Christian AI, CatéGPT… Can artificial intelligence really nourish our Christian faith?
Some use it as a search engine or spell checker, others ask it for clothing advice… What if artificial intelligence (AI) answered our spiritual questions? This is what several Christian AI applications offer, using virtual conversation agents. The principle is simple: the Internet user writes his questions on a platform and the machine responds, after a quick period of reflection.
Some Christian applications give answers worthy of catechism, quoting the Bible. This is for example the case of CatéGPT, an application created by the French-speaking Swiss collective Young People and Catholic Families. The platform uses the famous ChatGPT search engine, and restricts its data search to the Vatican website. It can therefore answer simple questions like “What are the seven sacraments?” or “What passages in the Bible discuss friendship?”. But other Christian apps offer more sophisticated services, like Christian AI.
This application, developed in 2023 by a company based in Spain, allows you to obtain answers about the magisterium of the Church. But it can also serve as a spiritual guide and give surprising answers to very personal questions. To the question “Can I spend time with my coworker who is known for stealing office stuff?” », Christian AI responds that it is preferable “to avoid spending time with him in a context where it could encourage or validate his behavior. » All this, after quoting proverbs from the Bible which advise believers not to surround themselves with dishonest people.
A complementary tool, but not a spiritual substitute
Faced with such a tool, do priests and lay guides have anything to worry about? Efrain Ortiz Salgado, founder of the Christian AI application, tempers: “Artificial intelligence can be a first step in developing our curiosity as believers and fueling our faith. But she certainly cannot replace a priest because she does not have the spiritual dimension of a human being! It is a complementary tool, particularly for isolated people, in areas where there is a shortage of priests. »
The project, in full development, should soon generate lists of Christian songs or even podcasts on the Bible. It has an evangelizing dimension, and seeks to disseminate Christian values more widely in the digital age, as Efrain Ortiz Salgado explains: “Artificial intelligence algorithms convey messages that reflect the values of our secularized society. They do not always correspond to Christian values or the doctrine of the Church, particularly on what concerns the family or the question of abortion. »
AI and spirituality: necessary ethical reflection
But can AI really advise us on issues as sensitive as morality and spirituality? Certain technologies do not hesitate to transgress limits, allowing us, nothing more, nothing less, to converse with a virtual Jesus Christ. In the fall of 2024, the Peter’s Chapel in Lucerne, Switzerland, caused a sensation with an experimental art installation. Visitors were invited to confess in front of a simulation of Jesus, in the form of a hologram.
“AI has invaded the religious sphere while there is still no real ethical reflection on this new technology,” warns Matthieu Guillemin, doctor in physics and ethics at the Catholic University of Paris. It can be very useful to the Church as a tool to assist in the exploration of texts, for example. But we must remain vigilant when it comes to religion and spirituality. When an AI responds to you like a human, it’s never very healthy! Why not just go see a priest in the flesh? »
