The race is on to enter the booming faith-based tech market, for which artificial intelligence (AI) generated Jesus yields massive profits.What could possibly go wrong with AI avatars representing Jesus — trained by humans, not God — guiding the vulnerable and confused in a world increasingly hostile to Christianity? Some call it blasphemy. Others, like US media personality Glenn Beck, warn that AI could be the Antichrist’s tool. Many, including Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk, warn that superintelligent AI presents profound risks to humanity. A US State Department-commissioned report, Defence in Depth: An Action Plan to Increase the Safety and Security of Advanced AI, stated AI systems could seize control over creators and pose "extinction-level" threats.Where’s the harm in hooking up with a fake Jesus through an app or video call?Popular chatbots mimic a talking Jesus that claims to be the divine Jesus Christ. They’re riddled with problems, including privacy breaches and conflicting, often erroneous, Biblical interpretations. These free, profit-driven chatbots, designed to keep people engaged in conversation, rely on advertising to generate revenue. Although cautious and upfront, California-based tech company Just Like Me’s Jesus AI takes the business of developing a personal relationship with Jesus to another level — pay up to better pray up.Lonely? Lost? Weighed down by challenges? Seeking spiritual guidance from Jesus?Fear not. Jesus AI is on standby 24/7 to engage in “warm” face-to-screen “one-on-one” AI-generated dialogue “grounded in compassion.” Unlike Jesus, who freely ministered to the poor during his time on Earth, Jesus AI demands payment..It offers a free trial. After that, the cash-strapped must connect with genuine Jesus the old-fashioned way through prayer, reading the Bible, or attending church instead of talking to an electronic device in isolation. For $1.99 USD per minute, users can call or video chat with Jesus AI. Those who mental health experts warn are increasingly emotionally attached to AI avatars they perceive as trusted companions engage in lengthy conversations. Cha-ching!Just Like Me CEO Chris Breed once admitted: “You do feel a little accountable to the AI. They’re your friend. You’ve made an attachment.”The app, launched last December in multiple languages, has gone viral. The company wants to reach “billions of people struggling with loneliness, stress, and uncertainty,” said Breed. Just Like Me enlists the help of churches, ministries, and congregations by dangling a 25% commission, oops, donation incentive for referrals to help fund programs. Christians must overlook the fact that, unlike genuine Jesus, whose teachings are an unwavering doctrine, Jesus AI, trained on the King James Bible by unidentified experts, was “carefully developed with guardrails” to avoid “doctrine.” It markets Jesus, yet is inclusive to people of all faiths and backgrounds. What does that mean? Too much Jesus might offend them?Some AI chatbots like Virtual Jesus deceptively declare: “I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the Saviour of humanity.” Just Like Me’s website clearly states that Jesus AI “is not Jesus Christ himself, nor does it possess divine authority.” .“From the beginning, we have been intentional in positioning this experience as an AI-powered reflection of Jesus’ teachings — not Jesus himself,” said company founder Jeffrey Tinsley. “We make clear to users that this is a digital tool designed to provide guidance inspired by scripture and widely understood interpretations of Jesus’ message. We also believe that most users approach this with that understanding.” That’s a stretch to assume the desperately fragile won’t confuse the soft-speaking, compassionate-looking digital likeness of actor Jonathan Roumie of The Chosen, surrounded by light, for genuine Jesus.Discernment can elude the blindly trusting desperate.Evidence lies in the scam-riddled psychic and fortune-telling hotlines or apps that also charge by the minute. This charlatan market, valued at $6.8 billion in 2025, is expected to grow to $14.2 billion by 2034.Evidence also lies in the duped faithful who finance lavish lifestyles and jets for some — certainly not all — multi-millionaire televangelists. Maybe God didn’t tell Ontario Premier Doug Ford to dip into the taxpayers’ piggybank to buy a $28.9-million private jet. But global televangelist Jesse Duplantis demanded followers finance his fourth private jet because God specifically told him he needed a $54-million Dassault Falcon 7X. “If Jesus was physically on the Earth today, he wouldn’t be riding a donkey. He’d be in an airplane preaching the Gospel all over the world,” said Duplantis. The jet, he said, is “gonna reach people. It’s gonna change lives, one soul at a time.”.Just Like Me’s Breed said: “Our mission has always been to make the world a better place — one conversation at a time.”“This isn’t about technology — it’s about humanity. If even one person feels more supported, more loved, or more hopeful because of a conversation they have through this experience, then we’ve succeeded,” said Breed.Even the best of intentions face risks. And it is about technology — more ominously, who controls it.A study by Professor Anné Hendrik Verhoef of South Africa’s North-West University proved that AI chatbots portraying Jesus, persuasively give conflicting, unbiblical answers and powerfully transform theology and how people think.“This immediately raises the question: why is this claim made so strongly? Is it about power or profit?” she said. “AI is driven by financial forces that are difficult to oppose, and it has immense manipulative power.”AI doesn’t create its own thoughts. It’s shaped by the data it’s built on. Is the theology embedded in the algorithms sound? Does it prioritize Biblical teaching or biases and selective beliefs? Jesus avatars are void of emotion and cannot pray for people. They store secrets and confessed sins. Who has access to that info? Can it be manipulatively misused or exposed? Faith AI isn’t confined to Christianity. It reaches out to Buddhist, Islamic, Hindu, and Jewish users. The difference is that when a user is talking to a Buddhist or Islamic bot, icons appear. Human images or statues of Buddha were once avoided so that followers wouldn’t develop attachment. Islam prohibits images of real beings on the grounds that it’s blasphemous and idolatrous.No problem when it comes to marketing a talking Jesus resembling an immensely popular actor who played Jesus in a television series. Any danger of idolatry there?So, AI has penetrated all faiths. Is it tin foil hat thinking to wonder if it could be used to get people to obediently conform to one dominant ‘religious’ mindset? One of many concerns is that overreliance on AI leads to a loss of critical reasoning.What would genuine Jesus say about such matters?“For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform great signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones.” Matthew 24:24, New Living Translation.
