LUCERNE, Switzerland (AP) — Would you trust an “AI Jesus” with your innermost thoughts and troubles? Researchers and religious leaders on Wednesday released findings from a two-month experiment through art in a Catholic chapel in Switzerland, where an avatar of “Jesus” on a computer screen — tucked into a confessional — took questions by visitors on faith, morality, and modern-day woes, and offered responses based on Scripture.
The idea, said the chapel’s theological assistant, was to recognize the growing importance of artificial intelligence in human lives, even when it comes to religion, and explore the limits of human trust in a machine.
After the two-month run of the “Deus in Machina” exhibit at Peter’s Chapel starting in late August, some 900 conversations from visitors – who came more than once – were transcribed anonymously. Those behind the project said it was largely a success: Visitors often came out moved or deep in thought, and found it easy to use.
A sign invited visitors to enter a confessional – chosen for its intimacy – and below a lattice screen across which penitent believers would usually speak with a priest, a green light signaled the visitor’s turn to speak, and a red one came on when “AI Jesus” on a computer screen on the other side was responding.
Of love, war, suffering, and solitude, the report revealed that visitors broached many topics, including true love, the afterlife, feelings of solitude, war, and suffering in the world, the existence of God, plus issues like sexual abuse cases in the Catholic Church or its position on homosexuality. Most visitors described themselves as Christians, though agnostics, atheists, Muslims, Buddhists, and Taoists took part too.
The AI responsible for taking the role of “AI Jesus” was GPT-4o by OpenAI, with an open-source version of the company’s Whisper used for speech comprehension. An AI video generator from Heygen was used to produce voice and video from a real person.
Haslbauer said no specific safeguards were used “because we observed GPT-4o to respond fairly well to controversial topics,” and that the project aimed to spark a deeper exploration of the intersection between digital and divine. He emphasized the importance of recognizing the role of AI in religious experiences, saying that the system was not intended to replace human interaction or sacramental confessions.
Schmid, the chapel’s theological assistant, noted that the “AI Jesus” was an artistic experiment and not a substitute for human interaction or spiritual guidance. He added that the majority of visitors were aged 40 to 70, and more Catholics than Protestants found the experience stimulating, according to the report.
The project aimed to explore the limits of human trust in AI, acknowledging the potential for both benefits and risks. Some critics, including a journalist and AI expert, Kenneth Cukier, expressed concerns about whether AI could lead people away from a deeper, more authentic spirituality. However, others, like Roman Catholic Church leaders, view AI as a tool that can be used to enhance human connection and understanding, saying it could “lead to better individuals and a better world” as long as it is used wisely.
The Vatican has been wrestling with the challenges and opportunities presented by the explosion in public interest in AI since generative artificial intelligence captured the world’s attention. OpenAI’s ChatGPT made its debut two years ago, sparking a wave of interest in AI across various sectors, from education to healthcare and beyond. The technology has the potential to change the way people interact with each other, as well as with the divine, and can be used to create new forms of art, literature, and even spiritual experiences.