A Swiss church has experimented with using artificial intelligence to create a digital version of Jesus, sparking debate over whether the move brought people closer to God or was simply “blasphemy.”
St. Peter’s Chapel in Lucerne, Switzerland, began a two-month experiment called “Deus in Machina” in August. In this experiment, visitors interact with an AI-powered digital avatar inside a confession booth.
Avatars displayed on computer screens provided Bible-based advice to church visitors in more than 100 languages.
“Many people came to talk to him,” said Marco Schmidt, the chapel’s theologian. “People were really serious talking to him, some young, some old.”
The project was developed by Swiss IT expert Philipp Haslbauer, an IT expert at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, who said, “Yes to AI,” the Associated Press reported.
Before visitors stepped into the confessional booth, external instructions provided an overview of the experience, including a disclaimer not to divulge personal information.
“With topics like relationships and love and God, they ask God what they should do,” Schmidt explained.
Researchers and religious leaders involved in the project published the results of a two-month experiment inside the 300-year-old church in November, according to the Associated Press.
About 900 conversations were transcribed from visitors, some of whom visited more than once, according to the Associated Press. Nearly 300 of those visitors filled out a survey after leaving the booth, with the results released last month.
According to the Associated Press, project leaders found that the experiment was mostly successful, with visitors coming out of the booth impressed, thoughtful, and finding it easy to use.
The visitors talked about a wide range of topics, from the afterlife to true love, loneliness and the existence of God, according to the Associated Press. Most visitors were between the ages of 40 and 70 and identified themselves as Christians in a survey, but agnostics, atheists, Muslims, Buddhists and Taoists also visited the booth.
Although the results were mostly positive, the experiment sparked discussion and controversy around the world on social media.
Why is “AI Jesus” so controversial?
Bishop James Long said in a TikTok posted last month that the move was “not a sacrament” and “really just blasphemy.”
Hasslebauer told The Associated Press that he had seen conversations on social media calling the experiment “blasphemous” and “the work of the devil.”
“If you read the comments on the internet about this, some of them are very negative, and that’s scary,” Hasslebauer said.
Schmidt said “AI Jesus” was in no way meant to replace priests, but was implemented to get people thinking about the intersection of digital and divinity.
