Expert Panel Reacts to Pope Leo's AI Warning

Four experts on AI and Catholic teaching join Robert Duncan to discuss Pope Leo’s first encyclical on artificial intelligence and what they believe is its deeper message about the human person in a technological age.

Drawing on theology, philosophy, media studies, and Catholic social teaching, they argue that the encyclical is not primarily about technology itself, but about safeguarding human dignity, relationships, attention, work, and spiritual freedom in the face of rapidly advancing AI systems.In this conversation, they explore why Pope Leo insists that human beings are more than machines, how artificial intelligence and social media can fragment identity and community, and why the Church views AI as a profoundly anthropological and spiritual challenge rather than merely a technical one.

The discussion examines the future of work, the influence of algorithms on human behavior, transhumanism, digital culture, the meaning of face-to-face relationships, and the growing tension between technological progress and the cultivation of a fully human life.

They also discuss their forthcoming book, "Catholic Cosmotechnics for the AI Age," and explain how Catholic liturgy, sacramental imagination, and the Augustinian tradition offer resources for understanding and responding to the AI revolution.

Guest bios:

Bo Bonner is Headmaster of Mother of Good Counsel School. A theologian, educator, and author, his work focuses on Catholic intellectual tradition, philosophy, education, technology, and human flourishing.

Brett Robinson is the founder of the Church Communications Ecology Program at Notre Dame, a program for Church leaders to engage more deeply with the challenges and opportunities created by the rise of digital technology and artificial intelligence.

Luigi Russi is an environmental educator, researcher, and scholar of media, ecology, and technology. His work explores how technological systems shape human experience and how religious traditions can provide frameworks for critically engaging contemporary technological culture.

Michael Murphy is Executive Director of the Hank Center for the Catholic Intellectual Heritage at Loyola University Chicago. His work focuses on Catholic thought, culture, higher education, and the relationship between faith and contemporary society.