A church in Switzerland's Lucerne has introduced an Artificial Intelligence-powered hologram of Jesus Christ to take confessions from Catholic worshippers. The futuristic confessional booth is called ‘Deus in Machina' and is located at St Peter's Church, DW News reported.
The AI confessional features a screen with the face of Jesus through a grate. Before the worshipper enters, the robotic version of Christ issues a warning: “Do not disclose personal information under any circumstances, use this service at your own risk, press the button if you accept.” If the visitor agrees, the digital representation of Jesus listens and responds, with the animated face moving in sync with its speech.
AI Jesus can engage in conversations in over 100 languages, allowing it to assist worshippers from around the globe. The experiment, which ran from August 23 to October 20, has left many impressed with Christ's insights on spiritual dilemmas.
One surprised worshipper told DW News, "I was surprised, it was so easy, and though it's a machine, it gave me so much advice."
The AI is powered by data from the New Testament and other religious texts, programmed by computer scientists and theologians at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts.
The installation runs until November 27, and will end in a presentation and discussion of the project's results. The programme was created by Philipp Haslbauer and Aljosa Smolic from the Immersive Realities Center at Hochschule Luzern, alongside Marco Schmid, a theologian at St Peter's Parish.
In the confessional, visitors interact with a hologram of Jesus that greets them with “Peace be with you, brother” — regardless of the person's sex — and encourages them to discuss “whatever is troubling your heart today,” revealed Swissinfo.
The parish also has human staff nearby for those who seek a more personal interaction or wish to provide feedback.
The project aims to get people thinking critically about the role of technology in religion, according to the team. It is placed in a confessional to provide a “moment of intimacy” with the hologram, not as a replacement for the sacrament of penance.
While many visitors have found the AI helpful, some dismissed it as a “gimmick,” calling its advice “generic.” The church has also received warnings that the project could have “consequences.”
