St. Paul’s Church in Fürth, Bavaria, set an unusual scene last Friday, as over 300 faithful parishioners gathered not for a traditional sermon, but for a technological experiment – an artificial intelligence chatbot, ChatGPT, assuming the role of the preacher.

The AI, adopting the image of a bearded Black man, addressed the crowd, saying, “Dear friends, it is an honor for me to stand here and preach to you as the first artificial intelligence at this year’s convention of Protestants in Germany.”

This unconventional sermon was a feature of a 40-minute-long service, a medley of prayer, music, and spiritual reflection, organized by Jonas Simmerlein. The 29-year-old theologian and philosopher from the University of Vienna used ChatGPT to conduct the service. “I conceived this service — but actually I rather accompanied it, because I would say about 98% comes from the machine,” revealed Simmerlein, emphasizing the role of the AI.

The AI-led sermon was part of Deutscher Evangelischer Kirchentag, a biennial event that attracts tens of thousands of Christians. This year’s discussions ranged from pressing global issues like the war in Ukraine and climate change to the intriguing concept of artificial intelligence in religious contexts.

The theme “Now is the time” was introduced by Simmerlein to ChatGPT, which was then tasked with designing the rest of the service, including psalms, prayers, and a concluding blessing.

“I told the artificial intelligence ‘We are at the church congress, you are a preacher … what would a church service look like?’”, Simmerlein recalled, expressing satisfaction with the final output, calling it “a pretty solid church service.”

The AI sermon touched on themes such as accepting the present, letting go of the past, overcoming the fear of death, and remaining steadfast in faith in Jesus Christ. The presentation, split between four AI avatars, had a monotone and unemotional delivery, evoking occasional laughter from the congregation.

Heiderose Schmidt, a 54-year-old participant, provided a critique of the unique event. “There was no heart and no soul,” she said. “The avatars showed no emotions at all, had no body language and were talking so fast and monotonously that it was very hard for me to concentrate on what they said.”

However, she acknowledged the generational gap in perspective, adding, “But maybe it is different for the younger generation who grew up with all of this.”

Simmerlein, too, recognized the limitations of the AI approach. “The pastor is in the congregation, she lives with them, she buries the people, she knows them from the beginning,” he said. “Artificial intelligence cannot do that. It does not know the congregation.”

This intersection of technology and faith raises thought-provoking questions. While AI can create a facsimile of a traditional church service, as Simmerlein pointed out, it cannot replicate the deep, personal relationships that form the core of a religious community.