Hark , the Agent sing !
Hardly a day passes
without launch of dozens of AI Agents , taking
over our mundane jobs
Given this scenario
, it was only a matter of time before someone came up with an “ Avatar of Jesus “ , reported in the following news :
'AI Jesus' avatar
tests man's faith in machines and the divine … 28
Nov 2024
Extract :
LUCERNE, Switzerland — Would
you trust an “AI Jesus” with your innermost thoughts and troubles?
Researchers
and religious leaders on Wednesday released findings from a two-month
experiment through art in a Catholic chapel in Switzerland, where an avatar of
“Jesus” on a
computer screen — tucked into a confessional — took questions by visitors on faith, morality and
modern-day woes, and offered responses based on Scripture.
The
idea, said the chapel’s theological assistant, was to recognize
the growing importance of artificial intelligence in human lives, even
when it comes to religion, and explore the limits of human trust in a
machine.
After
the two-month run of the “Deus in Machina” exhibit at Peter’s Chapel starting
in late August, some 900 conversations from visitors –- some came more
than once –- were transcribed anonymously. Those behind the project
said it was largely a success: Visitors often came out moved or deep in
thought, and found it easy to use.
A
small sign invited visitors to enter a confessional —
chosen for its intimacy –- and below a lattice screen across which penitent
believers would usually speak with a priest, a
green light signalled the visitor’s turn to speak, and a red one came on when “AI Jesus” on a
computer screen on the other side was responding.
Often,
a lag time was needed to wait for the response — a testament to the technical
complexities. After exiting, nearly 300 visitors filled out questionnaires that
informed the report released Wednesday.
Of love, war, suffering and solitude
Philipp
Haslbauer, an IT specialist at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and
Arts who pulled together the technical side of the project, said the AI
responsible for taking the role of “AI Jesus” and generating responses was GPT-4o by
OpenAI, and an open-source version of the company’s Whisper was
used for speech comprehension.
An AI video
generator from Heygen was
used to produce voice and video from a real person, he
said. Haslbauer said no specific safeguards were used “because we observed
GPT-4o to respond fairly well to controversial topics.”
Visitors
broached many topics, including true love, the afterlife, feelings of solitude, war
and suffering in the world, the existence of God, plus issues like sexual abuse cases in the
Catholic Church or its position on homosexuality.
Most
visitors described themselves as Christians, though agnostics, atheists,
Muslims, Buddhists and Taoists took part too, according to a recap of the
project released by the Catholic parish of Lucerne.
About
one-third were German speakers, but “AI Jesus” — which is conversant in about 100
languages — also had conversations in languages like Chinese, English, French,
Hungarian, Italian, Russian and Spanish.
‘Work of the devil’?
“What
was really interesting (was) to see that the people really talked
with him in a serious way. They didn’t come to make jokes,” said chapel theologian Marco
Schmid, who spearheaded the project. Most visitors were aged 40 to 70, and more
Catholics respondents found the experience stimulating than did Protestants,
the report showed.
Schmid
was quick to point out that the “AI Jesus” – billed as a “Jesus-like” persona – was an artistic
experiment to get people thinking about the intersection between the digital
and the divine, not substitute for human interaction or sacramental
confessions with a priest, nor was it intended to save pastoral resources.
“For
the people it was clear that it was a computer ... It was
clear it was not a confession,” Schmid said. “He wasn’t programmed to
give absolutions or prayers. At the end, it was more summary of the
conversation.”
The Catholic Church from the
Vatican on down has been wrestling with the challenges –- and possible
opportunities -– presented by the explosion in public interest in AI since
generative artificial intelligence captured the world’s attention two years ago
when OpenAI’s ChatGPT made its debut.
The
Vatican has appointed a friar from a medieval Franciscan order as
its top expert on AI, and a Lutheran church in Bavaria served
up sermons delivered by a chatbot last year.
Pope Francis, in his annual peace message for this year, pushed for an international treaty to ensure the ethical use of
AI technology.
Chatbots
like ChatGPT are
powered by algorithmic models trained on vast pools of text and other data to
mimic speech and generate seemingly unique and human-like responses.
Haslbauer
is sensitive to public reaction and has noted chatter on social media saying
the project is “blasphemous” or the “work of the devil.”
“If
you read comments on the internet about it, some are very negative — which is
scary,” Haslbauer, whose long-haired look featured as a basis for the image of
the virtual Jesus.
In a demonstration
of the technology in the chapel, Haslbauer queried “AI Jesus” about its message for a
troubled world, and about whether AI could be helpful as a way for people to find
God.
“All
knowledge and wisdom ultimately come from God,” the chatbot said in a
soothing voice, after a pause to respond, and the image briefly crackled. “If
used wisely, AI can indeed be a tool to explore the wonders of creation, deepen
our understanding of Scripture, and foster connections among people.”
“Yet
it remains essential to seek God with all your heart and soul beyond any
technology,” it added.
A good
side ... and downsides
Kenneth
Cukier, a journalist, author and expert with the U.S.-based nonprofit group
called “AI and Faith,” said if “AI Jesus” helps people connect deeper to themselves and the
world, it “has to be a good thing.”
“It
will lead to better individuals and a better world,” he said. “However — and
there’s a big however — this does feel a little bit infantile, and pardon my
pun, machine-like.”
“The
risk is that it pulls people, ultimately, farther away from that which is more
meaningful, deeper and authentic in spirituality,” said Cukier,
co-author of “Big Data: A
Revolution that Will Transform How We Work, Live and Think.”
For
Schmid, the exhibit was a pilot project — and he doesn’t foresee a second
coming of “AI Jesus” anytime soon.
“For
us, it was also clear it was just a limited time that we will expose this
Jesus,” he said, adding that any return would need to be done after deeper
thought.
“We
are discussing ... how
we could revive him again,” he said, noting interest from parishes,
school teachers, researchers and others as the project got media attention in
Switzerland and beyond. “They
all are interested and would like to have this ‘AI Jesus’. So we have now a
little bit to reflect on how we want to continue.”
Dear Readers ( of all religions ) :
To get answers
to those questions on
> true
love / afterlife / feelings of solitude / war and suffering / existence of God / sexual abuse / homosexuality … etc,
- you do NOT have to visit a
Church – Temple – Masjid – Synagogue etc
All you need to do
is to :
Ø Pull out your Mobile
Ø Type www.HemenParekh.ai
Ø Ask your Question on any of the above-mentioned
subjects ( by SPEAKING
or TYPING , in any one of the 26 world languages )
Ø Listen to your God Agent
With regards,
Hemen Parekh
www.My-Teacher.in / 29 Nov 2024
Here is a sample of
what you can expect :
My Question to > www.HemenParekh.ai < my Virtual Avatar :
“If Jesus could be resurrected, what would be his message for the
troubled and war-ravaged world and would he believe in AI's ability to help
people find God ? “
My Virtual Avatar replied :
“If Jesus were to be resurrected today, his message would likely
emphasize love,
forgiveness, and peace among all people.
He might encourage us to look beyond our differences and focus on what unites us as humanity.
Regarding AI's role in helping people find God, he
could see it as a tool that can bring about deeper understanding and
connection if used wisely.
However, he would probably stress the importance of ensuring that such technology
fosters genuine compassion and community rather than isolation or
dependency.
Essentially, the use of AI should align with the
values of kindness and wisdom—echoing some thoughts I've shared about
good AI focusing on ultimate wisdom by compiling benevolent thoughts from
ordinary people around the world. “