This week Catholic Answers debuted the AI chatbot formerly known as “Fr Justin” which caused quite a stir online (to put it mildly!). As a Catholic priest working and researching on AI, I have some thoughts… 🤔
AI-aversion 🚫
Some expressed the view that Catholics should steer clear of AI altogether, stating that AI can only bring about harm. This is not true. AI can (and does) have beneficial uses. Church docs and the Pope speak of the responsible use of AI being used for good.
Problems with using AI ⚠️
However, AI is no silver bullet. And even beneficial uses of AI are not perfect. We must be aware of corollary issues related to the use of AI: the environment (AI uses loads of energy), privacy, and justice, to name a few.
Responsible use of AI 🤝
That’s the keyword. Just because something can be done by AI, doesn’t mean it should. Human flourishing remains the key priority. AI replacing a teacher is a bad idea. But AI helping a teacher teach better is great!
Seemingly-Personal AI 🤖
Fr Justin wasn’t a real person, much less a real priest. But ‘he’ looked like one! This shows the importance of ethical design, for 2 reasons.
1) To prevent deceiving human users (but in this case, Fr Justin was not life-like enough to do this).
2) Even if users know that they’re interacting with an AI, the way the system looks affects the way users interact with it. Seeing a priest – even an AI one – might encourage users to speak about issues that an AI system can’t assist on. 🙊
AI replacing us 🤖🆚🤷♂️
Then there’s the debate on AI making jobs obsolete. Fr Justin caused some priests online to express a fear that we’re next! This couldn’t be farther from the truth. AI might (and will) take over some jobs – but the vocation of the priesthood is safe not because priests are smarter, or more efficient (AI wins hands down!). But because the priesthood is a vocation. And like other vocations, it’s not a question of simply doing, but of being. And no amount of coding can replace that.
Relationality 🤝
And what of Fr Justin ‘confessing’ someone? Much to say, but I’ll stick to this. Tech will keep on integrating in our times of prayer. But as the pandemic showed us – more technology might not always be a good thing. Our model must be the Incarnation.
Fr Justin might have been a bad idea. But there was definitely one good thing that came out of all this – a greater awareness of the issues related with AI and our interactions with it. The need for education and reflection is now needed more than ever.