An artificial intelligence (AI) powered church service drew in just over 300 attendees in Germany. As a first-of-its-kind experiment, the 40-minute sermon revealed several useful applications of AI technology and several significant shortcomings.

Filled to capacity, St. Paul's church in Fuerth, Germany, became the first to hold an "experimental Lutheran Church service," with 98 percent of the service being organized by ChatGPT and led by four AI avatars, according to comments made by theologian and philosopher Jonas Simmerlein to the Associated Press.

Worship through #AI or #WorshipAI ?

Church service in Germany draws 300+ people through 40 minutes of prayer, music, sermons and blessings.#ChatGPT generated speeches and AI pastors calls in to question the use of AI in the context of spiritualityhttps://t.co/x8iQkAoD7J pic.twitter.com/s19gnHYZLw

— Neutron ? (@jeffrey_neutron) June 12, 2023

29-year-old Simmerlein explained, "I conceived this service — but actually, I rather accompanied it because I would say about 98% comes from the machine."

As part of the convention of Protestants in Germany, the AI church service generated significant interest, resulting in a long queue forming outside the neo-Gothic church building before it commenced.

The convention, known as Deutscher Evangelischer Kirchentag, is a biennial event that attracts tens of thousands of believers who gather to pray, sing, and engage in discussions about their faith and global issues. This year's theme, "Now is the time," provided the foundation for Simmerlein's request to ChatGPT to develop a sermon.

The AI-generated service touched upon leaving the past behind, addressing present challenges, overcoming the fear of death, and maintaining unwavering trust in Jesus Christ -- presented by four different avatars, two young women and two young men.

Towards the beginning of the service, viewers seemed to be intrigued or perhaps just curious as to what an AI service might look and sound like -- as the first avatar said "Dear friends, it is an honor for me to stand here and preach to you as the first artificial intelligence at this year’s convention of Protestants in Germany."

However, as the sermon went on, the audience expressed mixed feelings, some laughing at emotionless platitudes that the avatars shared in soulless monotonous voices. Others, like Heiderose Schmidt, a 54-year-old IT professional, shared that she was first excited but grew increasingly off-put as the service went on.

She explained that "There was no heart and no soul," adding that "The avatars showed no emotions at all, had no body language, and were talking so fast and monotonously that it was very hard for me to concentrate on what they said."

As the service finished, there appeared to be a consensus that while AI in religion might offer potential benefits, like increased accessibility for those with physical or language barriers, it also poses potential risks, as AI can be deceiving and may inadvertently promote biased or one-sided perspectives -- not to mention the lack of spirituality, which many congregation members lean on.

Simmerlein emphasized that his intention is not to replace religious leaders with AI but rather to aid them in their work. He proposed using AI to generate ideas for sermons or streamline sermon preparation, allowing pastors to focus on individual spiritual guidance for their congregations.

Despite best intentions, the experiment revealed the limitations of AI in religious settings. Unlike human pastors who interact and connect with their congregations on a personal level, AI lacks the ability to respond to laughter or other reactions, highlighting the importance of human presence and understanding within religious communities.

In other news, AI is being reimagined by scientists using 'hyperdimensional computing.'

Click here to view full gallery at Hypemoon