AI Jesus in Swiss Church: Exploring the Intersection of Faith and Technology

AI Jesus Hears Confessions In Switzerland: Has Artificial Intelligence Gone Too Far?

Launched as an experiment, AI Jesus could show how AI could disrupt churches and religion. Religion could be the next sector impacted by the rise of artificial intelligence. What Happened: When it comes to the good and bad for artificial intelligence, one of the common fears is that AI will take people's jobs. While the job of a priest or religious figure might seem safe in the world of technology, a church in Switzerland could have other ideas. Peter's Chapel in Lucerne, Switzerland, unveiled an "experimental art installation" that features a version of Jesus that uses artificial intelligence, as reported by Vice. "Visitors share their thoughts and questions in a confessional with a heavenly hologram, where words are only meant for four ears -- but without confession. An artificial intelligence that responds aesthetically as Jesus may create a sacred moment," the church's website says. Peter's Chapel theologian Marco Scmid said AI Jesus is an experiment that could help people have a new experience with AI. Schmid said AI Jesus can help people launch forward conversations and could have an advantage to a pastor Schmid said AI Jesus is accessible "24 hours a day, so he has abilities that pastors don't." Read Also: Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Calls AI A 'Miracle,' Say It 'Can't Do 100% Of Our Jobs' Why It's Important: The church encourages visitors to "share their thoughts and questions" with their version of AI Jesus, but the process shouldn't be construed as official confession. "Deus in machina encourages us to think critically about the limits of technology in the context of religion," the church said. German media outlet Deutsche Well said two-thirds of participants they interviewed were impressed with the results of AI Jesus. While AI Jesus is only a test it comes as artificial intelligence use cases continue to advance and could disrupt multiple sectors globally. Read Next: Gary Vee Warns AI And ChatGPT Could Take Jobs, Why He Thinks That's Okay And How It's Similar To Tractors Courtesy: Shutterstock AI Generator Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

AI Jesus installed at Switzerland church | BreakingNews.ie

An AI Jesus has been installed at a church in Switzerland, so parishioners can confess their sins at any time. The multilingual bot is housed in the confessional box at St. Peter's Chapel in the city of Lucerne, with a 'heavenly hologram' projected behind the latticed opening. Its creators describe it as an experimental art installation aimed at exploring spirituality in the context of Artificial Intelligence. St Peters' Chapel worked with the Immersive Realities Research Lab at the city's HSLU university on the experimental art installation, which aims to raise questions about the opportunities and risks involved with the use of artificial intelligence in pastoral care. People can interact with a hologram representation of Jesus which reportedly addresses users with "Peace be with you, brother," regardless of the person's gender, and encourages them to discuss "whatever is troubling your heart today." However, the conversations with AI Jesus, who can speak 100 different languages, do not count as confessions, and engaging with the installation is not proper penance. Marco Schmid of St Peter's Chapel told Swissinfo that the AI programme was trained using sacred scripture and theological texts from the internet, leaving open the possibility it could offer biblical interpretations or spiritual advice at odds with Church teaching. However, he added that "in all previous tests, his answers have matched the theological view of St Peter's church".

