It’s that time of the year again when churches pull out their nativity scenes, and we oooh and aaah at the cute baby Jesus.
But over in Switzerland, they’ve reinvented Jesus – and how you confess your sins.
Peter’s Chapel in Lucerne, Switzerland, is a small, unassuming church that has replaced priests in the confession booth with… an artificial intelligence Jesus who speaks over 100 languages.
According to Marco Schmid, a theologian at the chapel, it was an experiment to see how people would react to an AI Jesus. “We wanted to see and understand how people react to an AI Jesus. What would they talk with him about? Would there be interest in talking to him? We’re probably pioneers in this,” said Schmid.
AI Jesus is part of an installation, Deus in Machina, a collaboration between the chapel and a local university that seeks to create a “holy experience” for people.
This isn’t the first time AI has found itself in church. Last year, a church in Germany held an experimental sermon led entirely by a Chat GPT-powered chatbot. Outside of Christianity, AI-based religions also exist, such as The Way of The Future Church. Founded by tech genius Anthony Levandowski, who we can thank for self-driving cars, the church started operating in 2015 but closed in 2021. Now, it’s back with thousands of followers, according to Levandowski. The church aims to champion the ethical evolution of AI and foster an environment where these artificial entities could merge with society.
While bizarre, there’s something human looking for meaning in even AI. Maybe one day soon, the Nativity will be all robots away in a digital manger.
But not in France, perhaps.
The Notre Dame, aka Our Lady of Paris, as the cathedral is fondly known, is getting ready to reopen to the public after five years this weekend. In April 2019, the world watched in horror as a fire engulfed the historic chapel. No one knows what or who started the fire, but it was initially believed to be an electrical fault or a cigarette butt. It took firefighters 12 hours to fully put out the fire.
While some of the cathedral’s historic relics were damaged in the fire, the almost life-size Virgin Mary and Child statue was spared. It was returned to Notre Dame last month in a solemn torchlit street procession attended by hundreds of the city’s faithful.
Also, last month, her bells rang out for the first time since the fire. Eight of the cathedral’s church bells were renovated and blessed before being re-installed in the church’s north tower. 🔔🔔🔔
This weekend’s reopening is set to be a hallowed event full of pomp and ceremony. About 50 heads of state, including US President-Elect Donald Trump, are expected to attend. The event will include religious rites and musical performances, including the reawakening of the grand organ, which was damaged in the fire.
Tshego is a writer and law student from Pretoria. A keen follower of social media trends, his interests include high fantasy media, politics, science, talk radio, reading and listening to music.
He is also probably one of the only people left who still play Pokemon Go.
