LUCERNE, Switzerland – Would you trust an artificial intelligence “Jesus” with your most intimate thoughts and problems?
Researchers and religious leaders on Wednesday released the results of a two-month experiment through art at a Catholic chapel in Switzerland, where an avatar of “Jesus” on a computer screen — located in a confessional — received questions from visitors about faith, morality, and modern problems, and offered answers based on Scripture.
The idea, the chapel’s theological assistant said, was to recognize the growing importance of artificial intelligence in human life, including as it relates to religion, and to explore the limits of human trust in a machine.
After the two-month duration of the “Deus in Machina” exhibition in St. Peter’s Chapel since the end of August, some 900 visitor conversations —some came more than once— were transcribed anonymously. Those responsible for the project said it was largely a success: Visitors often came away moved or deep in thought, and found it easy to use.
A small sign invited visitors to enter a confessional—chosen for its intimacy—and beneath a grate through which penitent believers usually speak to a priest, orA green light signaled the visitor’s turn to speak, and a red one flashed when the “Jesus AI” on a computer screen on the other side responded.
It often took a while to receive a response—a testament to the technical complexities. On their way out, nearly 300 visitors filled out questionnaires that informed the report released Wednesday.
Of love, war, suffering and loneliness
Philipp Haslbaueran information technology specialist at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts who coordinated the technical aspect of the project, said that the artificial intelligence responsible for taking on the role of “Jesus AI” and generating responses was OpenAI’s GPT4o, and was used an open source version from the company Whisper for speech understanding.
Heygen’s interactive avatar generator was used to produce voice and video of a real person, he said. Haslbauer mentioned that no specific safeguards were used “because we observed that GPT4o responded quite well to controversial topics.”
Visitors addressed many topics, including true love, life after death, feelings of loneliness, war and suffering in the world, the existence of God, as well as topics such as cases of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church or its position about homosexuality.
Most of the visitors described themselves as Christians, although agnostics, atheists, Muslims, Buddhists and Taoists also participated, according to a summary of the project published by the Lucerne parish.
About a third were German speakers, but “Jesus AI” — which converses in about 100 languages — also had conversations in languages such as Chinese, English, French, Hungarian, Italian, Russian and Spanish.
“Work of the devil?”
“What was really interesting was seeing that people actually talked to him seriously. They didn’t come to make jokes,” said chapel theologian Marco Schmid, who led the project. Most of the visitors were between 40 and 70 years old, and Catholics found the experience more stimulating than Protestantsthe report showed.
Schmid was quick to point out that the “IA Jesus”—presented as a “Jesus-like” person—was an artistic experiment to get people thinking about the intersection between the digital and the divine, not a substitute for human interaction or sacramental confessions with a priestnor was it intended to save pastoral resources.
The Church, from the Vatican on down, is grappling with the challenges—and potential opportunities—presented by the explosion in public interest in AI since generative artificial intelligence captured the world’s attention two years ago, when ChatGPT made its debut. .
The Vatican has named a friar from a medieval Franciscan order as its top AI expert, and a Lutheran church in Bavaria offered sermons delivered by a chatbot last year. Pope Francis, in his annual peace message this year, called for an international treaty to ensure the ethical use of AI technology.
Haslbauer acknowledged his own moment of Thomas Disbelief: He is sensitive to public reaction and has noticed comments on social media that the project is “blasphemous” or the “work of the devil.”
“If you read comments on the Internet about it, some of them are very negative, which is terrifying,” said Haslbauer, whose long-haired look served as the basis for the virtual Jesus image.
At a demonstration of the technology in the chapel, Haslbauer asked Jesus AI about his message to a troubled world, and whether AI could be useful as a way for people to find God.
“All knowledge and wisdom ultimately comes from God,” said the chatbot in a calming voice, after a pause to respond, and the image briefly cut to speed. “If used wisely, AI can indeed be a tool to explore the wonders of creation, deepen our understanding of Scripture, and foster connections between people.”
“Still, it remains essential to seek God with all your heart and soul beyond any technology,” he added.
A good side and a not so good side
Kenneth Cukierjournalist, author and expert at the US-based non-profit group called “AI and Faith,” said that if “Jesus AI” helps people connect more deeply with themselves and the world, “it has to be something good.”
“This will lead to better individuals and a better world,” Cukier said. “However—and there is a big however—this does seem a little childish, and pardon the pun, mechanical.”
“The risk is that it distances people, ultimately, from what is most meaningful, deepest and most authentic in spirituality,” said Cukier, co-author of “Big Data: A Revolution That Will Transform How We Work, Live and Think.” .
For Schmid, the exhibition was a pilot project, and he does not foresee a second coming of Jesus IA anytime soon.
“For us, it was also clear that there would only be a limited time in which we would expose this Jesus,” he said, adding that any return would first need deeper reflection.
“We are discussing … how we could revive it again,” he said, noting interest from parishes, teachers, researchers and others as the project received media attention in Switzerland and beyond. “Everyone is interested and would like to have this Jesus IA. So now we have to reflect on how we want to continue.”