>
Rabbi Uses Chatbot To Sermon To Shocked New York Congregation: Warns Artificial Intelligence Will Eliminate 375 MILLION Jobs In A Decade
- Rabbi Josh Franklin directs the Hamptons Jewish Center in East Hampton
- On January 1, he uploaded a video of a recent sermon, which was written by AI
- The congregation could not guess that it was written by a computer.
A New York rabbi shocked his congregation by giving a sermon and then informing them that the entire text was written by Artificial Intelligence.
Rabbi Josh Franklin, who runs the Hamptons Jewish Center in East Hampton, posted the sermon on the website on January 1.
He can be seen addressing the congregation and telling them that he is actually plagiarizing and using a sermon that he did not write.
Franklin speaks for five minutes, quoting the Torah and discussing Joseph’s forgiveness and the eventual salvation of the Israelites.
Rabbi Josh Franklin is seen giving a sermon to his congregation in East Hampton, New York.
He warned them that the text was not his, saying that it had been ‘plagiarized’, and then asked the congregation to guess who had written it.
Franklin goes on to discuss the power of opening up and being vulnerable, referencing author Brene Brown, a professor known for her work on shame, vulnerability, and leadership.
Conclude with a prayer.
At the end of his sermon, Franklin asks if anyone can guess who wrote it.
Some assume his father, who was a rabbi at the Riverdale Temple in the Bronx. Others suggested Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, the spiritual leader of the United Synagogue, the UK’s largest body of synagogues.
Franklin then revealed, to the exclamation of the congregation, that the sermon had been written by the AI program ChatGPT.
Franklin said the power of technology left him worried about jobs, but noted that he couldn’t be empathetic.
He said his suggestion was to write a sermon of around 1,000 words, with the idea of intimacy and vulnerability, and quoting Brene Brown.
“You’re clapping, but I’m definitely scared,” she said with a laugh.
“I thought the truckers were going to be way ahead of the rabbi, in terms of losing our positions to artificial intelligence.”
He said he warned that he would eliminate 375 million jobs in a decade.
Franklin said that the text was not in his voice and that it contained rhetorical flourishes that he did not like, but that it was impressive.
He noted, however, that he could not be empathetic and respond to the crowd.
“She can’t love him, she can’t show compassion, she can’t connect with the community,” he said.
‘What we’re really doing is building relationships. I don’t think ChatGPT or any kind of artificial intelligence will replace us, but it will drive us forward.
“It will force us to evolve in what we do and what we do best.”