Nov 22, 2024 12:00:00

An 'AI Christ' that talks to believers and forgives their sins is born, and two-thirds of those who confess their sins say it was a 'spiritual experience'

In Christianity, there is a ritual called '

confession ' to receive forgiveness of sins. During this ritual, believers confess their sins to a priest, but the church ' Peterskapelle ' in Lucerne, Switzerland conducted an experiment in which an 'AI Christ' equipped with artificial intelligence listened to the confessions of believers.

Deus in Machina
https://www.kathluzern.ch/meine-kirche/news/artikel/deus-in-machina

'AI Jesus' Is Now Taking Confessions at a Church in Switzerland
https://www.vice.com/en/article/ai-jesus-is-now-taking-confessions-at-a-church-in-switzerland/

Deus in machina: Swiss church installs AI-powered Jesus | Artificial intelligence (AI) | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/nov/21/deus-in-machina-swiss-church-installs-ai-powered-jesus

Philipp Haslbauer and Aljosa Smolich of the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences (HSLU) and theologian Marco Schmidt of the Peterskapelle have created the 'Deus in Machina' project, an 'experimental art installation' in which an 'AI Christ' is placed in a confessional booth.

'We discussed what kind of avatar would be best for confession,' Schmidt said. 'We considered theologians, laypeople, saints, and so on, but ultimately we came to the conclusion that the best avatar would be Christ himself.'

When a believer enters the confession booth, an avatar of Christ appears on the screen through the latticed partition and tells them, 'Do not disclose personal information under any circumstances. Participants are responsible for any damage caused by the implementation of this service. If you agree, press the button.' After that, Deus in Machina will accept questions and confessions from believers, generate answers in real time, and provide them to believers. In addition, Deus in Machina can speak in more than 100 languages depending on the person.

'Deus in Machina' was installed in Peterskapelle for two months from August 2024 to October 2024, and experiments were conducted by more than 1,000 tourists and believers.

Of the more than 230 participants who provided feedback, two-thirds said it was a spiritual experience. One woman who participated in the experiment said, 'Deus in Machina gave me advice on a question I had long had: 'How can I help other people understand Christ better and draw closer to his teachings?''

Another participant said, 'I was surprised. It was so easy. Deus in Machina is indeed a machine, but it gave me a lot of good advice from a Christian perspective. I left the confessional booth feeling really comforted by Deus in Machina.'

On the other hand, some participants

criticized Christ's AI's answers, saying they were stale and repetitive.

'At times he produced incredibly happy, surprising and inspiring answers, but at other times he produced answers that were superficially not very good,' Schmidt said of Deus in Machina. Schmidt also said that the experiment was criticized by some in the church community, who said they found it 'unpleasant.'

'This Deus in Machina is just an experiment, and we will not be setting it up permanently. But we want people to have a very concrete experience with AI, and we want it to spark a discussion,' Schmidt explained. He added, 'I think people have a thirst to talk to Christ. People are always looking for answers, and they want to listen to what Christ has to say. This Deus in Machina is an easy, familiar tool for religion and Christian faith.'