AI Jesus takes confessions, but don't expect miracles

A Swiss church has introduced an AI-powered depiction of Jesus, named Deus in Machina, capable of engaging in conversations in over 100 languages, The Guardian reports. This installation took place in Peter's Chapel, the oldest church in Lucerne, and aims to explore how individuals interact with an AI figure representing a significant religious icon. The project launched in August as a collaboration with a local university research lab focusing on immersive reality. The church transformed its confessional booth, previously used for private confessions, into a space for visitors to engage with the AI. The AI has been trained on theological texts, allowing it to respond in real time to questions posed by visitors. Marco Schmid, a theologian at the church, emphasized that the initiative was experimental, aimed at understanding the public's reaction to conversing with an avatar of Jesus. During the two-month experiment, over 1,000 visitors, including individuals from Muslim backgrounds and tourists from countries like China and Vietnam, took the opportunity to speak with the AI. Collecting feedback from more than 230 of these interactions revealed that two-thirds of participants reported having a "spiritual experience." While many found the experience enriching, others expressed difficulty in conversing with what they perceived as a machine. A local journalist noted that some responses were "trite" and reminiscent of common sayings. The church anticipates the potential of this AI to serve as a multilingual spiritual guide, enabling discussions about Christianity and religious beliefs. Schmid remarked on the interest people's desire to beyond traditional teachings and rituals and ultimately engage in lively discussions about their faith. He stated, "I think there is a thirst to talk with Jesus." Despite a generally positive reception, the experiment faced criticism from some church members. Concerns arose regarding the use of the confessional booth and the portrayal of Jesus as an animated figure. The church maintained that the installation was designed to facilitate conversations rather than imitate the act of confession, advising participants not to share personal information and confirming that they understood they were engaging with an AI. AI-generated religious art pieces (free with prompts) The theological implications of integrating artificial intelligence into religious practices remain a matter of discussion. Schmid acknowledged the Church's apprehension about the potential for the AI to produce inappropriate or conflicting responses based on established doctrines. To address this, the church tested the functionality of the AI with an initial group of 30 individuals prior to the public launch. Continuous support was made available to users throughout the project to ensure a safe environment. A researcher from the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business posited that while AI may take on roles in ministries, truly automating religious leadership poses challenges due to the need for credibility. Prof. Joshua Conrad Jackson pointed out that robots lack the capability to hold genuine beliefs, which is essential for maintaining faith-based connections within communities.

Church Sets Up AI-Powered Jesus Inside Confessional Booth

A church in the Swiss city of Lucerne has set up a computer inside a confessional booth that allows churchgoers to converse with an "AI Jesus." As The Guardian reports, anybody wanting to speak to the large language model, which was trained on theological texts and can speak 100 different languages, has been advised not to disclose any personal information. And while that may sound counterintuitive, there's a good reason for that besides some obvious and thorny privacy implications. While the computer, microphone, and speaker were set up inside a confessional booth, the people behind the project dubbed "Deus in Machina" didn't intend it to "imitate a confession." "It was really an experiment," one of the church's theologians Marco Schmid told the Guardian. "We wanted to see and understand how people react to an AI Jesus. What would they talk with him about? Would there be interest in talking to him? We're probably pioneers in this." Schmid and his collaborators had already experimented with VR and AR. The next step was to resurrect Jesus himself in the form of an AI chatbot. "We had a discussion about what kind of avatar it would be -- a theologian, a person, or a saint?" Schmid told The Guardian. "But then we realized the best figure would be Jesus himself." Over a test period of two months, more than 1,000 people chatted with the AI Jesus. More than two-thirds of them found it to be a "spiritual experience," according to Schmid. "So we can say they had a religiously positive moment with this AI Jesus," he told the Guardian. "For me, that was surprising." Whether that's an endorsement of the tech or a sign that visitors to the church are particularly gullible remains unclear. Overall, the experience appears to have varied considerably, which shouldn't come as a surprise given the tech's well-documented shortcomings. "I have the impression that sometimes he was really very good and people were incredibly happy and surprised and inspired," Schmid told The Guardian. "And then there were also moments where he was somehow not so good, maybe more superficial." Overall, Schmid was surprised the AI Jesus didn't say anything problematic, an issue other large language model-based chatbots have been wrestling with since their conception. "We never had the impression he was saying strange things," he said. "But of course we could never guarantee that he wouldn't say anything strange." In short, while the theologian doesn't see the point of installing a "Jesus like that permanently," such a tool could make for an "approachable tool where you can talk bout religion." "I think there is a thirst to talk with Jesus," he told the newspaper. "People want to have an answer: they want words and to listen to what he's saying."

