The Catholic Faith & AI? The Church's Crucial Role in Shaping the Future of Technology

Can the Catholic Church and AI coexist?

In a recent episode of The Catholic Talk Show, Ryan Scheel and Ryan Dellacrosse discuss how the intersection of faith and artificial intelligence presents unique challenges and opportunities for the Catholic Church with Thaddeus Ruszkowski.

Ruszkowski delved into the Church’s responsibility to shape the ethical and moral implications of AI chatbots like ChatGPT.

Emphasizing the distinction between humans and AI, he said, “The beauty of this is we are, as creators, inspired to create things… ChatGPT never will be inspired. A differentiation there is that we look at ChatGPT as a tool– like a hammer.”

He explained the Church can use AI as a powerful tool for evangelization, pastoral care, education and administration without considering it a replacement for these things.

As AI advances rapidly, concerns also arise about possible negative consequences, such as misuse for nefarious purposes, obsolescence of human labor, and exacerbation of social inequality.

Ruszkowski explained the Church has a crucial role in addressing these ethical challenges and ensuring that AI serves the greater good rather than causing harm. This points to Pope Benedict XVI’s writings on technology and using newfound freedom responsibly.

“Technology is neutral… it’s the implementation and it’s how people sadly too often, in their corrupt hearts, use technology to see how they can either subjugate or exploit other people for their own benefit.”

The Church’s responsibility is to act as a moral compass, helping society navigate the complex landscape of AI.

To harness AI’s potential while minimizing its risks, the Church must emphasize the importance of decentralizing AI technology and promoting its ethical use.

“That’s why this should be kind of decentralized, and it’s very dangerous that this type of technology and the potential inevitability of where it goes being held by too few people and why the Church really needs to be able to put ethics into this.”

By embracing AI responsibly and ethically, the Church has the potential to enrich its mission and connect with people in innovative ways.

“A lot of our technology was used to free people up to have these encounters–these more meaningful encounters instead of doing all this desk stuff.”

In doing so, the Church can ensure a future where technology serves the greater good, amplifying the positive impact of our Faith on the world!