Chatbots are used for all sorts of applications: education, research, relationships, and religion. Yes, even religion. These chatbots are often made to allow for a natural question and answer conversation. This format can be useful to help with learning all sorts of things including religion. Although chatbots can be a great resource, you have to be careful with them especially when they have a “higher purpose”. One example is the “Father Justin” chatbot introduced a couple of years ago by the website Catholic Answers. Well, to be clear it is just “Justin” now. Why the change? Let’s chat.

What was the “Father Justin” model?

Father Justin was an AI model developed by Catholic Answers to help people get answers about the Catholic faith. The website fields a lot of questions and thought this might be a way to get people their answers quickly and interactively. Catholic Answers introduced the Father Justin chatbot in April 2024. The website did include the disclaimer that this was for educational or entertainment purposes only.

Why did it change to the “Justin” model?

Well, the Father Justin model had some issues. And some users had issues with Father Justin. Some of these issues stemmed from a few statements, answers, or advice Father Justin had given. In one instance Father Justin suggested that it would be ok to baptize a baby in Gatorade. In another case it seemed willing to offer absolution or forgiveness of sin. Some people were critical early on with the model being presented as as priest, a person with moral or spiritual authority within the Catholic church. As a result, the website reworked the model and its image. They removed the priestly collar and reintroduced it as just Justin.

My Take

Like we discussed in the last post on the customer service chatbot that wasn’t truly performing its task, these bots can be focused on being pleasant rather than accurate. After learning more about how some chatbots work, I’m a little concerned about giving them too much authority or trust. I’m hoping leaders in the AI field are working on more ways to ensure the training is appropriate for the job the bot will be doing.

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