(NewsNation) — Artificial intelligence has infiltrated the faith community, and one reverend warned of potential dangers in chatbots that imitate biblical characters.

“We’re seeing people stressed. We’re seeing them isolated and ultimately more spiritually hungry,” said the Rev. Christopher Hope, founder of The Hope Group in Massachusetts. “And AI feels like a quick, nonjudgmental and always available option.”

Some, he said, are finding that comfort in AI conversations with religious figures.

“A chatbot can imitate the words of Jesus, but I want to suggest that it can’t imitate the heart of Jesus,” Hope said. “A chatbot can talk like Jesus, but it can’t love like Jesus.”

Hope describes his ministry as a place where “technology meets the gospel.” Also an ethical AI and business innovation lecturer at Boston University, Hope uses his expertise to help faith leaders and others adapt to the growing AI surge.

While he acknowledges there are benefits to using AI, Hope recognizes a “great danger” in preexisting chatbots, which he said are being promoted as “able to replace the voice of God.”

OpenAI is facing multiple lawsuits claiming ChatGPT drove people to suicide and harmful delusions, and some experts have pointed to a phenomenon dubbed “AI psychosis,” in which a user loses touch with reality.

Those same fears exist, especially when AI is handling something as personal as religion, said Hope.

“You should really be seeking spiritual support and mental support from professionals, people that have been trained years and years of doing the work AI can assist faith. It should never impersonate,” he said.

Hope said he’s working with Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass., to pass the Artificial Intelligence Civil Rights Act, which aims to shift the national conversation surrounding AI and its potential dangers.

“I think when used wisely, AI can help faith communities and the like, love people better,” Hope said. “And that’s really at the tool of what AI could be.”