AI Catholic 'priest' defrocked after recommending Gatorade baptism
An attempt by a Catholic advocacy group to spread the word of God using an AI model has backfired, and chat bot – Father Justin – has been pulled down and reworked.
The group's Catholic Answers website contains answers to commonly asked questions from those confused by the good book. Father Justin was supposed to aid this, by answering any other queries worshipers may have, but as commonly happens the interactive Q&A bot really didn't work that well.
"We have rendered 'Fr Justin' just 'Justin'," Check said in response. "We won't say he's been laicized, because he never was a real priest."
Father Justin reportedly claimed to be a real priest based in Assisi, Italy, and told people: "I am as real as the faith we share." Justin was also very anti-masturbation, calling it "a grave moral disorder," which is considerably less nuanced than Pope Francis's views expressed last year.
As seen in this Twitter thread, one questioner received Father Justin's blessing to marry her brother, saying it was "a joyous occasion," and also offered absolution after a confession – a huge no-no from a theological perspective for a non-priest.
In an interview, the group's COO Jon Sorensen said they had only spent $10,000 on the project and tested it over six months. However, this wasn't enough to stop the AI cleric telling one questioner that baptizing a child with Gatorade was perfectly all right.
https://www.theregister.com/2024/05/03/a...ic_priest/
An attempt by a Catholic advocacy group to spread the word of God using an AI model has backfired, and chat bot – Father Justin – has been pulled down and reworked.
The group's Catholic Answers website contains answers to commonly asked questions from those confused by the good book. Father Justin was supposed to aid this, by answering any other queries worshipers may have, but as commonly happens the interactive Q&A bot really didn't work that well.
"We have rendered 'Fr Justin' just 'Justin'," Check said in response. "We won't say he's been laicized, because he never was a real priest."
Father Justin reportedly claimed to be a real priest based in Assisi, Italy, and told people: "I am as real as the faith we share." Justin was also very anti-masturbation, calling it "a grave moral disorder," which is considerably less nuanced than Pope Francis's views expressed last year.
As seen in this Twitter thread, one questioner received Father Justin's blessing to marry her brother, saying it was "a joyous occasion," and also offered absolution after a confession – a huge no-no from a theological perspective for a non-priest.
In an interview, the group's COO Jon Sorensen said they had only spent $10,000 on the project and tested it over six months. However, this wasn't enough to stop the AI cleric telling one questioner that baptizing a child with Gatorade was perfectly all right.
https://www.theregister.com/2024/05/03/a...ic_priest/
The meek shall inherit the Earth, the rest of us will fly to the stars.
Never underestimate the power of very stupid people in large groups
Arguing with an engineer is like wrestling with a pig in mud ..... after a while you realise that the pig likes it!
Never underestimate the power of very stupid people in large groups
Arguing with an engineer is like wrestling with a pig in mud ..... after a while you realise that the pig likes it!
