Is AI destroying Faith?
Last week, I was speaking about a Eucharistic Miracle that had occurred about 10 years ago. The Bishop of the Diocese was being very careful about making a declaration as to the authenticity of that Eucharistic Miracle. It is not my intention to declare the rectitude of the Bishop or if it is a Miracle or not. Yet, as I was preparing that homily, I thought this is something all of us – including me – have need to be careful. There are a lot of frauds being perpetrated.
There is a fraudulent picture of St. Jacinta of Fatima, incorrupt. This picture has even found its way into major league religious texts. Now, St. Jacinta’s body is incorrupt; I have seen an authentic photo of her. But the fraudulent photo depicts her in a coffin, and the family of St. Jacinta Marto was entirely too poor to have had a coffin. She was instead wrapped in a shroud. This kind of fraud – a picture of her in a coffin, again, her family was too poor to afford a coffin – destroys Faith.
Now imagine with AI: AI can manipulate photos, movies, and voices. There are a number of websites putting out homilies or speeches of Pope Leo XIV, and they are false. And it is not the liberals alone who put out this doctored up junk; it is not conservatives or orthodox alone who put out this doctored up junk… it seems it is just plain fraud. With AI, they can put out videos showing the Sacred Host Bleeding or Beating like a Heart.
Now, these sorts of Miracles have TRULY occurred. Yet, the sad reality is that in this day and age, you have to be careful of the content and let it be investigated thoroughly – be it a supposed or real homily, be it a supposed or real Miracle.
With the advent of powerful AI tools – and they are VERY powerful- it becomes an imperative on our part to be skeptical of anything put out, be it a supposed speech or homily of some major church figure or an alleged miracle.
Let us be careful out there.
