Deus in Machina: A Conversational AI for Spiritual Experience

Generative Artificial Intelligence enables unprecedented forms of interaction with simulated personas through dynamic and unexpected conversations. In this paper, we present "Deus in Machina", an installation that actualizes what theology previously considered only theoretically: a pastoral conversational AI. To maximize impact, the AI assumes the identity and likeness of Jesus Christ and was installed in the confessional booth of a Catholic church. We describe the technical and conceptual framework of the installation, which features a generative audio-visual avatar generated in real-time and whose responses have been trained on biblical texts. The artwork explores critical questions about ethics, spirituality, humanity, and person-hood in the era of AI. In addition, we present the preliminary results of a user study that showed favorable sentiments. This work offers insights into the design and reception of interactive AI installations exploring sensitive theological and human-AI interaction themes.