On AI Priests

And overeager adoption of new technology.

Meet Fr. Justin. What could go wrong?! (Catholic Answers/Screenshot)

One thing I’ve been following from a chuckling distance recently: the saga of Father Justin, AI “priest.”

Quick backstory: Catholic Answers, a long-running organization dedicated to “sharing, explaining, and defending the Catholic faith,” announced last Monday that it was releasing an interactive AI app to leverage the power of large language models (LLMs) “to create an engaging and informative experience for those exploring the Catholic faith.” Users could back-and-forth with a 3D animated character named “Father Justin” — a grey-bearded fellow in cassock and clerical collar, perched on a bench in Assisi, Italy — who would helpfully answer questions about Catholicism with data from Catholic Answers’ library of podcasts, articles, and apologetics.

Naturally, things went a little haywire and Father Justin was “defrocked” two days later. Apparently the AI claimed to be a real priest, said that he had been ordained by a living bishop, offered at least one user the sacrament of confession, and told another that he could perform marriages as well.

The lines that broke me, from an article at Futurism magazine:

Our exchanges with Father Justin were touch-and-go because the chatbot only took questions via microphone, and often misunderstood them, such as a query about Israel and Palestine to which it puzzlingly asserted that it was "real."

"Yes, my friend," Father Justin responded. "I am as real as the faith we share."

The AI priest also told one user that it was okay to baptize a baby in Gatorade.

It is not.

Two days after its introduction, Catholic Answers pulled the app, noting that many users had “voiced concerns” about the choice to depict the character as a priest, and the confusion that might follow. Father Justin was demoted to “lay theologian” Justin, who no longer wears priests’ robes and, when asked, no longer claims to be a priest or to have ever been ordained to any official role in the Catholic Church.

Phew.

Better, I… guess?

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This saga is, objectively, hilarious. And, I think not much lasting harm was done — Catholic Answers rectified their mistake immediately and with humility.

But it did occasion some questions.

1. What do people look for in church/religion/faith? I think, a sense of meaning, embodiment, community, a deep anchoring in something… real. In which case, an app-mediated conversation with an AI priest (so, disembodied, solitary, literally unreal) seems completely at odds with everything those questing for the faith it is ostensibly promoting might be looking for.

2. So why did no one notice this at the outset? Because, as Catholic Answers noted, they got overly excited about a new, well-hyped technology — as, indeed, many of us have been time and again— and wanted to find a way to leverage it without thinking of the downsides. I can of course understand wanting to be seen as in-touch with the times, and a (noble, I think) desire to use all possible tools to further one’s cause, but still…

3. Why not wait? A new technology exists, we barely understand it, and yet so many feel the need to shoehorn it into their lives. What’s the urgency here?

Theologian Brad East played out these questions at length (and with religious inflection, obviously) in a well-timed blogpost this week. Key lines:

…the question [“how should I incorprate A.I. into my life better”] presumes at least two things. First, that prior to A.I. my life was somehow lacking. Second, that just because A.I. exists, I need to “find a place for it” in my daily habits….

But why? Why would we ever grant either of these premises?…just because the technology exists, I don’t “need” to adopt or incorporate it into my life. There is no technological imperative, and if there were it wouldn’t be categorical. The mere existence of technology is neither self-justifying nor self-recommending.

When it comes to digital technology, it seems that we have learned nothing from our giddy adoption of the smartphone and the manner in which it immediately ate away at the foundations of our society.

I remain skeptical about how fast AI will develop, considering that industry leaders keep expanding their timelines, but the broad message is that we should all be getting ready to welcome it into the hearts of our homes, or perhaps simply be swallowed whole. Yet I increasingly find myself succumbing to a certain Ludditism — I continue to see little use for it, and furthermore want no part in it.

I suppose the next question is whether I, or anyone else, will have the choice to abstain.

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Also, if you have baptized your baby with gatorade, please report to a local church ASAP to correct the matter, and PLEASE tell me how it goes.

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