Vatican, Microsoft unveil AI-generated ‘digital twin’ of St. Peter’s
November 12, 2024
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CWN Editor's Note: Speaking at a Vatican press conference (video), the Archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica and the president of Microsoft unveiled plans for a “digital twin” of the basilica for the 2025 jubilee year.
“The digital ecosystem, which will be active from 1 December, is a container that systematizes technologies, rationalizes and simplifies activities, and can help each pilgrim ‘experience’ the Basilica in its spiritual essence,” said Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, OFM Conv. He added:
The portal is intended to accompany the visitor up to the threshold of the spaceship that will lead him or her to a spiritual experience. The pilgrim will be able to enter the spaceship of the Church, led by Christ, whose boatswain is Peter with his successor Francis, and its sailors are the people one can meet in the Basilica, either directly (priests, pilgrims, accredited guides, pilgrims...) or through the channels made available in the digital sphere.
Brad Smith, Microsoft’s president, explained the technology behind the initiative and noted that the company “had done similar work elsewhere in Europe,” including Mont-Sant-Michel.
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