“I felt cared for and comforted”: this is the Jesus made by AI who listens to confessions in a church

From a small church in Lucerne, a city in Switzerland, believers leave with a smile. And a miracle happened: were able to see and speak with Jesus in a confessional. But it was not a spirit or an apparition, but rather an image made with Artificial intelligence who is able to listen and converse with parishioners.

In a small wooden structure where people sit to confess their sins They are no longer listened to by an ordinary priest, but AI Jesus (Jesus AI in Spanish).

To do this, the developers of this project, named Deus to Machina they installed cables, computers and a screen in Saint-Pierre chapel.

The most impressive thing about this technology is that The figure of Jesus is able to respond to believers who come to him with words of comfort and faith.

The spiritual experience, supported by technology, goes like this: a person is sitting in the confessional and sees a blue button. Before you press it, listen to the following warning.

“Do not disclose personal information under any circumstances. Use this service at your own risk. Press the button if you agree.

A German media journalist Deutsche Welle He tried asking Jesús IA a question to see how it worked. “Why can’t women become priests?” » he asked.

Then, through the typical grille which hides the faces of the priests in the confessional, You can see the face of Jesus, with his black hair and beard, and he answers: “The Scriptures teach that certain roles are defined by the Church. »

“Every role and every task has its place in God’s plan . “Now how can you promote peace and harmony in your home?” the AI ​​responded in German, although He has the ability to speak in over a hundred other languages, including English and Spanish.

The same medium spoke with certain parishioners who have already been able to confess and speak to Jesus in the Artificial Intelligence version.

One of them said thate “he was able to reaffirm my way of seeing things. Helped me with the questions I had, for example, how can I help others to understand it better and get closer to it.

Another believer, who was also able to converse with the AI, said her experience surprised her. “It was easy. And even though it’s a machine, he gave me good advice. From a Christian perspective, I felt cared for and came away truly comforted.

For the theologian Marko Schmid, at the origin of the project, The goal of creating a digital Jesus for the confessional was to “understand people’s reactions to the artificial intelligence version of Jesus and the topics of their conversations.”

“We wanted to see and understand how people react to a Jesus with artificial intelligence. What would you talk to him about? Would you be interested in speaking to him? “We are probably pioneers in this area.”

However, now that it had been implemented for some time and received a good reception from the believing public, He stressed the importance of integrating technology with religion, a blend that might be rejected by some more conservative religious people.

And in the case of the confessional, Schmid said that Jesus AI “has abilities that pastors don’t have », such as being available 24 hours a day for those who need it.

But Not everyone likes this idea.

In conversation with DWtheology and philosophy specialist Peter G. Kirchschläger from the University of Lucerne said that The project goes too far and he warned that “we must be careful about faith and pastoral care.”

And for him, this is an area where “humans are far superior to machines”. Replacing living shepherds with technology, for him, This can pose a danger to spirituality.