“Text With Jesus,” a software program that offers users the opportunity to chat with an artificial intelligence-generated Jesus Christ, isn’t designed to replace the Bible, the product’s creator said Tuesday.
Instead, “AI Jesus” bases his responses on Scripture, as does “AI Satan,” though he’s available only to users who pay a monthly fee.
Stéphane Peter, president and CEO of Catloaf Software in Los Angeles, said the inspiration for his project — which has garnered global headlines — came from a friend’s idea for a “Text From Jesus,” which would deliver a daily Bible verse via text message.
“It was super-simple, so I was bringing generative AI here, and so you can actually have it impersonate people, and so I was like, ‘Oh, this would be an interesting extension of this existing app,” Mr. Peter said. “I’m curious to see whether I can do this, and also I can kind of build on this existing [application] brand.”
Despite the global publicity surrounding the “Text With Jesus” software’s launch earlier this year, cash customers for the subscription component are not plentiful. Mr. Peter said that of the 6,000 active users of the software, only 10% to 15% pay the $3.99 monthly charge to unlock additional Bible characters, including “AI Satan.”
Users of the “Text With Jesus” program can ask a question and generally get a specific answer.
When a reporter asked, “Why is there suffering in the world,” AI Jesus was ready with a response to a question theologians have debated for millennia.
“Suffering is a part of the broken world we live in due to the presence of sin,” the AI-created message began. “But take heart, for I have overcome the world! Through faith in me, there is hope and comfort even in the midst of suffering. Remember, ‘I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.’ John 16:33”
While not a detailed discussion of theodicy, or how a good God permits evil to exist, the computer-generated response is one most Christians could understand and accept, even if follow-up questions remain.
Exactness matters when using the software: Ask, “Will I see my cats in heaven?” and the program hesitates for several minutes before saying, “Server timed out. Please retry.” Make the noun singular and “Text With Jesus” will say, “The Bible doesn’t explicitly mention whether we will see our pets in heaven, but it does reveal that God cares for all His creation,” quoting Matthew 10:29 about God noticing when even a sparrow falls.
The anodyne output of answers that cover a range of Christian beliefs and denominations, Mr. Peter said, is intentional.
“My goal is not really to come up with new stuff,” he said. “I mean to answer the questions as honestly as possible from the point of view of the Bible.”
Mr. Peter, who was raised in France as a Christian, also pursued his computer education there, earning a master’s in computer science. He said doesn’t practice the faith these days.
Instead, the program fascinates him as a way for users to interact with biblical characters, including those who are lesser known.
Others, like the “AI Satan” character, stirred strong reactions from some Christians uncomfortable with the idea of conversing with the Devil — even a computer-generated one.
Mr. Peter said AI Satan is just one option for users. He included Satan, he said, because he “was an interesting character in the Bible, because it’s central to a lot of the good news and evil they made” in Scripture.
All the characters — whose images are created using AI tools to draw the artwork — are formed with instructions to “stick to the Bible as accurately as possible,” he said. Thus, the Satan chatbot “is not the absolute evil you would think. You’d see a Satan who quotes the Bible a lot. … It’s really sticking to the story of the fallen angel who is not necessarily against God and all that, so it’s not the stereotypical Satan in that way.”
The rise of a Jesus-themed “chatbot” reflects a spiritual hunger for truth, one evangelical leader said, regardless of whether the program’s creators realize it.
“Everybody is looking for the deepest kind of satisfaction they can find and ultimately they’re longing for God, whether they know it or not,” said Donald Sweeting, chancellor of Colorado Christian University in Lakewood, Colorado. “And so, I think this reflects a spiritual hunger that’s in people.”
A chatbot with structured answers means users are “not really hearing from or talking to Jesus. It’s not unlike talking, in my opinion, with a Magic 8 Ball,” he said.
Mr. Sweeting suggests seekers “go directly to the Lord through his word, which is what Christians and Orthodox Jews have always commended. That’s a well full of water, [while] some of these others are empty cisterns.”
