The small, unadorned church has long been the oldest in the Swiss city of Lucerne. But Peter’s Chapel has become synonymous with all things new after it installed an artificial intelligence-powered Jesus capable of speaking in 100 different languages.
“It was really an experiment,” said Marco Schmid, a theologian at the church. “We wanted to see and understand how people react to an AI Jesus. What would they talk to him about? Would there be interest in talking to him? We are probably pioneers in this.”
The installation, known as Deus in Machinawas launched in August as the latest initiative in a years-long collaboration with a local university research lab on immersive reality.
After projects that experimented with virtual and augmented reality, the church decided that 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 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 traded its priest to set up a computer and cables in the confession booth. After training the AI program in theological texts, visitors were invited to pose questions to a long-haired image of Jesus beamed through a lattice work screen. He responded in real time and offered answers generated by artificial intelligence.
People were advised not to disclose any personal information and to confirm that they knew they engaged with the avatar at their own risk. “It’s not a confession,” Schmid said. “We’re not going to fake a confession.”
During the two-month period of the experiment, more than 1,000 people – including Muslims and visiting tourists from as far away as 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 suggested that two-thirds of them found it a “spiritual experience,” Schmid said. “So we can say they had a religiously positive moment with this AI Jesus. For me it was surprising.”
Others were more negative, and some told the church they found it impossible to talk to a machine. One local reporter who tried the device describe the answers if, at times, “broken down, repetitive and exuding a wisdom reminiscent of calendar clichés”.
The feedback suggested there was a big difference in the avatar’s responses, Schmid said. “I have the impression that sometimes he was really, really good and that people were incredibly happy and surprised and inspired,” he said. “And then there were also moments where he was somehow not so good, perhaps more superficially.”
The experiment also faced criticism from some within the church community, Schmid said, with Catholic colleagues protesting the use of the confessional, while Protestant colleagues seemingly upset at the installation’s use of imagery in this way.
What struck Schmid most, however, was the risk the church took in trusting that the AI would not dish out responses that were illegal, explicit, or offer interpretations or spiritual advice that conflicted with church teachings.
Hoping to mitigate this risk, the church conducted tests with 30 people before installing the avatar. After the launch, it ensured that support was always close for users.
“We never had the impression that he was saying strange things,” Schmid said. “But of course we could never guarantee that he wouldn’t say anything strange.”
Ultimately, it was this uncertainty that led him to decide that the avatar was best left as an experiment. “To set such a Jesus permanently, I will not do it. Because the responsibility would be too great.”
However, he was quick to cite the broader potential of the idea. “It’s a very easy, accessible tool that you can talk about about religion Christianityabout Christian faith,” he said, musing that it could be turned into a kind of multilingual spiritual guide that could answer religious questions.
For him, the experiment – and the great interest it generated – showed him that people strive to go beyond the Bible, sacraments and rituals.
Schmid said: “I think there is a thirst to talk to Jesus. People want an answer: they want words and listen to what he says. I think that’s one element of it. Then of course there is the curiosity of it. They want to see what it is.”
