AI Jesus: A Confession Booth for the Curious

Does talking to a digital Jesus count as divine intervention, or just clever coding?

Peter’s Chapel in Lucerne has swapped tradition for technology by installing an AI-powered Jesus in its confessional booth. The experiment, called Deus in Machina, let over 1,000 visitors engage with an avatar trained on theological texts.

The AI, speaking 100 languages, offered spiritual answers ranging from insightful to cliché. Two-thirds of participants called it a “spiritual experience,” though critics dismissed it as superficial or unsettling - I wonder if people who chat to my digital twin also call it a spirtual experience 🤷‍♂️

The initiative highlighted the public’s hunger for direct, personalized spiritual engagement, even in a tech-mediated format. It also raised ethical concerns, including the unpredictability of AI’s responses and the responsibility of churches to oversee such tools.

While the theologian behind the project ruled out a permanent installation, he sees potential for AI as a multilingual spiritual guide, broadening access to faith discussions.

This experiment reveals a thirst for accessible spirituality but raises a key question: should faith embrace AI as a guide or guard sacred spaces from digital disruption? What do you think, would you ask AI Jesus for advice?

Read the full article on The Guardian.

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