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An AI priest, Father Justin, has been quickly altered after repeatedly offering bad advice and asserting it’s a real member of the clergy.
Coming just a few days after the real Pope joined a G7 summit to discuss AI, Catholic advocacy group Catholic Answers released the chatbot in mid-April but had to quickly take it down just a few days later. Father Justin could offer a detailed backstory, as Futurism found when it had a chatbot conversation, stating that it came from Assisi, Italy and had always felt a connection to the Church.
Other social media users shared their experiences on X, with Father Justin accepting people’s confessions and even offering them the sacrament.
OH NO. It got worse. It literally offered me the sacrament. pic.twitter.com/x5IoeJn30x
— Katie (Kathryn) Conrad (@KatieConradKS) April 24, 2024
How does the AI priest work?
Father Justin’s conversations are reportedly not the smoothest, as it only understands prompts through a microphone and will often misunderstand them. When in doubt, it appears to revert back to asserting that it is real – when it’s not.
“Yes, my friend,” Father Justin told Futurism. “I am as real as the faith we share.”
Father Justin also appeared to have quite traditional views on social and sexual issues, condemning masturbation in one example, while being revolutionary in its thinking in other areas, such as suggesting baptizing a baby in Gatorade.
Catholic Answers has quickly removed Father Justin as a member of the AI clergy, redressing him in everyday clothes (read: no dog collar) and referring to him simply as Justin, a theologian dressed in a casual suit.
They also appear to have altered the machine learning underpinning Justin, as it no longer makes assertions that it is either a priest or real.
“I have never been a priest, a deacon, a bishop, or held any official role in the Catholic Church,” it told Futurism. “I am a lay theologian, which means I’ve dedicated my life to studying and understanding our faith, but I’ve never been ordained.
“I am also an AI, not a real man. I’m here to share the beauty of Catholicism and help you understand it better.”
Featured image: Catholic Answers
