. Pasch, Stefan, and Min Chul Cha. 2026. "Do ethical AI principles matter to users? A large-scale analysis of user sentiment and satisfaction." Telematics and Informatics: 102381. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2026.102381
53. Pauketat, Janet VT, Ali Ladak, and Jacy Reese Anthis. 2023.. "Artificial intelligence, morality, and sentience (AIMS) survey: 2023 update." https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/9xsav
54. Polydorou, D., K. Zhu, and A. Karkotis. 2017. “Digital Humanities and Techno-Animism in Wearables: A Case-Study-Based Collaborative Design Framework for Digitally-Ensouled Jewellery.” Lecture Notes in Computer Science (Including Subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics) 10289 LNCS. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-58637-3_55.
55. Rashevska, Natalya V., and Serhiy O. Semerikov. 2026. "From philosophical immersion to digital reality: A unified theoretical framework for understanding and classifying immersive technologies in education." Computers & Education: X Reality 8: 100147. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cexr.2026.100147
56. Robertson, Jennifer. 2022. "TECHNOLOGIES OF KOKORO." Icon 27, no. 1 (2022): 53-80.
57. Roselli, Cecilia, Leonardo Lapomarda, and Edoardo Datteri. 2025. "How culture modulates anthropomorphism in Human-Robot Interaction: A review." Acta Psychologica 255: 104871. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.104871
58. Schille-Hudson, E. B., T. M. Luhrmann, and D. Landy. 2024. “Prayer as Collaborative Problem Solving.” Religion, Brain & Behavior 15 (3): 287–311. https://doi.org/10.1080/2153599X.2024.2349778.
59. Schleiger, Emma, Claire Mason, Claire Naughtin, Andrew Reeson, and Cecile Paris. 2024. “Collaborative Intelligence: A Scoping Review of Current Applications.” Applied Artificial Intelligence 38 (1). https://doi.org/10.1080/08839514.2024.2327890.
60. Schoenherr, J. R. 2022. “Ethical Artificial Intelligence from Popular to Cognitive Science: Trust in the Age of Entanglement.” In Ethical Artificial Intelligence from Popular to Cognitive Science: Trust in the Age of Entanglement. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003143284.
61. Singh, Swaran P. 2022. “Self and Suffering in Indian Thought: Implications for Clinicians.” BJPsych Advances 28 (5): 286–96. https://doi.org/10.1192/bja.2022.1.
62. Singh. 2023. “Sakshi and Dhyana: The Origin of Mindfulness-Based Therapies.” BJPsych Bulletin 47 (2): 94–7. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjb.2022.39, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35796539/.
63. Srinivasan, T. M. 2013. “From Meditation to Dhyana.” International Journal of Yoga 6 (1): 1–3. https://doi.org/10.4103/0973-6131.105934, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23436967/.
64. Stofiana, Tofan, Dadang Sunendar, Yeti Mulyati, and Andoyo Sastromiharjo. 2025."Writing with AI, thinking with Toulmin: metacognitive gaps and the rhetorical limits of argumentation." Ampersand: 100242. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amper.2025.100242
65. Tang, Yi-Yuan, Yinghua Ma, Yaxin Fan, Hongbo Feng, Junhong Wang, Shigang Feng, Qilin Lu, Bing Hu, Yao Lin, Jian Li, Y. Zhang, Yan Wang, L. Zhou, and Ming Fan. 2009. “Central and Autonomic Nervous System Interaction Is Altered by Short-Term Meditation.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 106 (22): 8865–70. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0904031106, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19451642/.
66. Trammel, Regina C. 2017. “Tracing the Roots of Mindfulness: Transcendence in Buddhism and Christianity.” Journal of Religion & Spirituality in Social Work: Social Thought 36 (3): 367–83. https://doi.org/10.1080/15426432.2017.1295822.
67. Tylor, Edward Burnett. 1958. "Religion in primitive culture."
68. Vignaud, Philippe, Clement Donde, Thouraya Sadki, Emmanuel Poulet, and Jerome Brunelin. 2018. "Neural effects of mindfulness-based interventions on patients with major depressive disorder: A systematic review." Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews 88: 98-105. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2018.03.004
69. White, Daniel, and Hirofumi Katsuno. 2021. “Toward an Affective Sense of Life: Artificial Intelligence, Animacy, and Amusement at a Robot Pet Memorial Service in Japan.” Cultural Anthropology 36 (2). https://doi.org/10.14506/ca36.2.03.
70. Yıldız, Ümit, Berker Kurt, and Hüseyin Kafes. 2026. "Technology-assisted consciousness-raising for L2 prosody: Effects on oral performance and the underlying cognitive-metacognitive mechanisms of thought-group chunking." Acta Psychologica 263: 106198. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.106198
71. Zhang, Yaoyao, Xin Liu, Huimin Wu, Mingxin Shi, and Cheng Guo. 2025. "Awareness as a key component of mindfulness reduces psychological stress in adolescents: Evidence from multi-method studies. " Behaviour Research and Therapy: 104877. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2025.104877