Meet your own personal AI Jesus in this Swiss church's confessional

The church worked with a local university to design and deploy the AI A Swiss church is trying a new way of connecting with Jesus in the confessional. It uses AI to simulate the personality of the 1st-century Galileleean for visitors as part of a religiously themed art project called Deus in Machina (God in a Machine). The digital simulacrum of Jesus Christ engages with visitors and offers spiritual guidance based on what people say. If you enter the confessional, you'll see the AI Jesus displayed on a screen. The decidedly Swiss-looking man from the Roman-run Middle East of two millennia ago listens to people voice their questions or concerns. The AI model underlying the simulation was built by a team from the church working with the Immersive Realities Research Lab at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts using the New Testament as the basis for how Jesus thinks and speaks. So far, it's performed well. "AI fascinates us. But it also has its limits and raises ethical questions," St. Peter's theologian Marco Schmid explained in a statement (translated from German by Google). "In all previous tests, his answers have matched our theological understanding of St. Peter's Chapel." The video of people reacting to AI Jesus shows some mixed reviews. One parishioner expressed surprise at how easy it was and how good the advice they received was. Another said it was very generic and not very impressive. A disagreement over religious interpretation suggests AI Jesus is performing exactly as it should. Now that AI Jesus is here, the question is, what comes next? If you want to experience the other side of the religious experience, you can try Social AI, an entire universe where you are the only real person, and everyone you talk to is just an AI character. Or you could go for being a kind of priest yourself for the traumatized AI personalities you encounter at Friend.com. If you're truly uncertain about how to use AI ethically in a religious context, you can always ask the Pope. He and IBM have put together a whole guide for ethical AI use.

AI Jesus sets up shop in Lucerne's historic Peterskapelle

If you find yourself in the Swiss tourist destination of Lucerne with a guilty conscience, there's someone waiting at the historic Peterskapelle Catholic Church to hear your prayers - someone who cares, you might say: Your own personal AI Jesus. An "experimental art installation" dubbed "Deus in Machina" by the St. Peter's Church in Lucerne has seen a confessional booth outfitted with a vertically aligned monitor, a bunch of computer equipment and a big blue button for adventurous penitents willing to ask questions to AI Jesus (or is that JAIsus?) in one of 100 languages he's programmed to speak and respond in. Don't take AI Jesus' advice as a replacement for the sacrament of confession, however: the church notes on its website that the "heavenly hologram" is ready to hear thoughts, questions and dispense advice, but it "is explicitly not a confession." Jesus himself - his AI avatar, that is - even warns visitors to keep the PII to a minimum, according to a report by German international news outlet Deutsche Welle (DW). "Do not disclose personal information under any circumstances," AI Jesus warned reporters in the DW video. "Use this service at your own risk. Press the [big blue] button if you accept." According to DW's experience with the machine, it tended to ask more questions than give direct answers, like when AI Jesus was asked why women couldn't be priests in the Catholic church. AI Jesus noted that scripture allots different roles to men and women before flipping the script and asking how the visitor could "promote peace and harmony" in their life instead. Users still seemed rather taken with the AI confessional, with visitors DW spoke to noting they were surprised at its capabilities. "Though it was a machine, it gave me so much advice," one individual told the outlet in a video interview. "From a Christian perspective, I felt taken care of and felt really consoled." Personal Jesus, indeed. Jesus' earthly digital avatar was created in a partnership between the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts' Immersive Realities Research Lab and Peterskapelle theological assistant Marco Schmid. According to Schmid, the project is all about starting a dialogue about the role of AI in religion. "What we're doing here is an experiment," Schmid told DW. "We wanted people to have a very concrete experience with AI, that way we have a foundation for talking about it and discussing it with one another." In a German-language press release (which The Register has machine-translated for you with painstaking effort on Google's part) from August, when the installation was unveiled, Schmid further explained that the project was designed to get lapsed Catholics and other church skeptics in the door as well. "Curious people who are more distant from the Church are particularly likely to show great interest in exchanging ideas with the AI Jesus," Schmid said, while noting the title of the exhibit was deliberately provocative. Whether that rings true for the devout is unclear: Two-thirds of visitors who interacted with AI Jesus claimed to have had a "spiritual experience," according to DW, but others the outlet spoke to dismissed it as a gimmick. Some visitors have reportedly left condemnations of the project in Peterskapelle's guest book, as found by DW, warning that the project would have consequences for the church. "We had all kind[s] of reactions," Schmid told The Register in response to emailed questions. "Critical ones, but also many interested and curious people." "The reactions after the talks were mainly positive," Schmid said regarding a series of discussions and lectures about religion, AI, and the digital Jesus held throughout the exhibit's all-too-brief time on Earth. "Most of the time somebody from our pastoral team was next to the installation so we could give a good and responsible context to the experiment," Schmid explained. "Without this context myself I wouldn't launch the AI-Jesus!" It's not clear where AI Jesus got his theological education, though the church noted it was trained on "biblical, spiritual [and] theological content" that combines "historical, theological and modern ethical viewpoints." Even with its divine source of inspiration, AI Jesus isn't spiritually empowered to resist the usual problems with AI: The church noted that, while AI Jesus can provide unusual perspectives, and claimed to be "free from personal or cultural biases" that could influence its understanding of the Catholic faith" (inasmuch as it's programmed the right way, of course), and fast to respond and linguistically diverse, it can still make mistakes. "This list of advantages should not obscure the fact that an AI can also give incomprehensible, and in some cases even stupid and idiotic answers," the church warned. So maybe don't take it too personally, or seriously, if AI Jesus offers some questionable advice. Deus in Machina wrapped up in late October, Schmid told us, and Peterskapelle plans to hold a dialogue on the results next week. Schmid also said he sees a role for AI in the future of pastoral care. ®

