Faith & AI Project Podcast

Pope Leo's first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, devotes its most unsettling chapter to war, peace, and the "culture of power" that AI is quietly accelerating. In Panel 2 of our 3-part series, Edmund Mitchell sits down with three expert guests who carry this question between worlds that usually don't speak to each other:Taylor Black — Director of AI and Venture Ecosystems at Microsoft; Founding Executive Director of the Leonine Institute for AI and Emerging Technologies at the Catholic University of America; deacon candidateJulianne Stanz — Director of Outreach for Evangelization and Discipleship at Loyola Press; consultant to the U.S. Bishops on Catechesis; coined "tabernacle with feet" at the 2024 National Eucharistic CongressFr. Philip Larrey — Professor of Philosophy at Boston College, formerly Dean of Philosophy at the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome; author of Connected World and Artificial Humanity; a longtime dialogue between the Holy See and Silicon ValleyWe dig into:— Why Pope Leo refuses to be either a Luddite or a technologist— "AI is not neutral" — and why it's also not intrinsically evil— The three refusals: false realism, manichaeism, and the belief that war is inevitable— Why three commencement speakers were booed in a single week for mentioning AI— Autonomous weapons, "tactical nukes," and the crisis of multilateralism— The Rome Call for AI Ethics, Anthropic at the Vatican, and what's actually happening behind closed doors— Why Pope Leo says AI cannot make a moral decision— AGI in four years? Five? Ever? — Sam Altman, Elon Musk, Demis Hassabis, and what a philosopher tells worried students— Taylor's 50-page prompt and "metacognitive strategies" — what it actually looks like to use AI well— Mary as poet and prophetess: how the encyclical closes— And the line that quietly anchors the whole document: "The first contribution we can make toward a more humane civilization is to be mindful of our words."This is Panel 2 of three. To watch Panel 1 (Matthew Harvey Sanders, Dr. Brett Robinson, Fr. Jean Gové) click the link below.CHAPTERS00:00 Opening prayer and welcome01:14 Introducing Taylor, Julianne, and Fr. Philip06:25 First impressions of Magnifica Humanitas09:55 Three chapters of anthropology 11:30 "Idolatry of AI" and "demonizing it" 15:48 Why three commencement speakers were booed18:32 Gen Z's nose for the inauthentic22:23 Fear, the pocketbook, and the builder mindset27:34 Tower of Babel vs. New Jerusalem28:30 What's happened between 2020 and 2026 in tech + the Vatican34:00 Realism is not resignation38:45 The Rome Call, Anthropic, and the Eastern anthropology43:17 The crisis of multilateralism, drones, and Italy's two boxes47:32 The conditions that lead to war52:03 Can we actually change the corporations racing to AGI?54:24 The line between good and evil runs through every human heart57:00 Why AI cannot make a moral decision59:01 "Disarm your words" 01:04:28 The Trinity, large language models, and Aquinas01:08:49 Mary, the Word, and a narrative of hope01:13:12 What is AGI?01:21:39 Practical: how do you actually use AI as a Catholic?01:23:06 Taylor's 50-page prompt and metacognitive strategies01:30:01 Agentic AI and why YOU are still the responsible party01:35:12 Closing thoughts: read the document; understand the techLINKSPanel 1 with Matthew Harvey Sanders, Dr. Brett Robinson, Fr. Jean Gové: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7P6SYsm_ktoLeonine Institute for AI and Emerging Technologies: https://leonum.catholic.edu/Loyola Press: https://www.loyolapress.com/Fr. Philip Larrey's Artificial Humanity: https://philiplarrey.com/publications/artificial-humanity/The Rome Call for AI Ethics: https://www.romecall.org/This episode is brought to you by ParishStaq by Pushpay — the comprehensive parish platform built for Catholic parishes. Schedule a live demo at https://pushpay.com/#PopeLeo #MagnificaHumanitas #FaithAndAI #CatholicAI #AGILearn more and access free resources at faithandaiproject.com.

