AI Gods & ChatGPT religions are coming – they will be better than human priests and they could turn evil, experts warn

INTELLIGENT AI robots are coming – and they will have the ability to perform religious ceremonies and could even backfire on humans, experts have warned.

As AI becomes more and more important in our daily lives, it won’t be long before the worlds of religion and technology merge.

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The thought of robot gods and ChatGPT sermons terrifies some people — and rightly so, experts say.

Wesley Wildman, a professor of philosophy, theology and ethics, and computer science and data science at Boston University, told The Sun he believes AI will soon be able to perform its duties. religious even better than human priests.

He said: “AIs will write better sermons than most preachers, give better Bible studies than most teachers, create amazing music and visual arts to use in services and communications than struggling faith groups. don’t have to pay.”

The likes of ChatGPT have reportedly found their way into churches already, writing thoughtful and authentic sermons on behalf of priests.

And the listeners were none the wiser.

Wildman explained that AI will have the ability to change everything we know about relationships with spiritual advisors and religious figureheads.

He said: “It will be like having your own personal guru that you can take with you everywhere.

“You can confide in it, seek counsel, and learn to trust it to help you untangle complicated moral and spiritual situations.”

Many religious communities have already started integrating robotics into their practices.

One example is the Catholic Church, which has endorsed the use of apps to facilitate the act of confession, according to Wildman.

He even says the Vatican is cautiously encouraging apps that can help with a confession — but the sacrament must still be performed person-to-person.

This is “partly for convenience, and partly because they are [people] try to avoid human priests,” Wildman said of the idea of ​​confessional apps.

He also thinks this bizarre wave of new AI will be able to simulate deceased relatives, religious leaders and spiritual advisors.

But it doesn’t come without its own set of risks and dangers.

Wildman says that just as human religious leaders can manipulate vulnerable people, AI chatbots can be trained by their creators to do the same.

He believes that as younger generations grow up with these AI chatbots as friends – some even including holographic and VR representations – they will adapt to confiding in them and asking for advice and guidance.

Wildman says this same process will undoubtedly occur in religious communities around the world.

He added: “With AI bots designed to be trusted spiritual companions, the primary ethical concern is how the AI ​​bots are trained and whether they can be manipulated by troublemakers and malefactors to cause harm. spiritual havoc”.

But the Reverend Christopher Benek, pastor and chief clergy expert on AI, warns that it is our own “evil” that distorts the technology that will send us down a path of doom.

He said: “I don’t think we have a good example of virtuous AI at this point. I mean, almost every time you see the AI, you see the evil that is within us manifesting in it.

“And so it’s very important that we strive to continue to be better as people, because I think that will have direct consequences on what we are able to create and how we are able to create it.

“But I also think our evil is a limiting factor in what we are able to create, and what we will create at some point.”

“IDENTITY CONFLICT”

Benek sees the humans who create these robots as “co-creators with God, like a parent with a child”, and thinks we can instill behavioral traits and codes in AI in the same way.

And if humanity continues to be “non-virtuous”, he thinks that could leave the world as we know it in a very vulnerable position.

With AI getting smarter and most people thinking it’s about to outwit us as a species, Benek reassured The Sun that from a technology perspective, we’re still babies in the game.

“I don’t think just because something is different from us doesn’t mean we can’t relate to each other,” he said.

“I think the biggest problem is going to be when things start to feel so real to us that we can’t tell the difference. And I think that’s when people can feel threatened and have a conflict of identify “.

Realistic and powerful AI mixed with religion is nothing new, there are many Zoom-call sermons and apps that broadcast prayers in a plethora of religions.

An incredible example of this is the Mindar robot that lives in the Kodaji temple in Kyoto, Japan.

Mindar is 6ft 4in and has been preaching at the 400 Year Temple since 2019.

But the robot is no ordinary priest – it has been programmed to recite the Sacred Heart Sutra, a popular mantra in Buddhism, thanks to mechanics and AI.

The humanoid robot dons a silicone face and its aluminum body is displayed to temple devotees who worship at Kodaji Temple.

If you look closely, a camera lens stares into his blank eyes as he recites the prayer and gazes at the worshippers.

But Mindar is not alone, Poland also has its own Catholic priest named SanTo, and in China an android monk called Xian’er recites mantas and offers advice on matters of faith.

So that leaves us with the big question of what will happen if AI dominates humans and becomes, in a sense, our new “God”?

“By then we can escape to Mars, can’t we?” we asked Benek.

And he gave a chilling response: “The problem with this way of thinking is that if it’s smart enough to take us on, it’s smart enough to follow us. LAW? You can’t run away.”

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