The small, unadorned church has long been considered the oldest in the Swiss city of Lucerne. But Saint-Pierre chapel has become synonymous with novelty after installing a Jesus equipped with artificial intelligence, capable of dialoguing in 100 different languages.
“It was truly an experience,” said Marco Schmid, theologian of the Saint-Pierre Church. “We wanted to see and understand how people react to an AI Jesus. What would they talk about with him? Would there be any point in talking to him? We are probably pioneers in this area.
The facility, known as Deus to Machinawas launched in August and is the latest initiative in a multi-year collaboration with a local university research lab on immersive reality.
After projects experimenting with virtual and augmented reality, the church decided the next step was to install an avatar. Schmid said: “We had a discussion about what kind of avatar it would be – a theologian, a person or a saint? But then we realized that the best figure would be Jesus himself.
Short on space and looking for a place where people could have private conversations with the avatar, the church replaced its priest to install a computer and cables in the confessional booth. After training the AI program on theological texts, visitors were then asked questions about a long-haired image of Jesus beamed through a lattice screen. He responded in real time, offering answers generated using artificial intelligence.
People were advised not to disclose any personal information and to confirm that they knew they were interacting with the avatar at their own risk. “It’s not a confession,” Schmid said. “We do not intend to imitate any confession.”
Over the course of the two-month experiment, more than 1,000 people – including Muslims and tourists from China and Vietnam – took the opportunity to interact with the avatar.
While data on the installation will be presented next week, feedback from more than 230 users suggests that two-thirds of them found it to be a “spiritual experience,” Schmid said. “So we can say that they had a religiously positive moment with this AI Jesus. For me it was surprising.
Others were more negative, with some telling the church that it was impossible for them to talk to a machine. A local journalist who tested the device describes the answers as, sometimes, “banal, repetitive and exuding a wisdom reminiscent of calendar clichés”.
The feedback suggests there was a wide disparity in the avatars’ responses, Schmid said. “I feel like sometimes he was really, really good and people were incredibly happy and surprised and inspired,” he said. “And then there were also times when he was not so good, maybe more superficial.”
The experiment also faced criticism from some in the church community, Schmid said, with Catholic colleagues protesting the use of the confessional while Protestant colleagues appeared to have taken umbrage at the use of imaging by installing it in this way.
What struck Schmid most, however, was the risk the Church took in hoping that the AI would not distribute illegal, explicit answers or offer interpretations or spiritual advice inconsistent with the teachings. of the Church.
In hopes of mitigating this risk, the church conducted tests with 30 people before installing the avatar. After the launch, the company ensured that support was always close to users.
“We never felt like he was saying strange things,” Schmid said. “But of course we can never guarantee that he wouldn’t say anything strange.”
Ultimately, it was this uncertainty that led him to decide it was best to leave the avatar as an experiment. “Putting a Jesus like that permanently, I wouldn’t do that. Because the responsibility would be too great.
However, he was quick to point out the broader potential of this idea. “It’s a really simple and accessible tool where you can talk about religion, Christianityon the Christian faith,” he said, thinking it could be reshaped into a kind of multilingual spiritual guide capable of answering religious questions.
For him, the experience – and the keen interest it sparked – showed him that people were seeking to go beyond the Bible, sacraments and rituals.
Schmid said: “I think there is a thirst to talk with Jesus. People want to have an answer: they want words and to listen to what he says. I think that’s an element. And then, of course, there is curiosity. They want to see what it is.