Would you confide in an \u201cAI Jesus\u201d about your deepest questions and struggles? This was the premise of a two-month experiment at a Catholic chapel in Switzerland, where a digital avatar of Jesus engaged visitors in discussions on faith, morality, and life\u2019s challenges, offering responses rooted in Scripture.<\/p>\n
The exhibit, named Deus in Machina<\/em>, was held at Peter\u2019s Chapel in Lucerne and aimed to examine the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and religion. Organizers wanted to explore the boundaries of human trust in AI while acknowledging its growing role in daily life, including spiritual matters.<\/p>\n Visitors entered a confessional booth equipped with a computer screen displaying \u201cAI Jesus.\u201d A green light signaled the visitor\u2019s turn to speak, while a red light indicated that the AI was formulating a response. Conversations spanned topics such as love, the afterlife, loneliness, war, suffering, and even controversial issues like sexual abuse in the Church and its stance on homosexuality.<\/p>\n The responses were generated by GPT-4, an AI model developed by OpenAI, and its speech comprehension was powered by Whisper, another OpenAI tool. The avatar’s voice and video were created using technology from Heygen, adding a human-like dimension to the interaction.<\/p>\n Over two months, nearly 900 conversations were anonymously transcribed, with visitors leaving largely moved or reflective. Nearly 300 participants provided feedback, revealing that most found the experience meaningful, especially Catholics.<\/p>\n Marco Schmid, the chapel\u2019s theologian and project lead, emphasized that \u201cAI Jesus\u201d was an artistic experiment meant to provoke thought rather than a substitute for traditional confession or pastoral care.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat was really interesting was to see people engaging seriously with the AI,\u201d Schmid noted. \u201cThey didn\u2019t come to make jokes.\u201d<\/p>\n Participants were diverse, including Christians, agnostics, atheists, Muslims, Buddhists, and Taoists. Conversations occurred in over a dozen languages, including English, German, Chinese, French, and Spanish.<\/p>\n The project also sparked controversy, with some critics labeling it as \u201cblasphemous\u201d or \u201cthe work of the devil.\u201d Schmid acknowledged these concerns but maintained that the experiment was designed to encourage dialogue about the role of technology in faith.<\/p>\n The Catholic Church, including the Vatican, is grappling with the ethical implications of AI. Pope Francis has called for international treaties to regulate AI\u2019s use, while the Vatican has appointed an AI expert from the Franciscan order. Elsewhere, a Lutheran church in Bavaria recently used a chatbot to deliver sermons.<\/p>\n Kenneth Cukier, an expert with the U.S.-based nonprofit \u201cAI and Faith,\u201d praised the initiative for fostering self-reflection and connection. However, he cautioned against the risk of AI replacing genuine spiritual experiences.<\/p>\n The exhibit was designed as a pilot project with no immediate plans for a continuation. However, Schmid hinted at potential future iterations, given the interest from parishes, schools, and researchers.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are discussing how we could revive him again,\u201d he said. \u201cBut it requires careful consideration.\u201d<\/p>\n For now, \u201cAI Jesus\u201d remains a provocative experiment, blending tradition with technology and prompting questions about how faith can coexist with the digital age.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Would you confide in an \u201cAI Jesus\u201d about your deepest questions and struggles? This was the premise of a two-month experiment at a Catholic chapel in Switzerland, where a digital avatar of Jesus engaged visitors in discussions on faith, morality, and life\u2019s challenges, offering responses rooted in Scripture. The exhibit, named Deus in Machina, was<\/p>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":9382,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"twitter_1160854738579181570_1160854738579181570":"","facebook_3558452337540614_100649324928663":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[181],"tags":[285,343,311,322],"class_list":{"0":"post-9381","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-spot-lite","8":"tag-amnewsworld","9":"tag-bern","10":"tag-reporter","11":"tag-with-associate-press"},"yoast_head":"\n<\/h3>\n
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