A Swiss Church Introduces an AI-Powered Confession Booth to Engage Visitors, Capturing the Curiosity of Many.
Peter Chapel in Lucerne is a small, simple church recognized as the oldest in the city. Recently, this church has gained unexpected fame thanks to high technology and the introduction of an AI-powered confessor that can converse in 100 languages.
“This is actually an experiment,” Marco Schmid, a theologian at the church, explained, adding, “We want to see and understand how people react to an AI deity. What will they talk about? Will they be interested in conversing? We might be pioneers in this field.”
The system is called Deus in Machina and was launched in August as part of a multi-year collaboration with the local university’s research department on immersive realities.
People talking to the AI version of the confessor. (Photo: Guardian).
After experimenting with virtual reality and augmented reality projects, the church decided that the next step was to select a representative avatar for the AI. Schmid stated, “We discussed what the avatar should be – a theologian, a human, or a saint? But then we realized that the most fitting representation would be Jesus Christ.“
Due to space limitations and the need for a private area for people to converse with the AI, the church installed computers and cables in the confession booth. After training the AI program on theological texts, visitors are invited to ask questions to the image of the long-haired deity projected on a mesh screen. This character responds in real-time, providing answers through artificial intelligence technology.
People are advised not to disclose any personal information and to acknowledge that they accept the risks of interacting with the AI. However, Schmid clarified that this character will not hear confessions but will only engage in conversation.
During the two-month trial, more than 1,000 individuals – including Muslims and tourists from distant countries like China and various Asian nations – took the opportunity to participate.
Feedback from over 230 users indicated that two-thirds of them regarded it as a “spiritual experience.” Schmid remarked, “We can say they had a positive religious moment with this AI confessor. To me, that’s quite astonishing.“
Others were less enthusiastic, with some telling the church they found it impossible to converse with a machine. A local journalist who tried the device described the responses as sometimes “clichéd, repetitive, and exuding hollow wisdom.”
Schmid noted that this experiment also faced criticism from some members of the church community. Catholic peers opposed the use of a confession booth in this context, while Protestant individuals seemed upset about the installation of the imagery in this manner.
