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6 months ago
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ARTICLE AD BOX
An artificial intelligence-powered virtual priest has been suspended days after launching his online activity in the United States, after he began convincing users that he was a real clergyman.
“Father Justin,” a handsome diocesan priest with a three-dimensional gray beard, was launched by the Catholic Christian group based in San Diego, southern California, last Monday, as an interactive educational tool, but he now insists that he is a real priest living in Assisi, Italy!
In a screenshot of an exchanged conversation with “Father Justin” that one of the women posted online, the priest appeared to take the woman’s confession, then offered her atonement and absolved her of her sins, saying: “Go in peace, my child, and sin no more.”
The self-proclaimed "realist" priest also took a hardline Catholic stance on sexual issues, telling one user that "the Catholic Church teaches that masturbation is a serious moral disorder."
After several troubling interactions with “Father Justin,” Catholic Answers President Christopher Cheek announced on Wednesday that the priest would no longer be a member of the clergy.
“We chose this character as a sign of the respect we all in Catholicism have for the answers our clergy provide,” Crick said in a statement. “But many people have expressed concerns about this choice.”
He added: “We decided to create a new character with all cautious speed. We hope that it will be ready within a week. Until then, we presented “Father Justin” as just Justin. We will not say that he was taught because he was never a real priest!”
The website has since renamed the AI "Virtual Defender Justin", which is essentially the same man but instead, wearing a shirt and jacket with the same city background.
English (US)