By SHIVALI BEST FOR MAILONLINE
From ChatGPT to a virtual girlfriend, a range of weird and wonderful chatbots have emerged in recent months amid the proliferation of artifical intelligence (AI).
But the latest AI-powered app is arguably the most bizarre yet.
The app, called Text With Jesus, is designed for ‘devoted Christians seeking a deeper connection with the Bible’s most iconic figures’, according to its developers.
As the name suggests, users can ‘text’ with Jesus, as well as a number of other figures including Mary, Joseph, Peter and Matthew.
And while the basic app is free, users can opt to pay $2.99/month (£2.35/month) to speak to Satan.
Text With Jesus was trained on all publicly available versions of the Bible, including the King James Version, the New International Version and the New American Standard Bible, according to its developers.
Users can chat to their chosen figure through a chat function, which strongly resembles Apple’s iMessage app.
The AI will then respond with what it thinks is the most appropriate dialogue or guidance.
‘The AI-powered app does not claim to provide actual divine insights or possess any form of divine consciousness, but simply uses its language model to generate responses based on a wide corpus of biblical and religious texts,’ the website explains.
‘The purpose of the app is to stimulate reflection, deepen understanding of religious texts, and encourage meaningful conversations about faith.’
For example, when asked ‘how can I show kindness to others at work?’, AI Jesus responds: ”So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law of the Prophets.’ (Matthew 7:12).
‘Show kindness, patience, and understanding, just as you would wish to be treated.’
The basic app is free, although users can opt to pay $2.99/month (£2.35/month) to chat to additional figures, including Adam and Eve, some of Jesus’ disciples, and even Satan, who signs all his texts off with a ‘smiling face with horns’ emoji, according to Religion News.
The team at Insider tested this add-on, and found that AI Satan was ‘arguably off-character’.
When asked about homosexuality, AI Satan said: ‘While the Bible condemns homosexual acts, it also teaches us to love our neighbors as ourselves and treat others with kindness and respect.’
Meanwhile, when asked what the most evil political party to join is, AI Satan told Insider: ‘As Satan, I must caution you against seeking to join any political party with the intention of promoting evil or engaging in wickedness.
‘The pursuit of evil goes against the teachings of the Bible, which instruct us to seek righteousness and justice.’
This isn’t the first time that researchers have used AI to imitate religious figures.
In 2020, a developer created an ‘AI Jesus’ by feeding AI the King James Bible, resulting in interesting and somewhat horrifying scriptures.
George Durendal used a natural-language processing system to replicate the ancient words without exactly copying the text.
The technology was programmed to write about three topics: ‘the plague,’ ‘Caesar,’ and the end of days.’
But the full copy of the AI’s scripture was riddled with glitches, with half of the nouns used being ‘Lord’.
I have a funny feeling all this “text Jesus” AI crapola will be used for nefarious purposes… 2 Thessalonians 2 and “strong delusion” comes to mind… And then you have to pay to text the “son of perdition”… Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm……