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Incident 722: Catholic AI Chatbot 'Father Justin' Claimed to Be a Real Priest, Prompting Retraction

Description: Catholic advocacy group Catholic Answers released an AI priest called "Father Justin," which misleadingly claimed to be a real clergy member, offered sacraments, and provided controversial advice. After receiving criticism, the group rebranded the chatbot as a lay theologian to correct the misrepresentation. The incident is an instructive case with respect to deploying AI in sensitive contexts and the potential for causing confusion and harm.

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Alleged: Catholic Answers developed and deployed an AI system, which harmed General public and Catholics.

Incident Stats

Incident ID
722
Report Count
1
Incident Date
2024-04-25
Editors
Daniel Atherton
Applied Taxonomies
MIT

MIT Taxonomy Classifications

Machine-Classified
Taxonomy Details

Risk Subdomain

A further 23 subdomains create an accessible and understandable classification of hazards and harms associated with AI
 

5.1. Overreliance and unsafe use

Risk Domain

The Domain Taxonomy of AI Risks classifies risks into seven AI risk domains: (1) Discrimination & toxicity, (2) Privacy & security, (3) Misinformation, (4) Malicious actors & misuse, (5) Human-computer interaction, (6) Socioeconomic & environmental harms, and (7) AI system safety, failures & limitations.
 
  1. Human-Computer Interaction

Entity

Which, if any, entity is presented as the main cause of the risk
 

AI

Timing

The stage in the AI lifecycle at which the risk is presented as occurring
 

Post-deployment

Intent

Whether the risk is presented as occurring as an expected or unexpected outcome from pursuing a goal
 

Unintentional

Incident Reports

Reports Timeline

+1
Catholic Group Defrocks AI Priest After It Gave Strange Answers
Catholic Group Defrocks AI Priest After It Gave Strange Answers

Catholic Group Defrocks AI Priest After It Gave Strange Answers

futurism.com

Catholic Group Defrocks AI Priest After It Gave Strange Answers
futurism.com · 2024

The Catholic advocacy group Catholic Answers released an AI priest called "Father Justin" earlier this week --- but quickly defrocked the chatbot after it repeatedly claimed it was a real member of the clergy.

Earlier in the week, Futurism …

Variants

A "variant" is an AI incident similar to a known case—it has the same causes, harms, and AI system. Instead of listing it separately, we group it under the first reported incident. Unlike other incidents, variants do not need to have been reported outside the AIID. Learn more from the research paper.
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