An AI version of Jesus now listens to the confessions of the faithful in a church in Switzerland
A church in Switzerland has created an artificial intelligence called Jesus. Its mission: to listen to the confessions of the faithful. Artificial intelligence has just seen its list of targets grow. It is now the “Only Son of God” who is in the crosshairs. Roughly speaking, the table revives questions around the automation of the clergy by artificial intelligence.
St. Peter's Chapel in Lucerne, Switzerland, recently unveiled an experimental art installation that features an AI version of Jesus in the confessional booth. The church encourages visitors to share their thoughts and questions with AI Jesus while clarifying that this is not the sacrament of confession. The AI Jesus whose image appears on a screen in the confessional is likely to “create a sacred moment”, according to the church.
St. Peter's Chapel adds that the installation is intended to encourage visitors to "think critically about the limits of technology in the context of religion." » Moreover, feedback from users of the service indicates that the AI warns its users: “Do not, under any circumstances, disclose personal information. Use this service at your own risk. Press the button if you agree. »
The phenomenon affects a wide spectrum of religious obediences. Even Buddhist temples are affected
Indeed, during the commemoration of 500 years of the Protestant Reformation, a church in Germany unveiled a robot priest capable of blessing the faithful in 5 different languages. The robot is called BlessU-2 (hear “I bless you too”) and has a head, two arms as well as a screen in the center of its torso, can read passages from the Bible in German, English , French, Spanish and Polish with a choice of a male or female voice. The robot also knows how to emit light signals of the kind that characterize atmospheres charged with a large dose of spirituality.
“May I bless you?” What is your preference: to be blessed by a man's voice or that of a woman? What blessing do you need? » are among the questions that the latter asks the faithful during their discussions.
The Protestant church in the Hesse-Nassau province was experimenting to launch a debate: whether it is absolutely necessary for humans alone to pronounce blessings. The initiative also aimed to get the public to consider the prospect of receiving it from a robot priest. Roughly speaking, the idea was to evaluate the contribution of technology to the religious world.
Even Buddhist temples are affected. There are places where you wouldn't expect to find a robot. Buddhist temples are one of them. However, news that the Kyoto region was experimenting with a robot priest surfaced in 2017. Mindar (the product of a partnership with a research team from Osaka University) officiates at Kodai-ji, which is both a 400-year-old Buddhist temple and a school of Zen Buddhism. Like other clergy, the robot is able to deliver religious sermons and interact with believers. Yet all the robotic features of the million-dollar machine are visible: it is a mixture of aluminum and silicone; only his face, neck area and hands are covered in silicone, the rest conceals nothing of his mechanical constitution.
Tensho Goto, the chief steward of the temple, is categorical: the contribution of robotics and artificial intelligence is undeniable. “This robot will never die. It will continue to update and evolve. With artificial intelligence, we hope that it will gain wisdom, in order to help the public confront their most terrible troubles. This initiative is changing Buddhism,” he emphasizes. Indeed, one of the ideas behind the adoption of Mindar is to use the tools of this time to interest the younger Japanese generations who are very disconnected from anything religious.
24-hour availability is one of the reasons likely to justify the use of artificial intelligence and robots for questions related to the sacred. The approach is also likely to hide a growing disinterest among humans for professions in this sector.
Source : Saint-Pierre Lucerne
