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“Catholic Answers” from an AI-avatar? The Next Bad New Idea

Tradition and Sanity

In this essay, I first to look at the kind of problems we are likely to get with a chatbot infected with “Magisteriumitis,” that is, the false view that the latest statements of the current pope, or the documents of Vatican II, or what have you, trump every other actual or possible source of teaching. Then, I will turn to my philosophical and theological reasons for rejecting altogether the use of AI for such purposes. My examples are drawn from online interactions with "Fr. Justin" of Catholic Answers. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.traditionsanity.com/subscribe