Revelation or cliché? AI-Jesus appears in Lucerne church

Testing new technologies in a traditional setting: St Peter's Church in Lucerne. Keystone

As part of an artistic project, an artificial intelligence (AI) version of Christ is fielding questions from the faithful in St Peter’s church in Lucerne. What to you say to a Jesus avatar?

I’ll start simple, with “Hello, Jesus”. He replies promptly: “Peace be with you, brother. In times of uncertainty and doubt, remember that faith can move mountains. What is troubling your heart today?”

So – Jesus recognises my voice, but not my gender. Whatever. And what’s troubling my heart? I tell him about my challenge to write an article about an AI version of Jesus, and thus to tackle the question of what it means when religion and technology meet.

AI Jesus encourages me; he seems to at least approve of the choice of topic. “It is remarkable that you are thinking about the role and nature of faith in our modern world,” he says.

Any other tips? “At a time of technology and rapid change, the core of our faith remains unchanged,” AI Jesus continues. “Love, hope and faith – think about how using technology in this way could strengthen or question faith.”

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Art, not confession

The avatar will be present in St Peter’s church in Lucerne for two months, where he will show up on a screen in the confessional. Visitors will be able to sit opposite and talk to him. “Deus in Machina” is the name of the art installation, developed jointly by the church and a team from the Immersive Realities Research Lab at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts.

Marco Schmid is a theological worker at St Peter’s. He says it is the task of the church to engage with social developments such as artificial intelligence. “AI fascinates us, but it also has its limits and raises ethical questions,” he says.

Schmid also emphasises that while the avatar has been placed in the confessional, this is for pragmatic reasons – it’s not about replacing the sacrament of confession.

Different interpretations

The avatar’s answers are generated using artificial intelligence; it has been trained with the New Testament, and is thus well-versed in the Bible.

However, another issue is the avatar’s theological interpretation of the scriptures. After all, the software uses religious content found online. And the internet is teeming with evangelical or fundamentalist interpretations of the New Testament, which wouldn’t tally with the theological orientation of St Peter’s.

Trite and fascinating

So which version of Jesus do you meet in Lucerne? “In all previous tests, his answers have matched the theological view of St Peter’s church,” Schmid says.

If there are any problems, or if visitors show a larger need for real dialogue, authorities in the church are always open, he adds. “Our offices are less than ten metres away. We are close by and want to actively seek dialogue.”

Ultimately the conversation with the avatar is fascinating: it answers my questions in a meaningful, empathetic and smart way. At times, however, it is trite, repetitive and exudes a wisdom sometimes more reminiscent of calendar clichés than theological insights. It remains a machine.

Good, says Marco Schmid. “I’m glad that the avatar still comes across to a certain extent as a technical object. At the same time, the answers it gives are also fascinating. So there’s plenty to talk about when it comes to AI in a religious context.”

Adapted from German by DeepL/dos