We have seen AI chatbots inside religious applications before, but a chapel in Lucerne, Switzerland, has really taken it further - bringing artificial intelligence into the confessional. DW's report shows "AI Jesus" in action, dispensing machine-generated spiritual advice through an avatar visible inside the wooden enclosure. Parishioners sitting on the other side interact with AI by pressing a button and voicing their question or concern.

I was surprised," said one parishioner interviewed in the report. "Though it's a machine, it gave me so much advice." The theologian serving the chapel explains that the tech, developed at the local university, is an experiment meant to stir discussion. He notes one benefit: AI is available 24/7, unlike human pastors.

Others were less impressed: “I see it as a gimmick,” said one after recounting the AI’s stock response to a question about ending violence.

Priests probably shouldn’t hang up their cassocks just yet, especially as the AI warns parishioners not to share any personal data, such as sins.