The ChatGPT service was called a “shotgun sermon” by Pastor Jay Cooper.
A church in Texas held a Sunday service that was completely computerized.
According to a story from KXAN, pastor Jay Cooper of the Violet Crown City Church in north Austin used ChatGPT to create a lecture, saying he got the idea after reading about the technology and thinking what it would be like to use it during a service.
Cooper said, “ChatGPT put out about a 15-minute service, like a shotgun sermon, an outline.” “It’s clear that there still needs to be a human factor. I had to add more questions to the service and a few to the lecture to make it more interesting.
The popularity of ChatGPT, an OpenAI-made AI robot, has increased recently. People have used the service to help with a wide range of tasks, like coming up with ideas or making plans for articles, essays, and even books. Some people have used ChatGPT or similar tools to write whole papers and books, while others have used the technology to help with study.
“AI can be used in so many different ways,” Cooper said. “I just had the idea, ‘What would it look like to use this in a worship service?'”
Cooper said that he talked to members of the church before trying the service. However, some people said later that AI would have a hard time removing the human part.
Ernest Chambers, who went to the service, told KXAN, “I’m not sure that AI can really show love, kindness, and empathy.” “I think we should show love and put it into action. We must not only feel it, but also show it.”
Cooper thinks that the trial was a chance for him and the other people there to learn more about what it means to pray.
“A big question I have about letting AI lead service is whether or not a prayer made by AI can somehow tell the truth. Can you have a relationship with God that way?” Cooper inquired.
Cooper said that it’s possible that lectures made by AI could pick up on parts that people find meaningful. This could help people become more open to new ideas and ways of thinking.
Cooper said, “Maybe something speaks to them, and that makes them think, maybe I’m not looking for the sacred enough in the rest of the world.”
Cooper said that using AI for the service was a one-time thing and that he has no plans to do something similar.
