BlessU-2 has lights in its palms and a blessing checkout in its touch screen abdomen
Credit: The Sun

Would you believe in a blessing from a robot priest?

The Guardian is raising the question with a story about a robot priest in Wittenberg, Germany. The robot, aptly named BlessU-2, provides blessings in five languages and recite biblical verses, according to the Guardian’s report. It isn’t being implemented as a replacement for priests yet, but in the very town where Martin Luther launched the Protestant Reformation 400 years ago, his mechanical successor is meant to provoke discussion about whether machines have a place within the clergy.

“We wanted people to consider if it is possible to be blessed by a machine, or if a human being is needed,” Stephan Krebs, a member of the Protestant church behind the robot, told the Guardian.

Working the priest is not unlike ordering a meal from a McDonald’s kiosk. Simply select your language and the blessing you require. Then the robot raises its arms, shoots some light from its palms, and recites […]