Is that mess-AI-iah?
Just in case artificial intelligence hasn’t been getting enough work lately – now it’s replacing the Almighty. A church in Switzerland is now using an AI hologram of Jesus to take confessions from Catholic worshippers, as seen in a wildly viral video.
“I was surprised, it was so easy, and even though it’s a machine, it gave me so many tips,” one amazed fan told DW News while describing their experience with the Preacher, located in Lucerne’s St. Peter’s Church.
Called Deus in Machina, the futuristic shrine features a confessional booth with a screen that projects the face of Jesus through the shutter.
Before entering, robo-Jesus warns: “Do not disclose personal information under any circumstances, use this service at your own risk, press the button if you agree.”
If the fan chooses to continue, the digitally rendered image interprets their words and generates a response with the animated face moving in sync with the words.
When asked why women are not allowed to serve as priests in the Catholic church, the digital son of God replied: “The scriptures teach that certain roles are defined within the church, each role and duty has its place in God’s plan.”
The cybernetic second coming of Jesus was made possible by computer scientists and theologians from the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, who programmed the robot with the New Testament and religious information found online, the Daily Mail reported.
The cyber savior is also fluent in 100 different languages, enabling him to chat with fans from all over the world.
Many believers were over the moon about JC’s robo-resurrection, which received confessions between August 23 and October 20, but will be involved in events until the end of November.
“I asked about the spiral of violence, how to break one,” recalls one delighted visitor. “The answer: through prayer and not seeking punishment.”
Another confessed: “He was able to reaffirm me in my ways of doing things and he was able to help me with questions I had about how I could help other people to understand better and to get closer to him.
AI Christ was even able to navigate some of the sharpest theological dilemmas. “How can I support, from a Christian perspective, an elderly, sick person who has decided to commit assisted suicide?” asked one regretfully.
“Perhaps you could ask your loved one the following questions…What does your faith mean to you at this difficult time?” HE Jesus answered. “Is there anything else in life that can bring you peace or joy? How can I support you and give you comfort?”
He added: “Your job is not to judge, but to accompany with love.”
Of course, not everyone was thrilled with the idea of JC’s digital broker, with some calling it “cheating” while others called the avatar advice “generic”.
The church even received an ominous warning that the project “will not be without consequences.”
Meanwhile, Professor Peter Kirchschläger, a theologian and ethicist from the University of Lucerne, claimed that machines do not have the moral compass needed to practice religion.
“This is one area where we humans are actually far superior to machines, so we have to do these things ourselves,” he said.
St. Peter’s Chapel theologian Marco Schmid acknowledged in a statement (translated via Google) that while the project “has its limits” and raises some ethical questions, so far all of its answers “have been consistent with our theological understanding of Saint Peter’s Chapel”.
He says the idea is not for the technology to take over the work of Jesus — the church reiterated that the installation was only temporary — but to spur discussion on the role of AI in religion.
“What we’re doing here is an experiment, we wanted to start the discussion by letting people have a very concrete experience with AI,” he explained. “That way we have a basis to talk about it and discuss it with each other.”
Schmid envisioned AI providing 24-hour pastoral support since unlike their human equivalents, virtual priests do not need to sleep.
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Image Source : nypost.com