An annual forum on artificial intelligence held in Rome this week aimed to foster a new interdisciplinary community dedicated to supporting the development of AI products that serve the Church's mission.
The Builders AI Forum, held Nov. 5–6 at the Pontifical Gregorian University, was centered on Pope Leo XIV's encyclical Magnifica Humanitas and brought together companies leading in Catholic AI, venture capital, and angel investors as well as prominent AI thought leaders and researchers.
In his opening remarks, Cardinal Michael Czerny, a founder of the Vatican's inter-dicastery commission on artificial intelligence, drew on his work with the commission to remind participants that we "cannot treat learning as an isolated, transactional process but rather a communal, dialogue form." He went on to say that "we are all impacted by AI but nobody's listening [to one another]."
Vincent Higgins, CEO of the Builders AI Forum, said the event aims to cover four areas: AI in evangelization, in healthcare, in education, and in building and scaling AI for responsible development in creating critical safeguards online.
The prefect of the Vatican's Dicastery for Communication, Maria Montserrat "Montse" Alvarado, echoed the importance of collaboration — not only with those in the AI community — but also with the Holy Father. She asked the forum participants to ask themselves, "Who are we supposed to be as we develop and shape this technology?", reminding them that they must not lose their interdependence but "leverage the network through the people in this room."
The future of AI policy
Over the course of the two-day summit, religious and industry leaders, as well as policy advocates, gave testimonies reflecting what was being discussed in the workshop groups.
One participant was Megan Garcia, who tragically lost her son, Sewell, by suicide after forming a romantic attachment with a chatbot. She told EWTN News the primary message she wants to advocate for is accountability — "Who is responsible when AI hurts a child?"
To make AI chatbots safe for children in the future, Garcia said that companies need to partake in third-party release testing and make sure that they cannot release, retain, or sell children's data. Speaking through her personal experience, Garcia highlighted that any policy that is designed to protect children against the dangers of AI would absolutely need to include a measure of accountability.
Repeated many times over the conference, many participants said AI in Catholic schools needs to be kept in line with our Church systems, teaching, and philosophies. Families are operating in their own bubbles, but they need to start having a larger conversation with the community so everyone can be in tune with what is available for families and what should be censored, people at the forum argued.
Speaking on the importance of aligning AI with Catholic morals and beliefs, Matthew Sanders, CEO of Longbeard, a company that organizes the Builders AI Forum, told EWTN News: "AI when it is designed today is designed to align with a billion people, which is an impossible task."
AI access to information
A common theme through every workshop group, especially among AI entrepreneurs, was the need to train their own models by making sure they have access to all the right information. This has been a main focus for Longbeard, particularly its product, Magisterium AI, which Bishop Stephen Wang of the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton in England mentioned when speaking about priestly formation and AI.
"The reality is that so many people are discovering the faith or seeking answers to their questions through the internet, through AI... this is the starting point," Wang said in comments to EWTN News, noting the importance of using AI as a tool.
Through his experience at the Venerable English College in Rome, Wang reflected that young men coming into seminary are already immersed in AI, so it is important to give them the tools for discernment. The process of priestly formation is very holistic, and it is important to acknowledge the presence and utility of AI in this formation, he said.
Communicating through AI
According to in-house statistics by Magisterium AI and Hallow, their AI tools have helped bring people to the faith and into the Church. Erich Kerekes, CEO and founder of the Hallow app, told EWTN News that "prayer is fundamentally a relationship... coming before God, bringing your needs before him... that is something AI will never be able to come up with." Alvarado reiterated this notion, saying: "The message can't be communicated by AI. It's communicated through AI. AI is not a person, AI is a tool."
"The first thing AI builders need to hear from the Church is that [we're] listening... if they feel accompanied, we'll find a way together," said Czerny, as Sanders said builders should "start from the world and what you want to build and work backwards."
Jeffrey Quesnelle, co-founder and CTO of Nous Research, said in comments to EWTN News that "humans in our messiness and our incompleteness are a source of friction in a lot of instances in life." Ultimately, he added, "AI should make you better today than yesterday, better tomorrow than today."
