HELSINKI – A captivating story of good versus evil unfolded on the big screen within the sanctuary of St. Paul’s Lutheran church in Finland. The depiction featured Jesus portrayed in traditional robes with flowing hair and a beard, contrasted with Satan, who wore modern attire conveying a more ominous presence with a higher-pitched voice. All these roles were animated by artificial intelligence.
On the Tuesday evening service, avatars of the church’s pastors, as well as a former Finnish president who passed away in 1986, delivered readings from the Old Testament. This marked Finland’s first church service primarily engineered by AI, crafting the sermons, several songs, music compositions, and generating visuals.
The experimental service, widely publicized, attracted over 120 attendees to the northeastern Helsinki church, significantly more than the typical weekday gathering. Some attendees traveled from distant locations, including a few foreign visitors who admitted their limited understanding of the Finnish language hindered their comprehension.
“Often, people discuss what AI might do in the future, but truly, the future is here. AI has the capability to do what people believe it may achieve in a decade,” commented the Rev. Petja Kopperoinen, who initiated and realized the idea.
Participants, both clergy and congregants, found the experience enjoyable but concurred it couldn’t replace human-led services anytime soon. Attendee Taru Nieminen conveyed, “It was entertaining and enjoyable, but it lacked the essence of a traditional Mass or service… It felt detached. It didn’t connect with me personally.”
The Rev. Kari Kanala, the vicar at St. Paul’s, echoed these sentiments by stating, “The genuine warmth of people is irreplaceable.”
Churches and pastors worldwide are increasingly experimenting with AI, attempting to discern its potential role and capacity to attract more followers, much like society at large.
In 2023, an AI-managed service took place in a German church. The previous year, a virtual “Jesus” avatar engaged believers querying about their faith in a Catholic chapel in Switzerland.
St. Paul’s church has a history of innovation, incorporating events such as soccer and ice hockey screenings, dance, and film festivals into their services. Inspired by a conference on AI and religion in Geneva and the German AI service, Kopperoinen decided to attempt a similar venture.
Both Kanala and Bishop Teemu Laajasalo of Helsinki supported the initiative. Kopperoinen invested weeks utilizing various AI tools to craft a 45-minute service. This included using Open AI’s ChatGPT-4o for scriptwriting (excluding Bible passages), Suno for composing pop-like music, and Synthesia AI for creating video avatars of himself, Kanala, and another pastor from existing footage.
Despite finding it eerie to watch himself onscreen speaking words he never uttered, Kopperoinen acknowledged the AI’s creativity. A separate tool, Akool, generated an avatar of former Finnish President Urho Kekkonen reading Old Testament excerpts and the exchange between Jesus and Satan. Notably, live hymns supplemented the AI-generated elements.
The endeavor had notable constraints. AI was excluded from handling sacramental acts like forgiving sins or performing the Eucharist at the Helsinki service. All AI outputs necessitated human fact-checking and editing, with stereotypical elements often present in AI-generated content.
Kopperoinen noted AI’s general reluctance to create religious content, with ChatGPT initially resistant to crafting dialogue between Jesus and Satan until reassured about the project’s legitimacy. ChatGPT also declined roles requiring spiritual authority like absolution or blessings, providing a protective boundary against misuse.
Environmental considerations concerning AI tools, such as the water consumption needed for their operation, were also highlighted. Some critics within the Finnish Lutheran church pointed out environmental costs associated with utilizing AI for congregational engagement.
Partakers noted the service was unique and engaging yet occasionally perplexing due to the swift speech patterns. “The songs were quite catchy but lacked the human soul essence,” remarked student Jeera Pulkkinen, while critiquing the tools’ rapid delivery.
Eeva Salonen, the chief development officer at the Helsinki Parish Union, perceived the service more as a “performance,” finding it less personal compared to one involving actual individuals. Nevertheless, she expressed fondness for the event.
The indispensable human touch is one key reason why AI is unlikely to replace genuine pastors, according to Kopperoinen. “AI lacks empathy and cannot spiritually respond to personal inquiries,” he stated.
Both Kopperoinen and Kanala see a role for AI within the church. St. Paul’s already deploys AI for administrative purposes, and Kopperoinen occasionally consults ChatGPT when drafting sermons or seeking relevant Bible verses.
Reconsidering his initial opposition to AI, Kanala acknowledges potential in using it for research support related to sermons and speeches.
Tom Stoneham, a philosophy professor and ethicist specialized in safe AI systems at the University of York in the UK, asserts AI can only replace humans in transactional roles. Even in such circumstances, the added value of a human smile or friendly dialogue cannot be replicated by AI, he observes.
In the religious context, Stoneham elaborates that it is about humanity, not mechanical substitute: “Human presence confers value beyond mere functionality.” Furthermore, Anna Puzio, a technology ethics researcher at the University of Twente in the Netherlands, emphasizes the importance of religious groups experimenting with AI to responsibly shape its development and integration.
