Swiss church sparks controversy with an AI Jesus taking confessions

In one of the many controversial cases involving the church and AI, a Switzerland church introduced an AI Jesus to take on confessions from Catholic worshippers.

This comes as AI technology has been touted as a game changer with the ability to optimize operations, despite fears the tech will replace humans in the job market. With all the predictions, no one ever thought that the technology would one day replace Jesus.

AI Jesus empowered with linguistic prowess to interact with everyone

According to a New York Post article, a church in Switzerland has taken AI adoption to another level, introducing a robo-Jesus dubbed Deus in Machina. According to the report, the futuristic shrine features a confessional booth that has a screen that shows Jesus’ face through the grate.

The AI Jesus warns worshippers before they enter the shrine: “Do not disclose personal information under any circumstances, use this service at your own risk, press the button if you accept.”

If a worshipper opts to proceed, the robo-Jesus interprets their words before generating a response with the animated face moving in synch with the voice.

The AI creation is fluent in over 100 languages making it easier to communicate with worshippers in confession. The bot was programmed with New Testament and religious information by computer scientists and theologians from the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, according to the Daily Mail.

“I was surprised, it was so easy, and though it’s a machine, it gave me so much advice,” one awestruck worshipper told DW News while describing their experience with the Sermon-ator, located at St. Peter’s Church in Lucerne. The AI-generated Jesus took confessions between August 23 and October 20.

Some worshippers were generally delighted with the AI-generated Jesus that was able to answer some pertinent issues.

“He was able to reaffirm me in my ways of going about things and he was able to help me with questions I had like how I can help other people to understand him better and come closer to him.”

A worshipper.

The AI creation was also able to navigate some of the controversial theological issues like assisted suicide for elderly, sick persons.

“Perhaps you could ask your loved one the following questions…What does your faith mean to you in this difficult time?” AI Jesus responded. “Is there anything else in life that could bring you peace or joy? How can I support you and give you comfort?”

The Swiss church divided opinion with its AI Jesus

According to the New York Post, not everyone was amused with the initiative of a digital Christ. Others labeled it a “gimmick” while others called its advice generic.

The church itself also received a stern warning about the project that it “will not be without consequences.”

Professor Peter Kirchschläger, a theologian and ethicist from the University of Lucerne raised the debate on AI and humans. He argued that machines do not have the moral compass needed to practice religion.

“That’s an area where we humans are actually vastly superior to machines so we should do these things themselves.”

Professor Kirchschläger.

Another theologist at St Peter’s Chapel, Marco Schmid agreed that while the project “has its limits,” and raises ethical questions, so far it has managed to provide answers that “matched our theological understanding of St Peter’s Chapel.”

He added the idea was not about replacing Jesus and his job but rather spurring discussions on the role of AI in religion.

“What we’re doing here is an experiment, we wanted to launch the discussion by letting people have a very concrete experience with AI,” explained Schmid.

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