At school we had learned how faith and technology are two antithetical spheres, which try to get to the truth through two paths that apparently have no points of contact. Without going into details, it is quite clear that faith foresees the presence of a supernatural entity that governs everything and to which everything refers. She is the Truth, to which we tend.
Conversely, technology is the area where the rational human knowledgealmost always for practical purposes. And it can also be the area where man runs the risk of suffering some megalomania. Especially today, that with i chatbot conversazionali one has come to wonder whether machines have, or will have, a soul.
But in short: are faith and technology compatible or not?
The previous two
The answer is somehow yes and we have two fresh examples.
The first concerns the fact that on Friday 9 June in the St Paul’s Churchlocated in the Bavarian town of Fürth, Germany, ChatGPT replaced the priest in reciting the sermon.
And, to get even closer to the news we will be discussing today, on Prega.org there was the possibility of chatting with Padre Pio and other saints. Or rather, to avoid causing confusion or incurring accusations of blasphemy: it was simply ChatGPT, which had been trained to reply in chat along the lines of what Padre Pio or the user’s chosen saint would probably have said. We have used the verb in the past tense because the service is temporarily suspended.
Chatting with Jesus
Today that conversational chatbots are gradually refining, the aims of the Catholic universe have also risen. And so, at least for now the chat with Padre Pio is out of the question, that’s it none other than the chat with Jesus is put online. In which it is also possible to converse with saints and prophets. And not only that, as we will see. What is it about?
Text with Jesus
The app in question, without many half measures, is called Text with Jesus (Chat with Jesus).
And the home page describes the marketing operation in a way that couldn’t be clearer: “A divine connection in your pocket. Discover a new interactive way to engage with your faith through Text with Jesus, a revolutionary AI-powered chatbot app for iPhone and iPad, designed for devout Christians seeking a deeper connection with the Bible’s most iconic figures.”
How does it work?
Text with Jesus, the app that allows you to open a chat with Jesus, saints and apostles, was created by CatLoaf, a small Los Angeles company founded by a French engineer, Stéphane Peter.
How does Text with Jesus work? It is soon said: if you want to have a chat with Jesus, Joseph and Mary, you can do it for free. We tell you more: even Satan is accessible at no extra cost (but at your own risk, one might add).
Vice versa, to converse with other apostles, prophets or other figures of Christianity the cost is 2.99 euros per month. There is also an annual subscription for 34.99 euros.
Tricky questions
It goes without saying that various media have already indulged in asking insidious questions of Jesus and the saints.
Jesus who, for example, makes it known that he has never had “no romantic experience, but I loved a lot”.
Then, Maria’s answer on feminism is very modern: “In the eyes of God, men and women are equally loved and valued. My son has implemented this teaching, in a radical way, for the times. If by feminism we mean asking for equal opportunities in every area of life, I’m a feminist too…”.
The company protects itself by explaining: “The application, powered by artificial intelligence, does not pretend to provide real divine insights or that he possesses some form of divine consciousness, but is limited to using his linguistic model to generate answers based on a large body of biblical and religious texts. The purpose of the application is to stimulate reflection, deepen understanding of religious texts and encourage meaningful conversations about faith”.
Chat, faith, need for communication and listening
Come to think of it, a chat with Jesus (or rather with an AI that mimics his answers) isn’t so paradoxical.
Every social network and even more every form of communication relies on individual loneliness and on the need to build relationships and be listened to. It can be done horizontally, so to speak, with comparison (real or virtual) with other people, or vertically, seeking solace in transcendence.
After all, the only peculiarity of Text with Jesus is that it is based on vertical rather than horizontal communication.