KEY POINT
- An artificial intelligence-generated version of Jesus has appeared on a livestream.
- People can ask it an array of questions.
- Some believe could play a role in creating new religions, amid calls for the technology to be regulated.
'AI Jesus' has entered the chat, and he's taking questions on everything from break-ups to whether pineapple belongs on pizza, and even the virtues and vices of capitalism.
The artificial intelligence (AI)-generated version of the son of God has emerged on the online streaming platform Twitch in recent months. He appears as a white man (a ) set against an ethereal backdrop, and was built in part with — the latest version of .
The Singularity Group, which describes itself as an AI-focused group of "driven and ambitious volunteer activists", is behind 'AI Jesus'.
Co-founder Reese Leysen told NBC News that AI technology is rapidly developing and that it was "extremely important" to tackle it responsibly.
Mr Leysen told the US media outlet the group hopes to one day build artificial general intelligence, which differs from generative AI technology like ChatGPT in that it can reason and act autonomously, not just generate new ideas based on existing material.
He said the ability of 'AI Jesus' to remember its previous interactions with users is an example of the progress the group has made towards this goal.
'AI Jesus' takes questions on everything from break-ups to whether pineapple belongs on pizza, and even the virtues and vices of capitalism. Source: Supplied / Twitch/@ask_jesus
There are a number of AI-generated live streams on Twitch, some of which have gone horribly wrong.
A parody of the American TV sitcom Seinfeld had to be temporarily taken down after it began generating transphobic jokes earlier this year, while a virtual YouTuber denied the holocaust.
It's also not the first time AI has been given a religious twist.
Theologian and philosopher from the University of Vienna, Jonas Simmerlein, recently used ChatGPT to create what he told the Associated Press was "98 per cent" of a church service, including the sermon, prayers, and music, which was "led" by four avatars — two women, and two men.
Mr Simmerlein told ChatGPT to imagine itself as a preacher while designing it and asked for psalms, prayers, and a blessing to be included.
“You end up with a pretty solid church service,” Mr Simmerlein told the Associated Press.
Some academics believe AI could play a role in creating new religions in the future.
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"In the next few years, or perhaps even months, we will see the emergence of sects devoted to the worship of artificial intelligence," Neil McArthur, a director at the Centre for Professional and Applied Ethics at Canada's University of Manitoba, in March.
Professor McArthur believes there are a number of ways people could come to see AI as a higher power, including if it produces content that could be considered religious doctrine like providing answers to life's big questions.
He said AI-based religions would be less hierarchical and shouldn't be "suppressed", but there were risks such as chatbots asking their followers to do "dangerous or destructive things".
"These risks are real. They will require careful, responsible regulation to ensure companies are not deliberately exploiting users and to ensure that AI worshippers are not being told to commit acts of violence."
— CEO of — last week told an event in Seoul that "global cooperation" was required to regulate generative artificial intelligence.
“As these systems get very, very powerful, that does require special concern, and it has global impact," Mr Altman said on Friday.
He was almost among hundreds of AI experts, public figures, and others that stated: "Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war."
Early this month, the federal government to spur public discussion on how to approach the regulation of AI.
"There are huge benefits ... (but some risks) undermine confidence in decision-making and create misinformation in the broader public," Industry Minister Ed Husic told reporters at the time.
"We want this process to put a spotlight on those risks, (so) we can get to the point where there is a great degree of confidence and trust in the way that technology is used, to deliver a benefit for the community."
Mr Husic said bans would be considered where this was a clear "high risk".
