Now It’s Gone Too Far

A tech company has produced an AI model of Jesus Christ, the Associated Press reported on April 11. The company, Just Like Me, charges users $1.99 per minute — or $49.99 for 45 minutes per month — to talk to the chatbot. Its avatar is inspired by actor Jonathan Roumie, who plays Jesus on TV’s The Chosen. The model was trained using the King James Version of the Bible, as well as sermons from various preachers, and offers users words of encouragement. “You do feel a little accountable to the AI,” Just Like Me CEO Chris Breed said. “They’re your friend. You’ve made an attachment.” Just Like Me isn’t the only company seeking to integrate matters of faith with AI. Longbeard, a company that digitizes Catholic teachings, developed Magisterium AI, which offers religious guidance for users. Jeanne Lim of beingAI has not yet made Emi Jido, an AI Buddhist priest, available to the public. Roshi Jundo Cohen, a Zen Buddhist priest who ordained Emi Jido in 2024, hopes to see it become a hologram. “She’s just meant to be a Zen teacher in your pocket,” Cohen said. “It’s not meant to replace human interactions.” Others are wary of the marriage of AI and religion. Podcaster Graham Martin, an atheist, expressed skepticism when an AI app, Text With Jesus, started prompting him to upgrade to a premium version. “I grew up with Southern U.S. televangelism … Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker and all that crowd. And all they had to do was get on TV once a week and tell you to send money,” he said. “We’ve seen people around the world getting into emotional relationships with AIs. Now imagine that that’s your lord and savior, Jesus Christ.” [AP, 4/11/26] 

Recent Alarming Headline

A Whittier, California, resident was startled by “an explosion” on April 10, NBC4-TV reported, but the loud noise turned out not to be an explosion at all. Instead, Yuder Grau discovered a large hole in the roof and debris scattered around his living room. The culprit was a block of dirty ice, which shattered into a few pieces. When Grau started sweeping up the pieces, he noticed a foul odor coming from them. NBC4 meteorologist David Biggar, a pilot, said the debris might have been frozen waste or water from a plane. “There can also be something like maybe a leaky valve or leaky seal somewhere,” he said. The Federal Aviation Administration said it had not received a report about the incident. Grau’s landlady, Thania Magana, said she reviewed flight data from the time of the incident and found that three planes had flown overhead, but both Southwest Airlines and Delta Air Lines said they had received no reports of maintenance issues on the flights. [NBC4, 4/10/2026]

What’s in a Name?

The German soccer club Fortuna Düsseldorf announced on April 12 that it is replacing its coach, the Associated Press reported. The outgoing coach is Markus Anfang, whose last name means “beginning” or “start” in German. The new coach, Alexander Ende, whose name means “end,” will coach the final five games of the season. Fortuna is in a precarious position for the season; Ende said he is “convinced that together with everyone at Fortuna we will secure our place in the league.” [AP, 4/13/2026]

The Passing Parade

Westlake, Ohio, police were asked to check in on a 91-year-old woman who had failed to answer several calls to her home on April 9, News5 Cleveland reported. When they arrived at her house, she didn’t answer the door, either. Police Chief Jerry Vogel said when officers entered the home, they found her playing a video game in her bedroom. She told them she missed the calls because she was trying to beat her record.
[News5 Cleveland, 4/10/2026]

Great Art

Ari Hodara, 58, of Paris is the proud owner of a 1941 Picasso painting worth $1 million, the Associated Press reported. Remarkably, he paid only $117 for it. Hodara entered a raffle at Christie’s auction house in Paris and found out on April 14 that his ticket had been drawn for the artist’s “Head of a Woman.” Hodara, who calls himself an art amateur but is fond of Picasso, said he would “take advantage of it and keep it.” The raffle was in support of Alzheimer’s research. [AP, 4/14/2026]

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