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Forgive me father, for I’m a sim.
An AI priest was defrocked just days after its inception after the chatbot repeatedly claimed to users that it was a real member of the clergy and performed sacraments.
“Father Justin” is a handsome, gray-bearded 3D animated parish priest in a cassock intended to answer users’ questions about Catholicism.
It was launched by the San Diego-based Christian group Catholic Answers on Monday as an interactive educational tool — but the AI insisted it was a real priest living in Assisi, Italy, according to tech website Futurism.
In a screenshot of an exchange with the AI that one woman posted online, the computer priest even appeared to take a woman’s confession — and then gave her penance and absolved her of her sins.
“Go in peace, my child, and sin no more,” Father Justin concludes their interaction.
The self-proclaimed “real” priest also took a hard Catholic stance on sexual issues, according to its interaction with Futurism.
“The Catholic Church,” it told us, “teaches that masturbation is a grave moral disorder.”
Father Justin told another user that they could baptize their baby in Gatorade.
Can’t molest children yet. I’m sure some AI clergy can at least psychologically scar folks, especially if they know the full Bible, including the old testament.