This church has an AI Jesus for confessions: 'It gave me so much...

Just in case artificial intelligence hasn't been taking on enough jobs lately -- and now it's replacing the almighty. A church in Switzerland is now using an AI hologram of Jesus to take confessions from worshippers, as seen in a wild video blowing up online. "I was surprised, it was so easy, and though it's a machine, it gave me so much advice," one awestruck worshipper told DW News while describing their experience with the Sermon-ator, located at St Peter's Church in Lucerne. Dubbed Deus in Machina, the futuristic shrine features a confessional booth with a screen displaying the face of Jesus through the grate. Before entering, robo-Jesus cautions, "Do not disclose personal information under any circumstances, use this service at your own risk, press the button if you accept." If the worshipper opts to proceed, the digitally-rendered visage interprets their words and generates a response with the animated face moving in sync with the words. When asked why women aren't allowed in the church in the clip, the digital son of God responded, "The scriptures teach that certain roles are defined within the church, each role and task has its place in God's plan." "How can you promote peace and harmony in your life," the holy-graphic messiah added. Jesus' cybernetic second coming was made possible by computer scientists and theologians from the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, who programmed the bot with New Testament and religious information found online, the Daily Mail reported. The cybernetic savior is also fluent in 100 different languages, enabling it to converse with worshippers from all over the world. Many believers were over the moon about JC's robo-resurrection, which took confessions between August 23 and October 20 but will be involved in events until the end of November. "I asked about the spiral of violence, how to break one," recalled one satisfied visitor. "The answer: through prayer and not seeking retribution." Another recounted, "He was able to reaffirm me in my ways of going about things and he was able to help me with questions I had like how I can help other people to understand him better and come closer to him." AI Christ was even able to navigate some of the thorniest theological dilemmas. "How do I support, from a Christian perspective, an elderly, sick person who has decided on assisted suicide?" asked one penitent. "Perhaps you could ask your loved one the following questions...What does your faith mean to you in this difficult time?" AI Jesus responded. "Is there anything else in life that could bring you peace or joy? How can I support you and give you comfort?" It added, "Your task is not to judge, but to accompany with love." Of course, not everyone was thrilled with the idea of JC's digital middleman with some labeling it a "gimmick" while others called the avatar's advice "generic." The church even received an ominous warning that the project "will not be without consequences." Meanwhile, Professor Peter Kirchschläger, a theologian and ethicist from the University of Lucerne claimed that machines don't have the moral compass required to practice religion. "That's an area where we humans are actually vastly superior to machines so we should do these things themselves," he declared. St Peter's Chapel theologist Marco Schmid admitted in a statement (translated via Google) that while the project "has its limits" and raises some ethical questions, so far all his answers have "matched our theological understanding of St. Peter's Chapel." He says the idea isn't to have technology take Jesus' job -- the church reiterated that installation was only temporary -- but rather to spur discussions on the role of AI in religion. "What we're doing here is an experiment, we wanted to launch the discussion by letting people have a very concrete experience with AI," he explained. "That way we have a foundation for talking about it and discussing it with one another." Schmid envisioned the AI offering 24-hour on-call pastoral support as unlike their human equivalents, virtual priests don't need to sleep.

