Germany, church sermon recited by ChatGPT
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In Italy it hasn’t happened yet, but in neighboring Germany it has: last Friday in the Bavarian town of Fürth, in the church of San Paolo, a sermon was recited by a Protestant pastor in the flesh, but by ChatGPT. A giant screen was installed inside the church where a black “pastor” with a beard and other officiants preached to about 300 faithful. The experiment was prepared and led by Jonas Simmerlein, a theologian and philosopher at the University of Vienna. A somewhat monotonous voice, in pure robotic sile on the other hand, the virtual “pastor” officiated a service that lasted about 40 minutes, which included the sermon, prayers and music.
«98% of the sermon prepared by CtatGPT»
“I conceived this service, but I actually rather accompanied it, because I would say about 98% comes from artificial intelligence,” said 29-year-old Simmerlein.
The religious service created with ChatGPT was one of hundreds of events that occurred at the Protestant congress held in the Bavarian cities of Nuremberg and nearby Fürth. In particular, the virtual sermon has generated such great interest that people formed a long line outside the 19th-century neo-Gothic church of St. Paul’s already an hour before it started. “Dear friends, it is an honor for me to be here and preach you as the first artificial intelligence at this year’s meeting of Protestants in Germany,” the avatar attacked with a blank face and an objectively monotonous voice.
The convention itself – which is called the Deutscher Evangelischer Kirchentag – takes place every two years in a different place in Germany, attracting tens of thousands of believers who are busy praying, singing and discussing their faith. Participants also talk about global current affairs looking for solutions to key issues, which this year included global warming, the war in Ukraine and, of course, artificial intelligence.
This year’s meeting took place from Wednesday to Sunday under the motto “Now is the time”. A slogan that was one of the phrases Simmerlein provided to ChatGPT when he asked the chatbot to develop the sermon.
“I said to the AI ’We are at the church convention, you are a preacher… how would you develop a church service?'” Simmerlein said. The scholar also asked CatGPT to include psalms, prayers, and a blessing at the end in the sermon.
Between “precision” and hilarity
The result was, according to Simmerlein at least, a “rather solid” religious service.
In fact, believers in the church have listened intently as the AI preaches about leaving the past behind, focusing on the challenges of the present, overcoming the fear of death, and never losing faith in Jesus Christ.
The entire service was ‘driven’ by four different on-screen avatars, two young women and two young men. It has also happened that the avatar generated by the artificial intelligence has elicited laughter, such as when it used one too many clichés or when it told the faithful, with an impassive expression, that in order to “keep our faith, we must pray and go to church regularly.” (fs)
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