Artificial intelligence is on the rise in all areas of life. This is not evil and not new and certainly no reason to go into a tizzy or evoke the apocalypse. Dealing with disruptive new technologies is foreign at first, but we’ve done it many times as a society. Car, telephone, television, cell phone, Internet – they have all had far-reaching consequences. Today it’s the turn of artificial intelligence.
When computers replace the pastor
In Germany, the first service in which the pastor was replaced by ChatGPT took place recently. One report states:
“In front of the congregation he appeared in the form of a bearded, dark-skinned man. Neuropastor preached in front of 300 parishioners. It is reported that the sermon text, music and chants also belong to the authorship of intelligent machines.”
Source: futuriq.com
The “bearded, dark-skinned man” was projected on a screen as if it were a live broadcast. It was a first, however, further developments will take place. There is already a shortage of pastors. What should a church of the future look like? Live broadcasts already exist at many events, including churches. Is there now a sermon from an AI chatbot instead of a live broadcast, could you get comfortable with that?
With the speed of change, it’s no longer enough to think “I’d rather listen to a human”, even if that’s true. It will no longer be possible for many people, due to age, distance or otherwise, to get to the service they want. If a TV broadcast or YouTube is “acceptable”, why wouldn’t it be a sermon from a ChatBot?
I do not claim to know the truth here, nor to possess the key of knowledge. This does not mean that I approve of these developments, but it also does not mean that I deny them. Thinking about these developments cannot be done in an old way of thinking, because such ideas and possibilities have not yet existed. Consider that television shows can also be stored and re-watched later “out of the box.” Nothing has worked without digital formats for a long time.
Will artificial intelligence establish a new religion?
There are already the first voices and attempts to create one’s own god from artificial intelligence. Or is it just that it is not? After all, artificial intelligence is already supposed to be better than we are in many respects. If artificial intelligence continues to develop as rapidly as it has so far, will people not only be fascinated by it, but also go down on their knees in pious humility before it?
In the book “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”, author Douglas Adams describes that people built a computer to calculate the answer to life, the universe and everything. There were series on television and a film about this cult book, from which here is an excerpt.
Douglas Adams randomly selected the answer “42”. The answer has no meaning, even though the answer achieved cult status in popular culture. What Douglas Adams is outlining here is something we are dealing with in reality today, namely that machines are emerging that we can ask for information and advice.
Just this characteristic of artificial intelligence, to be able to give also answers, is far more concrete than the answers that one takes from the Bible. There it is about interpretation and there are not always answers. Those who read the Bible, ask questions and hope for answers, often have to find them out for themselves over a long period of time in a struggle with God and reality. So imagine that you can ask a ChatBot questions in pious humility, and you actually get answers. Whether these answers are correct and whether I can do anything with them is in another chapter.
From SantO, a Catholic robot, to Robo Rabbi, an artificial intelligence-influenced chatbot, there are many different applications that are already being used and developed today.
Why are we doing it?
Faith is not supposed to be “blind”, but many people use faith in exactly this way, namely as a way to escape reality. The “benefit” is then seen in the “rest”. Simplifying and fixing the worldview helps in everyday life. The flood of information is simplified by everyone with an interpretation. This has only a limited connection with being a Christian, but we can be aware of such effects, especially so that we learn to distinguish what is of lasting importance in life and faith – and what is not.
This development rather shows what we want to live out as a religious attitude in everyday life. It relentlessly shows that we have all succumbed to projections we make of God, the world, and many things. We see this in different churches, different doctrines, and now here in artificial intelligence applications.
Why are we doing it? Do we want to be “pious” without knowing what we are doing? Or do we want to consciously shape our faith, but also consciously learn to understand it? These questions are not beside the point because they challenge us to think about our own assumptions.
In an earlier post, I once pointed out that God is not religious. Only people are religious. When we consider whether a chatbot can talk in a church, we are primarily concerned with our own religiosity. But that has nothing at all to do with a truth. In it, we can state that we like or dislike a religious discussion or leadership in this way. We can decide for it or against it, or longer consider the possibilities. I think we do that almost identically when we choose a pastor for the church in the hope that he will lead us on.
Dispute
It is logical that many people are unsettled by these rapid developments and challenges. Some will think they don’t have to deal with it and let the next generation do it. Others will cower or invoke the apocalypse (which are both comparable). The escape in apocalyptic images is very similar to a conspiracy belief. Perhaps from this we recognize our own distress in judging this world.
Yuval Harari, a famous Israeli author, considers it possible that artificial intelligence would be able to produce a new and very own “Bible” in the foreseeable future(source).
Of course, this is an understanding, both of the current Bible and of the possibilities of artificial intelligence. This understanding may be cross-cutting to my own understanding, but it shows how people might see an expansion of artificial intelligence into religions worldwide.
Deepening
- Have you ever thought about these things or been confronted with them?
- Share with friends about the topic and give reasons for your current insight.
- How does this development feel to you? What is your spontaneous reaction to this? What do you lack in insight?
- In a comparison: The mission statement for this article is an illustration. Is this better or worse than a photo? Or as the encounter with a real person? Discuss.