Swiss Church Deploys AI-Powered Jesus Hologram To Take Confession

The AI Jesus is capable of speaking 100 languages to accommodate a diverse tourist population. In a groundbreaking art project titled "Deus ex machina," a church in Switzerland has introduced an AI-powered Jesus hologram to interact with worshipers -- and even take confession. The innovative installation at St Peter's Church in Lucerne allows visitors to voice their concerns and receive responses from a digitally-rendered face of Jesus Christ. The AI Jesus, developed by computer scientists and theologians from the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, is capable of speaking 100 languages to accommodate Lucerne's diverse tourist population. The system is trained on the New Testament and other religious information found online, providing it with a strong understanding of scripture and religious debates. Upon entering the confessional booth, visitors are greeted by AI Jesus, who advises them not to disclose personal information and to use the service at their own risk. The AI animates a face that responds to questions with computer-generated speech, offering spiritual advice and insights. Many visitors report having a "spiritual" experience, the Daily Mail reports. AI Jesus showed that it can handle sticky theological issues. In a blog post from Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, one AI Jesus visitor asked: "how do I support, from a Christian perspective, an elderly, sick person who has decided on assisted suicide?" AI Jesus replied: "Perhaps you could ask your loved one the following questions: What does your faith mean to you in this difficult time? Is there anything else in life that could bring you peace or joy? How can I support you and give you comfort?" the Mail reported.

Deus in machina: Swiss church installs AI-powered Jesus

Peter's chapel in Lucerne swaps out its priest to set up a computer and cables in confessional booth The small, unadorned church has long ranked as the oldest in the Swiss city of Lucerne. But Peter's chapel has become synonymous with all that is new after it installed an AI-powered Jesus capable of dialoguing in 100 different languages. "It was really an experiment," said Marco Schmid, a theologian with the church. "We wanted to see and understand how people react to an AI Jesus. What would they talk with him about? Would there be interest in talking to him? We're probably pioneers in this." The installation, known as Deus in Machina, was launched in August as the latest initiative in a years-long collaboration with a local university research lab on immersive reality. After projects that had experimented with virtual and augmented reality, the church decided that the next step was to install an avatar. Schmid said: "We had a discussion about what kind of avatar it would be - a theologian, a person or a saint? But then we realised the best figure would be Jesus himself." Short on space and seeking a place where people could have private conversations with the avatar, the church swapped out its priest to set up a computer and cables in the confessional booth. After training the AI program in theological texts, visitors were then invited to pose questions to a long-haired image of Jesus beamed through a latticework screen. He responded in real time, offering up answers generated through artificial intelligence. People were advised not to disclose any personal information and confirm that they knew they were engaging with the avatar at their own risk. "It's not a confession," said Schmid. "We are not intending to imitate a confession." During the two-month period of the experiment, more than 1,000 people - including Muslims and visiting tourists from as far as China and Vietnam - took up the opportunity to interact with the avatar. While data on the installation is set to be presented next week, feedback from more than 230 users suggested that two-thirds of them had found it to be a "spiritual experience", said Schmid. "So we can say they had a religiously positive moment with this AI Jesus. For me, that was surprising." Others were more negative, with some telling the church that they found it impossible to talk to a machine. One local reporter who tried out the device described the answers as, at times, "trite, repetitive and exuding a wisdom reminiscent of calendar cliches". The feedback suggested there had been a wide disparity in the avatar's answers, said Schmid. "I have the impression that sometimes he was really very good and people were incredibly happy and surprised and inspired," he said. "And then there were also moments where he was somehow not so good, maybe more superficial." The experiment had also faced criticism from some within the church community, said Schmid, with Catholic colleagues protesting at the use of the confessional while Protestant colleagues seemingly took umbrage at the installation's use of imagery in this way. What had most struck Schmid, however, was the risk the church had taken in trusting that the AI wouldn't dole out responses that were illegal, explicit or offer up interpretations or spiritual advice that clashed with church teachings. In the hope of mitigating this risk, the church had carried out tests with 30 people before the installation of the avatar. After the launch, it ensured that support was always close by for users. "We never had the impression he was saying strange things," said Schmid. "But of course we could never guarantee that he wouldn't say anything strange." Ultimately, it was this uncertainty that had led him to decide that the avatar was best left as an experiment. "To put a Jesus like that permanently, I wouldn't do that. Because the responsibility would be too great." He was swift, however, to cite the broader potential of the idea. "It is a really easy, approachable tool where you can talk about religion, about Christianity, about Christian faith," he said, musing that it could be refashioned into a sort of multilingual spiritual guide that could answer religious questions. For him, the experiment - and the keen interest it had generated - had shown him that people were looking to go beyond the Bible, sacraments and rituals. Schmid said: "I think there is a thirst to talk with Jesus. People want to have an answer: they want words and to listen to what he's saying. I think that's one element of it. Then of course there's the curiosity of it. They want to see what this is."

