Chatbot Sermon Draws Hundreds to Church Service.

An experimental Lutheran church service almost entirely generated by AI was held at the convention of Protestants in Germany. The 40-minute service, including the sermon, prayers, and music, was created by ChatGPT and a theologian and philosopher from the University of Vienna. The service was led by four different avatars on the screen, and the believers in the church listened attentively as the artificial intelligence preached about leaving the past behind, focusing on the challenges of the present, overcoming fear of death, and never losing trust in Jesus Christ. While some attendees were impressed, others found it off-putting and lacking in emotion and spirituality. The theologian sees the use of AI as a way to help religious leaders with their everyday work in their congregations, but acknowledges the limits to implementing artificial AI in church or religion.