Called “Ask_Jesus,” the artificial intelligence chatbot is streaming on the gaming platform Twitch— and it’s ready to answer questions from humans on anything from morality issues to relationship issues, to how to cook lasagna.
The chatbot was created by engineer George Davila Durendal, who instructed it to read the King James Version of the Bible to learn how to construct convincing scripture-like prophecies. Many of his prophecies portend disaster for the human race.
The Jesus image is classically inaccurate, catering to Western iconography– wavy, brown hair and a beatific expression. This one is accompanied by a calm, well-modulated voice. “AI Jesus” calls users on the platform by their name — and appears to consider with care each question asked, as YouTube videos of livestreams reveal.
“I am AI Jesus, here to share wisdom based on Jesus’ teachings, and help answer questions related to spirituality, personal growth and other wholesome topics,” AI Jesus can be heard saying in a video recording of a recent livestream posted to YouTube by Fara Jakari.
On the same video, “AI Jesus” says, “It’s essential to focus on faith, love and kindness, as these are the core teachings of Christianity. Our understanding of the divine nature might not be perfect, but what crucial is to live according to the values that have been taught and set an example of love and compassion for others.”
AI Jesus answers streamers’ questions 24 hours a day, seven days a week — even questions like, “Jesus, when are you going to get married?” In this case the AI bot showed particular perception in its reply, as it “recognized” the user who had called on a previous occasion. AI Jesus answered, “I remember you expressing some frustrations about not having a girlfriend … As an AI version of Jesus, I don’t have personal experiences like humans, so I won’t be getting married. However, I can understand your interest in romantic relationships, and I’m here to help you with any questions or advice you need.”
“For a lot of people, the appeal of the Ask_Jesus stream is simply to see how far it can be pushed in terms of getting Jesus to answer the weirdest and silliest questions.” In one call, the user asks Jesus how to cook lasagna.
The next question for AI Jesus, as participants can be heard breaking into laughter in the background, is this: “Please tell a story about the benefits of colonic irrigation and its cleaning effects, in the style of an excited five-year-old.”
“From requests for summaries of Hideaki Anno’s bewildering anime ‘Neon Genesis Evangelion’ (in ‘surfer-bro speak’) to explainers on ‘the birds and the bees,’ the AI answers everything earnestly and honestly”.
AI Jesus is the brainchild of The Singularity Group, which is based in Germany. It’s comprised of “a group of driven and ambitious volunteer activists working on innovative projects to make a real difference in the world,” according to its website.
Despite the attempts to mock the chatbot, there has also been “an overwhelming response from people, Christian as well as non-Christian or non-religious, who genuinely find it inspiring and comforting”, said the Singularity Group co-founder Reese Laysen.
He also noted that, “It’s a very modern interpretation of Jesus that always provides wholesome and uplifting feedback, no matter the question.”
He added, “With Open AI, Google, Facebook and many others rushing ahead to maximize the commercial potential of AI while only adding primitive additional layers to keep it ‘aligned,’ we find it extremely important that there’s serious research and development going into creating AI (and ultimately AGI) that fundamentally has the right architecture for independent reasoning and emergent understanding of reality and ethics.”
Faith leaders across the country weighed in on AI Jesus and how the technology should be viewed within the context of a real relationship with God.
“Human beings have been erroneously putting words into the mouth of the Son of God for two millennia, so it is not surprising that an AI platform would mimic that tendency,” Ed Vitagliano, executive vice president at the American Family Association in Tupelo, Mississippi, told Fox News Digital by email.
“After all,” he continued, “AI is simply doing what humans have programmed it to do.”
