AI Jesus: Swiss chapel explores faith and technology through interactive Exhibit

Would you confide in an “AI Jesus” about your deepest questions and struggles? This was the premise of a two-month experiment at a Catholic chapel in Switzerland, where a digital avatar of Jesus engaged visitors in discussions on faith, morality, and life’s challenges, offering responses rooted in Scripture.

The exhibit, named Deus in Machina, was held at Peter’s Chapel in Lucerne and aimed to examine the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and religion. Organizers wanted to explore the boundaries of human trust in AI while acknowledging its growing role in daily life, including spiritual matters.

Visitors entered a confessional booth equipped with a computer screen displaying “AI Jesus.” A green light signaled the visitor’s turn to speak, while a red light indicated that the AI was formulating a response. Conversations spanned topics such as love, the afterlife, loneliness, war, suffering, and even controversial issues like sexual abuse in the Church and its stance on homosexuality.

The responses were generated by GPT-4, an AI model developed by OpenAI, and its speech comprehension was powered by Whisper, another OpenAI tool. The avatar’s voice and video were created using technology from Heygen, adding a human-like dimension to the interaction.

Over two months, nearly 900 conversations were anonymously transcribed, with visitors leaving largely moved or reflective. Nearly 300 participants provided feedback, revealing that most found the experience meaningful, especially Catholics.

Marco Schmid, the chapel’s theologian and project lead, emphasized that “AI Jesus” was an artistic experiment meant to provoke thought rather than a substitute for traditional confession or pastoral care.

“What was really interesting was to see people engaging seriously with the AI,” Schmid noted. “They didn’t come to make jokes.”

Participants were diverse, including Christians, agnostics, atheists, Muslims, Buddhists, and Taoists. Conversations occurred in over a dozen languages, including English, German, Chinese, French, and Spanish.

The project also sparked controversy, with some critics labeling it as “blasphemous” or “the work of the devil.” Schmid acknowledged these concerns but maintained that the experiment was designed to encourage dialogue about the role of technology in faith.

The Catholic Church, including the Vatican, is grappling with the ethical implications of AI. Pope Francis has called for international treaties to regulate AI’s use, while the Vatican has appointed an AI expert from the Franciscan order. Elsewhere, a Lutheran church in Bavaria recently used a chatbot to deliver sermons.

Kenneth Cukier, an expert with the U.S.-based nonprofit “AI and Faith,” praised the initiative for fostering self-reflection and connection. However, he cautioned against the risk of AI replacing genuine spiritual experiences.

The exhibit was designed as a pilot project with no immediate plans for a continuation. However, Schmid hinted at potential future iterations, given the interest from parishes, schools, and researchers.

“We are discussing how we could revive him again,” he said. “But it requires careful consideration.”

For now, “AI Jesus” remains a provocative experiment, blending tradition with technology and prompting questions about how faith can coexist with the digital age.