The rise of ChatGPT and other AI tools elicits both excitement and anxiety worldwide. Excitement stems from the possibilities these breakthrough technologies offer, while anxiety arises regarding potential job redundancies. The question arises: which jobs can AI replace and which ones are safe?According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 27% of all jobs rely on skills that can be automated using AI systems. While blue-collar jobs have long been impacted by robotic tools, white-collar professions, such as lawyers, economists, writers, and administrative staff, are also susceptible. Surprisingly, a recent research study suggests that one industry where humans excel, at least for now, is religion. Despite considering the notion of religion as an industry facetious, it is clear that human effort is crucial for its survival. Priests, preachers, and other religious workers sustain and propagate religious beliefs. Although robot preachers and AI programs offer new ways of sharing beliefs, a study in the Journal of Experimental Psychology discovered that they undermine credibility and reduce donations to religious groups relying on them. For instance, the Mindar humanoid robot at the Kodai-Ji Buddhist temple in Kyoto cost nearly $1 million to develop and delivers 25-minute sermons accompanied by a light and sound show. Yet, the study found that the robot's use resulted in reduced donations to the temple as compared to sermons delivered by human priests.

Similar results were observed in a Taoist temple in Singapore and when Christian participants in the United States read sermons online. These findings indicate that AI-prepared sermons are viewed as less credible and inspire smaller donations, hindering religious commitment and support. These results suggest that individuals feel less connected to their religious identity and place of worship when sermons are composed by AI programs rather than humans. The study also cautions religious leaders who employ AI tools to write sermons, as they may risk alienating congregants. The compatibility between Buddhism, Taoism, Christianity, and AI may not be as strong as previously thought. The study's lead author, Joshua Conrad Jackson, believes that similar results would likely be observed among Hindus and Muslims as well. An aim of introducing robots like Mindar to the Kodai-Ji temple was to attract younger individuals to religion, as younger adults are increasingly less likely to identify with any religious group. However, this study suggests that exposure to robot priests could actually decrease religious commitment among believers. This poses a dilemma for places of worship, as installing robots or AI preachers may attract younger people but also reduce commitment among congregants. Priests, preachers, and other religious leaders have long served as cultural models, embodying and legitimizing their faith's teachings, thus eliciting high levels of commitment from followers. It appears that robots and AI may not yet possess the necessary qualities to fulfill this role effectively.