Robot J-Lo and Ben Affleck breaking up again, the Almighty has decided to send his son back down to Earth, albeit in an unexpected form. Say hello to the Anti-Christ.
A cozy chapel in the rural village of Lucerne, Switzerland is the unlikely host for this semi-Second Coming, as parishioners are having their confessions taken by a digital reincarnation of the Son of God. The experimental art installation comprises a multi-lingual bot, placed inside the confessional booth, as well as what’s being dubbed a “heavenly hologram” projected behind the latticed screen, where confessors would typically converse with a priest.
Officially, AI Jesus is dubbed the “Deus in Machina” project (we see what you did there) and, according to its creators via the project’s website, the cyber-Son of Man “encourages critical reflection on the limits of technology in the context of religion. The encounter with the AI Jesus and the ing program are intended to encourage critical engagement with AI.”
It’s not every day that you get to chat with the King of Kings, so naturally those who have confessed their sins to AI Jesus have come away with intense reactions. According to accrued data, two-thirds of Robo-Christ’s flock have itted to having spiritual experiences during their confessionals. That said, a handful came away more skeptical, with one individual blasting the project as a “gimmick.”
Others, meanwhile, gave glowing testimonials about what AI Jesus could do. “He was able to reaffirm me in my ways of going about things and he helped me with questions I had, like how I can help other people to understand him better, and come closer to him,” described one woman.
Someone else explained how AI Jesus’ wisdom and comion were almost enough to make him forget he was talking to a machine. “I was surprised, it was so easy,” one man recalled. “And though it’s a machine, it gave me so much advice. Also, from a Christian point of view, I felt taken care of and I walked out really consoled.”
Marco Schmid, the theologian of Lucerne’s Peter’s Chapel, isn’t concerned about AI Jesus stealing his job as he has stressed that he believes AI can be even more helpful to parishioners than any human pastor can.
“What we’re doing here is an experiment — we wanted to launch the discussion by letting people have a very concrete experience with AI,” Schmid told Swiss site DW. “That way, we have a foundation for talking about it and discussing it with one another… Accessibility is easy, 24 hours a day, so it has abilities that pastors don’t.”
Not everyone’s loving AI Jesus, of course, as the issue is causing a storm in religious philosophy circles. “We should be careful when it comes to faith… when finding meaning in religion,” ethics professor Peter Kirchschlager has warned. “That’s an area where we humans are actually vastly superior to machines, so we should do these things ourselves.” Personally, I’m suddenly nostalgic for the days when people would find Jesus in slices of toast…
Published: Nov 28, 2024 09:52 am