Can an AI Jesus hear people’s confessions?
This was the question being asked by a Roman Catholic congregation in Luzern in Switzerland, where an AI image of Jesus, equipped with content from the New Testament, was placed in a confessional within their Catholic Church, St Peter´s Chapel.
According to an article which appeared in the Catholic News Agency, the image was a work of art, intended to stimulate interest among church goers as the possible use of AI within a liturgical or pastoral context.
The idea was that the hologram would respond, verbally, in one of 100 languages, to questions about the Bible. It was perhaps unfortunate that it was placed in the confessional, giving people the entirely false impression it might also hear confessions and give them absolution!
On a more serious note, I guess this does raise the question as to how far we are ready to adopt AI in our ministry here at St George’s? Is there a role for AI, should there be, and how could it be of benefit to us without dumbing down our liturgy or the personal way in which we try to welcome people to the church?
Read the fully story here.
Picture above. AI generated image of Jesus Christ on a hemp field. By Midjourney, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons