Pope Leo has written a document on “Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence.” It is titled, Magnifica Humanitas. Students will read or listen to a Chapter each week and discuss its contents, challenges, guidance, its concrete implications for our daily and societal life; and what we may do in in response. Leo examines a plethora of new and disrupting technologies including artificial intelligence, nuclear energy, biotechnology, information technology, and DNA knowledge, giving special attention to what we may or may not be able to control about it. But then he draws from a wealth of “Catholic Social Doctrine,” to guide and challenge us; and to redirect the efforts of the Church to concrete issues of care for the poor, care for creation, the conduct of just war, and the common good, etc. At essence he poses questions like, “What does it mean to be human?” and “Are we worth more than the value of our production? and, interestingly, “Is it our limitations that give us value?” If so, then, “What does that mean for how we treat each other?” It is interesting and thought-provoking subject. Contrary views will be introduced, accepted, and discussed.
((James McCarville - Online: Zoom - Tuesday))
