Artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT preached to more than 300 people at St. Paul’s Church in Fürth, Germany, on Friday morning, according to a report by the Associated Press.

of 40 minute serviceThe idea, conveyed by avatars of two young men and two young women projected above the altar of a church in Bavaria, was conceived by Jonas Schimmerlein, a 29-year-old theologian and philosopher at the University of Vienna. was the idea of

“I came up with this service, but it’s actually more attached to it, because I’d say about 98% of it comes from machines,” Simmerlein said. APs. (RELATED: New York Attorney Uses ChatGPT for Court Submissions.go wrong)

Hundreds attend ChatGPT-generated church services in Germany https://t.co/Oldc8JbcM0

— KRQE News 13 (@krqe) June 11, 2023

The AI ​​service was of great interest to many people at the venue. protestant conventionA long line formed outside St Paul’s Cathedral before the sermon began. The convention will bring together thousands of parishioners to pray and discuss solutions to important issues such as global warming, the war in Ukraine and artificial intelligence, according to the Associated Press.

During the sermon, Avatar encouraged participants to “regularly pray and go to church to keep their faith” and not to fear death.

Some recorded the service on their mobile phones, while others viewed it critically.

Heidelose Schmidt, 54, said he had “no heart or soul” and was excited at first, but eventually his avatar had no emotions, “because he was talking too fast and monotonous.” , was very difficult,” he added, adding that he found the service lackluster. to focus on what they said. “

Mark Jansen, 31, a Lutheran pastor, said he was impressed by the experiment.

“I imagined it would actually be worse,” Jansen told The Associated Press. “But I was positively surprised that it worked…even if it was bumpy at times.”

Schimmerlein says he sees AI as a means to help pastors better manage their time by giving them a faster way to write sermons. “Artificial intelligence will increasingly take over our lives in every aspect,” he says. “That’s why it’s helpful to learn how to deal with it.”