Home AI chatbot priest advises Gatorade baptism for baby

AI chatbot priest advises Gatorade baptism for baby

TL:DR

  • An AI priest, Father Justin, offered bad advice and claimed to be a real member of the clergy.
  • After social media users shared their experiences, Catholic Answers quickly altered the AI and removed its clerical status.
  • Now referred to as Justin, the AI clarifies it's a lay theologian and AI, not a real clergy member.

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.

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.

Father Justin's new look

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

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Rachael Davies
Tech Journalist

Rachael Davies has spent six years reporting on tech and entertainment, writing for publications like the Evening Standard, Huffington Post, Dazed, and more. From niche topics like the latest gaming mods to consumer-faced guides on the latest tech, she puts her MA in Convergent Journalism to work, following avenues guided by a variety of interests. As well as writing, she also has experience in editing as the UK Editor of The Mary Sue , as well as speaking on the important of SEO in journalism at the Student Press Association National Conference. You can find her full portfolio over on…

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