Pope Leo XIV calls on Catholics to lead in ethical AI development The story of a mother whose son committed suicide after interacting with a chatbot moved participants at an AI conference in Rome on Friday, underscoring what Pope Leo XIV described earlier in the day as Catholics\u2019 moral and spiritual responsibility for the development of artificial intelligence (AI). An MIT researcher nearly broke down in tears as he recounted the experience of the woman, Megan Garcia, who herself took part in the conference and spoke there to experts in robotics and AI. \u201cI apologize for being so emotional because it is so emotional,\u201d said Jose J. Pacheco, co-director of the MIT Advanced Manufacturing and Design Program, speaking at the Builders AI Forum at the Pontifical Gregorian University on Nov. 7. He said Garcia’s story illustrated \u201chow urgent this conversation needs to be, how urgent this conversation is, and how much responsibility we have.\u201d In a message to the conference, which was read aloud to participants on Friday morning, Leo said the development of AI \u201ccannot be confined to research labs or investment portfolios. It must be a profoundly ecclesial endeavor.\u201d He urged all AI creators to \u201ccultivate moral discernment\u201d and put technology at the service of every human person. AI, the pope wrote, \u201ccarries an ethical and spiritual weight\u201d because \u201cevery design choice expresses a vision of humanity.\u201d He called on builders of AI \u201cto develop systems that reflect justice, solidarity, and a genuine reverence for life.\u201d \u201cWhether designing algorithms for Catholic education, tools for compassionate health care, or creative platforms that tell the Christian story with truth and beauty, each participant contributes to a shared mission: to place technology at the service of evangelization and the integral development of every person,\u201d Leo XIV said. The two-day Builders AI Forum brought together Catholic ethicists, entrepreneurs, educators, technology experts, and health care professionals from more than 160 organizations across the United States, Europe, Latin America, Asia, and the Vatican. Hosted by the Pontifical Gregorian University and sponsored by Longbeard, the company behind the Catholic chatbot Magisterium AI, the event aimed to form an interdisciplinary community to guide AI innovation through the lens of Catholic social teaching. In small working groups, participants discussed AI\u2019s impact on education, health care, and business. Educators debated how much children should interact with chatbots, while health care experts questioned what the \u201cessential role of a human\u201d in medicine could be in an increasingly automated system. On the sidelines of the conference, young Catholic entrepreneurs pitched new AI tools and applications to potential investors, and professors exchanged ideas with practitioners over cappuccinos. Despite differences in opinion, participants broadly agreed that Catholics \u2014 with their intellectual and ethical tradition and focus on human dignity \u2014 must help shape AI\u2019s future. Josh Thomason, CEO of TrekAI, an Atlanta-based Catholic tutoring startup, said he attended to \u201ccome together with like-minded believers to think together about where we are today and how we iterate towards what that future is.\u201d He added that \u201cit is critical that people of faith are ultimately working in this space to shape it.\u201d John Johnson, CEO of Patmos Hosting and the Albertus Magnus Institute in California, urged participants to offer a \u201chuman alternative\u201d to the commodification of people by technology. \u201cEvery tech company that invented this technology \u2026 has the same exact product and that\u2019s you, and that\u2019s me,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cThe Church \u2026 is called to stand up and very aggressively, even triumphantly, pronounce \u2026 the transcendent alternative to the commodification of the human person.\u201d Pope Leo XIV, the first American pope and a former mathematics major, has made ethical technology one of the key priorities of his papacy. He said he chose his papal name in part to honor Pope Leo XIII, who addressed the challenges of the industrial revolution in his encyclical Rerum Novarum. \u201cIn our own day,\u201d Leo said shortly after his election in May, \u201cthe Church offers to everyone the treasury of her social teaching in response to another industrial revolution and to developments in the field of artificial intelligence that pose new challenges for the defense of human dignity, justice, and labor.\u201d Leo XIV praised the Builders AI Forum for fostering \u201cdialogue between faith and reason renewed in the digital epoch,\u201d saying that \u201cintelligence \u2014 whether artificial or human \u2014 finds its fullest meaning in love, freedom, and relationship with God.\u201d This article was originally published by CNA. Receive the most important news from EWTN Vatican via WhatsApp. It has become increasingly difficult to see Catholic news on social media. Subscribe to our free channel today EWTN Vatican on WhatsApp Courtney Mares Would you like to receive the latest updates on the Pope and the Vatican Receive articles and updates from our EWTN Newsletter. More news related to this article Pope Francis says imprisonment of Nicaraguan bishop reminds him of Hitler\u2019s dictatorship The Last Days of Pope Benedict XVI Remembering Benedict XVI: A Conversation with Bishop Jose Munilla on the Legacy of Pope Emeritus Remembering the Blessed Judge Rosario Livatino: A Martyr in the Fight Against the Mafia Vatican, Russia Discuss War In Ukraine After Drone Strike Kills Civilians In Kharkiv Cardinal on fifth day of Novendiales says pope should be servant leader<\/p>\n