Just Justin now for bot priest

Modern Relics is a newsletter about religion, especially when it happens online. Sorry for my unplanned absence over the past few weeks — the wheels kind of fell off there for a bit. The intention is that this is a free, weekly newsletter, but at the moment I suppose we're in a periodic phase.

Probably best if you double-check you are subscribed so that you won't miss an edition when it comes out. I'm going overseas at the end of the month, and I'll do my best to get one more edition out before then – on 25 May it'll be three years of Modern Relics!

Fr Justin AI priestbot becomes just Justin

I love this story. The website Catholic Answers released a chatbot called Father Justin that was designed to answer theological questions, but… can you ordain a robot?

Some say yes! But many found Father Justin absurd and outrageous. Of course, the AI was not actually ordained, because that’s not how ordination works in the Catholic faith, and many people felt calling the bot “Father” was a “scandalizing mockery of the sacred priesthood” and really muddied the waters on the whole ordination thing.

The (mostly negative) social media response was almost immediate. We can ordain an AI but not a woman? What if we ordained Clippy instead? Satirical Catholic publishing company Frater Asinus Publishing also released a(n AI generated) book cover for a book by Father Justin.

And the priestbot’s case wasn’t helped by coming up with some truly innovative answers to theological questions. Sacrament of confession via chatbot? Sure. Baptising babies in Gatorade? Let’s go.

I have not played around with the Father Justin bot, but the project kind of reminds me of the Magisterium AI program that was trained on a database of Church documents as a way to help answer questions in line with Catholic doctrine (and I assume, no Gatorade baptisms). But nobody was trying to anthropomorphise Magisterium AI, whereas Father Justin was designed to be an approachable face to the church.

So now Father Justin has been rebranded as just Justin, a lay theologian. Catholic Answers is at pains to stress that, contrary to media reports, the bot was not defrocked or “laicised”.

We won’t say he’s been laicized, because he never was a real priest!

Robot priests aside, the Vatican is extremely interested in what happens with AI. You might recall my radio report about the Rome Call for AI Ethics on the Religion and Ethics Report. The Rome Call actually took place in 2020, with Jewish and Muslim representatives also signing onto the call in 2023.

Would you rather be in the woods with a man or a bear?

Everyone's been arguing online about whether you'd rather be caught in the woods with a strange man or a bear. Many women have chosen the bear, and the book of Proverbs has the definitive answer.

But if the bear was summoned by Elisha? What then??

Blessings on the go

Bishop stabbing video to remain online

Just a quick history of a situation going on with a bishop, Australia's internet laws, Elon Musk and a (briefly) illegal video.

A few weeks ago, independent Eastern Syriac Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was stabbed while leading a live-streamed church service in south-west Sydney. The incident was declared a 'terrorist incident' by NSW Police. Bishop Emmanuel lost his right eye in the attack.

Video of the incident circulated online, and Australia's eSafety commissioner ordered it be removed from the internet – not just in Australia, but worldwide. Most platforms voluntarily complied, but Elon Musk refused to take the video down for free speech reasons, arguing that no single country should be allowed to dictate what can appear online. Australian politicians weren't impressed.

From the ABC:

This laissez-faire approach has inspired insults from Australian politicians across the political spectrum – Opposition Leader Peter Dutton accused him of acting "above the law", Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young called him a "narcissistic cowboy", and Senator Jacqui Lambie called him a "knob".

But the Bishop wants the video to stay online. Addressing his congregation on orthodox Palm Sunday in an eyepatch, he stressed that, "Every human being has the right to their freedom of speech and freedom of religion."

On Monday Bishop Emmanuel got his way. The Federal Court ultimately found the Commissioner's initial take-down notice was not valid, meaning X did not need to comply and was not at risk of contempt of court charges for ignoring the order. The video will remain online for the time being.

The ongoing philosophical debates about free speech, government regulators and the validity of the Online Safety Act continue. Another hearing about the case is expected in a few weeks.

Built different

Met Gala Jewish fashion review

Shoshana has come through with the goods again. Want to see Jeff Goldblum dressed "like a rabbi costume kit you'd buy from a halloween shop"?

Christian boy smile

Thanks to Travis for sending me this.

"The devil can scrap but the Lord has won"

This quote from the 2022 song "Revival" by Zach Bryan is getting used on TikTok/X/etc in reference to people who have left the furry or kink communities to become religious. (Thanks to Andrew for sending this to me.) In addition to this one, Travis sent me a now-private video on TikTok of a gay pup who joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

I've also added "Revival" by Zach Bryan to the Modern Relics playlist (99 songs long!) and every time it plays I'll think about furries.

Thanks for sticking with this newsletter even when it's not 100% consistent. Having a regular writing habit is important to me, and Modern Relics is part of that, so it won't be going anywhere for the time being.

Don't forget you can submit posts and ideas for future editions. The best way to do so is probably the Modern Relics Discord, just so I have everything in the one place. Okay thanks!