AI-powered confessional debuts at Swiss church

The intersection of artificial intelligence and religious practice has reached a new milestone with a Swiss church’s introduction of an AI-powered Jesus Christ simulation for confessionals.

The innovation: A Swiss church has implemented an AI system that simulates Jesus Christ, allowing visitors to engage in confessional-style conversations and receive AI-generated spiritual guidance.

• The project, called “Deus in Machina” (God in a Machine), features an AI Jesus displayed on a screen within a traditional confessional setting
• The system was developed through collaboration between the church and the Immersive Realities Research Lab at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts
• The AI model’s responses are based on training from the New Testament, designed to reflect Jesus’s personality and teachings

Technical implementation: The AI system combines advanced language processing with religious scholarship to create an experience that aims to be both technologically sophisticated and theologically sound.

• The AI appears as a Swiss-looking interpretation of Jesus, despite historical inaccuracy
• The system processes verbal input from visitors and generates responses based on its New Testament training
• St. Peter’s theologian Marco Schmid confirms that the AI’s responses have consistently aligned with their theological understanding

User experience and reactions: Early feedback from visitors reveals a spectrum of responses to this novel fusion of technology and faith.

• Some parishioners report positive experiences, praising the quality and relevance of the AI’s spiritual guidance
• Others find the interactions generic and unimpressive
• Theological disagreements with the AI’s interpretations suggest it successfully mirrors real-world religious discourse

Broader religious AI landscape: This implementation represents part of a growing trend in the intersection of artificial intelligence and spiritual practice.

• Social AI offers users an entire AI-populated universe for spiritual exploration
• Friend.com provides opportunities for users to counsel AI personalities
• The Vatican, in partnership with IBM, has developed guidelines for ethical AI use in religious contexts

Future implications: The introduction of AI Jesus raises important questions about the role of technology in religious practice and spiritual guidance, while highlighting both the potential and limitations of AI in deeply personal human experiences.