Rodney Glick
Master of Prayer
Overview
2008
Project team: Rabbi Moshe Bernstein and Chris McCormick
Variable dimensions
10 networked computers and associated technologies
In the Jewish othordox tradition the full prayer service can be performed only in a quorum of ten adult males known in Hebrew as a minyan. The main part of the service, which occurs three times daily, is the Shmona Esrei, or Eighteen Benedictions. These blessings are first recited silently by the entire congregation. Afterwards, during the morning and afternoon liturgies, they are repeated aloud by the cantor, often referred to as the Ba al Tefillah or Master of Prayer. In orthodox Judaism any male, whether layman or cleric, over the age of thirteen can lead the prayers. During the repetition of the Shmona Esrei, also called the Amidah, or standing prayer, the congregation answers responsively to each of the benedictions recited.
In this installation each computer has been individually programmed to respond to the blessings recited by the main computer, the Master of Prayer, leading the afternoon Mincha service. The computers are saying these blessings in real time and have not been programmed using wave files nothing is prerecorded. The service has been phonetically transliterated from Hebrew into English so each computer reads English but prays aloud in Hebrew. Though the installation appears to parody the human condition of prayer by rote, on a deeper level it asks a haunting question about the inherent nature of artificial intelligence. The Jewish sages require kavannah, or proper intent for prayer to be truly acceptable. To the extent that computers can be programmed to think, might they not be programmed to this proper intent as well. In a tentative answer to that question, Master of Prayer can be experienced as a high-tech, Jewish version of the Tibetan prayer-wheel or Christian rosary beads.
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