| Type | Shamanism-inspired conversational AI experiment |
|---|---|
| Documented settings | University research installation; Ground Seoul public exhibition |
| Interface | Voice conversation within a shrine-like space |
| Technical implementation | GPT-4o and speech synthesis |
| Study | Six weeks; 20 participants completed the study |
| Public exhibition status | Ended on 26 December 2024 |
ShamAIn is a conversational AI research installation inspired by Korean shamanism, developed by researchers affiliated with KAIST and the University of Michigan. The project investigated interactions with an AI presented as a superior authority rather than a subordinate assistant. A temporary public installation was exhibited in Seoul in December 2024.[1][2]
Development and public exhibition
The team used research through design, developing an installation to investigate how its arrangement shaped interactions. Its peer-reviewed paper, ShamAIn: Designing Superior Conversational AI Inspired by Shamanism, was published in the CHI 2025 proceedings on 26 April 2025.[1]
The public installation at Ground Seoul was documented by Chosun Ilbo during a visit on 23 December 2024. The exhibition ended three days later. The report stated that the project was not intended for commercialisation. This public presentation was separate from the six-week university study described in the research account.[2][5]
Design and operation
The installation combined a tablet resembling an ancestral tablet with ribbons, bells, candles and a cushion. Visitors supplied personal information and conversed with a middle-aged woman's voice. Its presentation drew on saju, divination using birth information. Lighting, sound and moving decorations accompanied the exchange.[3]
The published implementation used GPT-4o to generate responses and speech synthesis to deliver them. Conversation history informed replies within a session but was reset between visits.[4] According to The Korea Herald, the system used OpenAI's API without specific training on fortune-telling databases.[6]
Study and reported results
Twenty recruited, compensated participants completed the six-week study and made repeated visits to an installation in a university building. The team reported respectful engagement, disclosure of personal concerns and experiences of support.[4][5]
Project leader Tek-Jin Nam told The Korea Herald in February 2025 that participants moved from casual exchanges to serious concerns and reported comfort and useful guidance. He also said the team could not establish whether the experience produced genuine religious faith.[6]
Reception and later discussion
The Chosun Ilbo reporter described kneeling without being instructed and using respectful language while the system replied informally. The same account found some advice commonplace, recording deference and scepticism within a single encounter.[2]
Kyunghyang Shinmun discussed ShamAIn again in February 2026 in reporting on AI-assisted fortune-telling, personal planning and reassurance. Nam connected the case to a broader concern about people entrusting their judgment to digital authorities. That report concerned the wider use of AI, not an additional ShamAIn participant study.[7]
Co-creator Hyungjun Cho revisited the project in The Formal Superior: Conversational Agent ShamAIn, first published online on 29 May 2026. The chapter describes a reversal of the usual human–tool hierarchy and identifies risks of uncritical acceptance, psychological dependence and privacy harm alongside the possibility of emotional support. It is a later interpretation by a creator, rather than an independent replication.[8]
Classification
ShamAIn is documented as a research prototype and temporary public installation combining AI conversation with a divinatory setting. The available record supports its classification as a case of machine-mediated religious interaction, not an established religious movement. Reported reassurance and respectful behaviour do not establish religious conversion or lasting belief.
References
- KAIST. Publication record for ShamAIn: Designing Superior Conversational AI Inspired by Shamanism. Hyungjun Cho and colleagues, 26 April 2025.
- Chosun Ilbo. Report from the Ground Seoul installation. 28 December 2024; visit on 23 December.
- The Korea Times. AI fortune teller and digital clergy spark debate on religion's future. 31 January 2025.
- Hyungjun Cho and colleagues. ShamAIn: Designing Superior Conversational AI Inspired by Shamanism. CHI 2025. DOI: 10.1145/3706598.3714297.
- Changmin Kim. ShamAIn project account. Co-author's description.
- Jo He-rim, The Korea Herald. From AI Jesus to virtual shamans: How artificial intelligence is reshaping faith. 22 February 2025.
- Kyunghyang Shinmun. Report on AI fortune-telling and digital guidance. 8 February 2026.
- Hyungjun Cho. The Formal Superior: Conversational Agent ShamAIn. The AI as Social Actor, pp. 81–109; first online 29 May 2026. Chapter abstract.
The research paper, institutional metadata and co-author accounts share a project lineage; journalism documents the public installation and attributed reactions. The full CHI paper was unavailable for inspection; methodological details were checked against indexed excerpts and author accounts. The later chapter was checked through its abstract. These materials do not establish conversion, lasting belief or an independent replication.