Ashifa Kassam
The Guardian
Originally posted 21 Nov 24
The small, unadorned church has long ranked as the oldest in the Swiss city of Lucerne. But Peter’s chapel has become synonymous with all that is new after it installed an artificial intelligence-powered Jesus capable of dialoguing in 100 different languages.
“It was really an experiment,” said Marco Schmid, a theologian with the Peterskapelle church. “We wanted to see and understand how people react to an AI Jesus. What would they talk with him about? Would there be interest in talking to him? We’re probably pioneers in this.”
The installation, known as Deus in Machina, was launched in August as the latest initiative in a years-long collaboration with a local university research lab on immersive reality.
After projects that had experimented with virtual and augmented reality, the church decided that the next step was to install an avatar. Schmid said: “We had a discussion about what kind of avatar it would be – a theologian, a person or a saint? But then we realised the best figure would be Jesus himself.”
Short on space and seeking a place where people could have private conversations with the avatar, the church swapped out its priest to set up a computer and cables in the confessional booth. After training the AI program in theological texts, visitors were then invited to pose questions to a long-haired image of Jesus beamed through a latticework screen. He responded in real time, offering up answers generated through artificial intelligence.
Here are some thoughts:
A Swiss church conducted a two-month experiment using an AI-powered Jesus avatar in a confessional booth, allowing over 1,000 people to interact with it in various languages. The experiment, called Deus in Machina, aimed to gauge public reaction and explore the potential of AI in religious contexts. While many participants reported a positive spiritual experience, others found the AI's responses trite or superficial, highlighting the limitations of current AI technology in nuanced spiritual conversation. The church ultimately deemed the AI Jesus unsuitable for permanent installation due to the significant responsibility involved. The project sparked both interest and criticism within the church community.
