Bet you weren’t expecting to see the Vatican, the seat of Catholicism, turn up alongside artificial intelligence in a Stuff headline. Right? Nevertheless, that’s just what has happened. One of the world’s oldest institutions has embraced AI, bringing live AI translation features to Holy Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica.
The change will let visitors access Mass in 60 languages, using their smartphones. A QR code at the entrance, or inside the Basilica itself, will also assist.
The Vatican’s Mass driver
There’s no secret sect of robed AI developers inside the Holy See. At least, we don’t think that’s the case. Renowned author Dan Brown might know something we don’t. A company called Translated is using a platform called Lara to facilitate the language interpretation for Vatican visitors. We’d also outsource public work if we were hiding a bunch of religious coding geniuses, but the Pope’s… probably not lying.
AI-based translation for services was actually announced by Cardinal Mauro Gambetti. The Pope is off the hook, it seems. The announcements mark four hundred years since the Basilica’s dedication. Along with the “multilingual liturgical platform,” new areas of the building will be opened to the public. A new real-time booking system will give visitors access to those.
Oh, yes, and the Vatican is getting a new default font. The font, Michelangelus, was “inspired by the handwriting of Buonarroti and developed by Studio Gusto, which will be included in the Microsoft Office package.” Just… don’t let James Cameron see it, or who knows what the next Avatar will look like.
