Church installs AI confession room

A church in Switzerland has set up an AI-powered version of its confessional to chat with visitors, attracting quite a few curious onlookers.

St. Peter's Chapel in Lucerne is a small, unassuming church that ranks as the oldest in the Swiss city. But it has recently become famous for its high-tech appeal and its use of an AI-powered confessor who can speak 100 languages.

'This is really an experiment ,' said Marco Schmid, a theologian at the church, adding, ' We want to see and understand how people react to an AI god. What would they talk about? Would they be interested in talking? We are probably pioneers in this area .'

The system, called Deus in Machina , launched in August as part of a multi-year collaboration with a local university research lab on immersive reality.

People talking to an AI version of a confessor. (Photo: Guardian).

After pilot projects with virtual and augmented reality, the church decided that the next step was to choose an avatar for the AI. ' We debated what kind of avatar it would be — a theologian, a human, a saint? But then we realized that the most appropriate figure would be Jesus, ' Schmid said.

Lacking space and needing a place where people could converse privately with the AI, the church installed computers and cables in the confessional booth. After training the AI ​​program on theological texts, visitors were invited to ask questions to a long-haired image of Christ projected onto a grid screen. The figure responded in real time, providing answers using artificial intelligence technology.

People are advised not to reveal any personal information and to confirm that they understand the risks of interacting with the AI. However, Schmid said the character will not listen to confessions, but only have conversations.

During the two-month trial, more than 1,000 people - including Muslims and tourists from as far away as China and other Asian countries - took the chance to try it out.

Feedback from more than 230 users showed that two-thirds of them felt it was a 'spiritual experience ,' Schmid said. ' We could say they had a positive religious moment with this AI confessor. For me, that was amazing .'

Others were more negative, with some telling the church they found it impossible to talk to the machine. A local reporter who tested the device described the responses as sometimes 'cliché, repetitive, and dripping with empty wisdom.'

The experiment has also faced criticism from some within the church community, Schmid said. Fellow Catholics objected to the use of the confessional, while Protestants appeared to be outraged by the installation of the images in this way.