Catholic leaders discussed rising benefits and concerns of technology and how faith and ethics apply when using artificial intelligence.
Bringing together leading technological officers from around the globe, Montse Alvarado, president and chief operating officer of EWTN News, spoke with industry professionals about the growing use of AI in a Sept. 9 special, "Beyond Fear: A Catholic Vision for Artificial Intelligence."
Pope Leo XIV framed the intensifying debate over AI with the May 25 launch of his first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas. Tech leaders said AI is rapidly reshaping society and the Church, offering powerful tools for ministry while also requiring firm ethical boundaries, human-centered leadership, and faith-guided discernment to ensure the technology strengthens human dignity.
"There's a good side to that exponential innovation because it helps us get to the most vulnerable people faster," said Joel Chakra, president of Tim Tebow Foundation and venture capitalist in AI technology companies.
"It can it can really rob us of our true humanity, or it can enhance our lives. And the choice is ours," said Arthur C. Brooks, American author and academic who wrote the foreword to Magnifica Humanitas.
Brooks said the technology can either diminish or deepen human dignity, depending on how it is used. He added that despite real concerns about job loss and disruption, he remains optimistic because humans are "unbelievably ingenious" and made to solve problems.
"I'm not a pessimist. I'm an optimist. I do realize that there's displacement. I do realize that there's a lot to be concerned about. But I also know that humans are unbelievably ingenious that the Lord made us to solve problems," Brooks said.
Vic Gundotra, former senior vice president at Google and a Catholic convert, said: "AI helped in my conversion to becoming Catholic. I was raised as a Jehovah's Witness and I had never read the early Church Fathers, but AI showed me what the Catholic Church taught was mirrored in the early Church Fathers."
While AI shaped his own path to Catholicism, Gundotra also cautioned that the same technology can magnify human failings, noting that "any tool can be used to amplify the worst in human capability" and "augment and worsen the worst human characteristics as well."
Gundotra warned that AI carries real risks for young people and said parents still need to guide how it's used, noting that the technology is powerful but comes with clear downsides.
Sara Anderson of Pushpay, a digital-giving and church-management platform, said her team uses AI to streamline parish administration so staff can spend more time on ministry. The goal is not to replace human connection but to free priests, volunteers, and parish workers from tedious data entry and outdated systems, she said.
"There's a moment in our Catholic Church where there's so many people wanting to to join the Church to learn about the Church and … the tools are outdated," Anderson said. "Technology is making their lives better."
Chakra and Anderson are encouraging faith-filled individuals to hold more technological leadership positions as artificial intelligence becomes more apparent in our daily lives.
"I think for too long, we have taken a back seat to some of the highest leadership positions and taken a back seat to innovation, when in reality, our faith and our heritage is driven by some of the smartest people to ever exist in the world," Chakra said.
"That is one of the things I try to help the parish admins and the office staff learn to be brave. We need them to explore; we need them to meet the moment of technology and faith. We need them to be leaders," Anderson said.
As AI spreads, speakers said the Church needs more leaders engaged in technology while also setting clear limits to ensure digital tools support, not replace, human ministry.
"Boundaries are needed to help create the best use [of] technology. And the other way is through AI policies, ethics, and framework," Anderson said.