Church installs AI-powered Jesus, draws thousands of visitors

Known as Deus in Machina, the AI was launches in August and is capable of speaking over 100 different languages. A Swiss church installed an artificial-intelligence (AI) to represent Jesus, The Guardian reported on Thursday. The church introduced the AI installation, in collaboration with a local university research lab on immersive reality. "It was really an experiment," said Marco Schmid, a theologian with the church. "We wanted to see and understand how people react to an AI Jesus. What would they talk with him about? Would there be interest in talking to him? We're probably pioneers in this." Known as Deus in Machina, the AI was launched in August and is capable of speaking over 100 different languages, The Guardian reported. To house the AI, the church set up a confessional both, where instead of visitors confessing their sins to a priest, they would now be talking an AI powered depiction of Jesus. The Guardian wrote that, similarly to ChatGPT the AI has the ability to respond in real time to questions and conversations. The church said that more than 1,000 people have spoken with the AI, reporting both positive and negative experiences, with some finding it difficult to talk to a machine. What's next for AI With the rise of AI taking over occupational jobs, such as a priest in the Swiss church, many wonder what comes next? In 2023, a researcher at the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business looked into the question of if Rabbi's could one day be replaced by AI? "I doubt that religious leaders will ever be fully automated because they need credibility, and robots aren't credible," said Prof. Joshua Conrad Jackson, who lead the study. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now Jackson stated that while such displays of credibility may be unimportant in many of the other professions being outsourced to robots, but could be crucial for professions in the religious sphere. As a result, exposure to robot vs. human preachers may reduce perceptions of credibility, and this reduction in credibility should translate to less religious commitment. "Robots and AI programs can't truly hold any religious beliefs so religious organizations may see declining commitment from their congregations if they rely more on technology than on human leaders who can demonstrate their faith," Jackson concluded.

Son of a bot! AI Jesus hologram takes confessionals in Swiss church

Those visiting the oldest church in Lucerne, Switzerland, may be in for a surprise when they are greeted in the confessional by an AI-powered hologram of none other than Jesus Christ himself. St Peters' Chapel in Lucerne worked with the Immersive Realities Research Lab at the city's HSLU university on this experimental art installation, which aims to raise questions about the opportunities and risks involved with the use of artificial intelligence in pastoral care. People can interact with a hologram representation of Jesus which reportedly addresses users with "Peace be with you, brother" (regardless of the person's gender), and encourages them to discuss "whatever is troubling your heart today." Not sure what happens if the answer is "You being a hologram, for a start!" The installation is titled 'Deus in Machina' and was conceived by Philipp Haslbauer and Aljosa Smolic from the Immersive Realities Center at Hochschule Luzern, alongside Marco Schmid, who is a theologian at the parish. "The title of the installation - 'Deus in Machina' - suggests divine omniscience and wisdom. It is deliberately provocative," said Marco Schmid of St Peter's Chapel. "Curious people who are more distant from the church are particularly likely to show great interest in exchanging ideas with the AI Jesus," he added. The program encourages people to "think critically about the boundaries of technology in the context of religion," according to the team, who insisted that putting the installation in a confessional was a practical decision meant to encourage "moments of intimacy" with the hologram. It is not proper penance. Indeed, in case you were wondering, the conversations with AI Jesus, who can speak 100 different languages, do not count as confessions. Schmid told Swissinfo that the AI program was trained using sacred scripture and theological texts from the internet, leaving open the possibility it could offer biblical interpretations or spiritual advice at odds with Church teaching. However, he claimed "in all previous tests, his answers have matched the theological view of St Peter's church". Considering AI systems follow algorithms devised by third parties, the question of their decision-making process is an interesting thing to consider, as well as the ethical advice it gives. The church is aware of this, and the installation will culminate in a presentation and discussion of the project's results, which will take place on 27 November. That said, it hasn't stopped the backlash online, with many finding the whole thing either ridiculous or very offensive. "If you notice I'm gone for a few days, and then hear about a fire in a church in Switzerland, I certainly had nothing to do with it," one user joked. Another asked: "I'm very not religious but isn't this very against the teachings?" So, is it "Father, forgive them for they have glitched?"