Internet porn and artificial intelligence are poised to be the defining social and technological forces of our near future.
The Church, for her part, has been stalwart in its rejection of pornography 鈥� Pope Francis has referred to it as a 鈥減ermanent attack on the dignity of men and women鈥� and a 鈥渢hreat to public health鈥� 鈥� but its teaching on AI has been more complicated and requires nuance. As AI seems poised to destroy and disrupt industries as diverse as writing, art, design and programming, Pope Francis has urged caution when examining its potential.
In his annual Message for the World Day of Peace, the Pope wrote, 鈥淲e cannot presume a priori that its development will make a beneficial contribution to the future of humanity and to peace among peoples.
鈥淭he impact of any artificial intelligence device 鈥� regardless of its underlying technology 鈥� depends not only on its technical design,鈥� wrote the Pope, 鈥渂ut also on the aims and interests of its owners and developers, and on the situations in which it will be employed.鈥�
A case in point is Chad BroBot, an AI porn addiction counselling aid made by Bosco Noronha, a former Tesla machine learning engineer.
In the AI鱿鱼视频app own words, Noronha made the chat bot to be 鈥渁 supportive listener, discussing triggers and exploring underlying emotions and thoughts.鈥�
鈥淚 encourage healthy habits,鈥� Chad BroBot said, responding to a query about its capabilities. 鈥淚 offer strategies to cope with urges, and provide resources like books or communities for support. Remember, you鈥檙e not alone on this journey. Let鱿鱼视频app find the best way forward for you.鈥�
The Holy Rosary Cathedral parishioner told The B.C. Catholic that Chad BroBot isn鈥檛 designed to replace live therapists but rather to connect someone struggling with pornography addiction with the service, resources and advice that a councillor would offer.
Chad鱿鱼视频app aesthetics and personality were designed after the 鈥淐had鈥� meme popular in internet subculture. A Chad is often an aesthetically pleasing, fit and disciplined man who exemplifies a perhaps narrow, but attractive to some, view of what a 鈥渞eal man鈥� looks like.
鈥淗e鱿鱼视频app the internet鱿鱼视频app idealized form of masculinity,鈥� Noronha said.
Chad isn鈥檛 perfect, but he provides a good base to build a personality for the AI.
鈥淚n my opinion, Christ is the epitome of masculinity,鈥� said Noronha. 鈥淗owever, I wanted a character that could be appealing to non-Catholics/Christians to help them find Christ.鈥�
In a sense, Noronha is trying to redefine the internet鱿鱼视频app idea of the Chad meme into something that closely resembles Christ, 鈥渟imilar to Aslan in Narnia,鈥� he said.
Noronha has worked in health care settings designing AI systems, and he built Chad from scratch. He trained 鈥� perhaps fed is a better metaphor 鈥� the AI on a combination of cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) techniques and resources, principles from the 鈥淣oFap鈥� community (an online community where people struggling with masturbation can get support and advice) and St. John Paul II鱿鱼视频app Theology of the Body.
He hopes to partner with working therapists so they can use Chad to reach a larger number of people, with the AI identifying areas of concern for the therapist to talk to patients about or offering more efficient access to support resources.
Communicating with the AI is easy, and after a brief introduction it will begin to ask questions designed to identify the best ways for the user to conquer their pornography use.
By early May, the AI had been used by over 1,300 men, and Noronha says the number is growing daily.