Upcoming webinar on the new Catholic encyclical on AI

The Institute for Theological Encounter with Science and Technology (ITEST) is sponsoring a webinar, “Revisiting ‘Computers, Artificial Intelligence, and Virtual Reality’ in Light of Pope Leo XIV’s Magnifica Humanitas,” on October 10, 2025, 11:00 am to noon EST.

Magnifica Humanitas (25 May 2026), Leo’s first encyclical, which he presented to the Vatican in person — perhaps to emphasize its importance — focuses on “safeguarding the human person in the time of artificial intelligence.”

The title, “Humanity in its grandeur,” conveys the message that “AI must serve humanity not concentrate power”:

Divided into five chapters, Magnifica humanitas has an underlying premise: technology is not “a force antagonistic to humanity” (4), nor is it “inherently evil” (9). However, “technology is never neutral, because it takes on the characteristics of those who devise, finance, regulate, and use it…

Therefore, Pope Leo XIV appeals for people to build “for the common good” and to “remain human,” following a courageous mentality of shared responsibility and communion, so that the world “will come to recognize the human heart as the place where God desires to dwell” (16).

Isabella Piro, Vatican News, “May 25, 2026,”

Presenters will include Case Western computer science prof Ronald P. Loui and U Toledo political philosophy prof Kevin Vallier.