Pope Leo's first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, turns in its third chapter — "Technology and Dominance" — to the hardest question AI forces on us: are we standing on a Tower of Babel that's destined to fall, or can the thing be rebuilt brick by brick? In the final panel of our 3-part series, Edmund Mitchell sits down with three expert guests who live this tension from worlds that rarely meet: a frontier-lab AI safety leader, a Catholic builder who bootstrapped a nine-figure AI company, and a Harvard formation scholar:Andrew DeBerry — President of Arimathea Investing; founding member of the Catholic Digital Commons Foundation and SENT Ventures; Lieutenant Colonel in the Air Force Reserves for the Pentagon's AI policy office; has led responsible-AI teams at Microsoft, Amazon, Google X, and MetaJohn Johnson — Founder and CEO of Patmos Hosting, a bootstrapped, profitable AI data-center company that owns its infrastructure "down to the dirt"; founder of the Albertus Magnus Institute; wrote his thesis on the beatific epistemology of St. Thomas AquinasLetty Garcia — Director of the Leadership Initiative at Harvard Business School; MTS from Harvard Divinity School; Diploma in Ignatian Spirituality from the Gregorian University in Rome; doctoral studies in adult learning and leadership at Columbia's Teachers CollegeWe dig into:— "Pope Light" (a Luddite) of "Pope Ultra" (a doomer)— Why it's a recovery document, not a regulations document— The Tower of Babel vs. Nehemiah: patch the windows, or get off the tower and build from the ground up?— "AI is cultivated, not built" (#98) — Counterfeit personhood: why "you can't baptize the machine"— Throwing rocks at Silicon Valley, or funding the windows?—  Building a profitable nine-figure AI company— What secular AI safety already knows that the Church hasn't engaged— Ignatian discernment and the discomfort AI is designed to remove— Why a machine has no will— Owning the sandbox: open source, GitHub, and a Catholic Digital  Commons— The warning against "technical salvation" — The Catholic "love robot" — "Remember your dignity, O Christian" CHAPTERS00:00 Landing the series with "Technology and Dominance"01:30 Letty: the real thread is formation and co-responsibility03:00 The canon-lawyer-and-mathematician Pope04:14 John: "Pope Classic" 08:22 A recovery document, not a regulations document09:10 Don't read it as "can I use AI or not"12:24 The historical moment 14:50 Change management and "move the movable"16:20 What does secular AI safety know that Catholics don't?23:20 The Patmos model 27:10 "Don't fund the windows" 34:10 AI is "cultivated, not built"37:00 The call: deep research + discernment39:40 Counterfeit personhood 42:23 Human freedom, writing an "AI covenant" for your home44:50 Open source, GitHub, and a Catholic Digital Commons49:50 Ignatian discernment for the AI black box55:20 Shaping the experience 59:00 The "Catholic love robot" 1:02:20 Tool vs. relationship1:03:50 Faith-informed design principles1:06:00 A moral compass is the will1:08:32 Objective truth, benchmarks, and a hybrid future1:10:50 Beware "technical salvation" 1:16:40 Disarming our words and the civilization of love1:21:10 "Bring the stone"1:26:48 Closing: Babel or Jerusalem?This episode was made possible by ParishStaq by Pushpay. Ministry moves fast. ParishStaq by Pushpay keeps your team a step ahead — with giving, engagement, and parish management all in one Catholic-built platform. So you spend less time on software and more time with your people.Schedule a live demo today at https://pushpay.com/#PopeLeo #MagnificaHumanitas #FaithAndAI #CatholicAI #TowerOfBabelLearn more and access free resources at faithandaiproject.com.

Pope Leo's first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, just dropped and itgoes harder on AI, capitalism, and human dignity than anyone expected. Is this just a regulation document? Or is this document a call for Catholics to recover and embrace a deeper understanding of Catholic Social Teaching? In the first of our 3-part series, Edmund Mitchell sits down with threeCatholic experts working at the front lines of AI to discuss chapter five of the Pope’s new encyclical.🟠 Expert PanelistsMatthew Harvey SandersFounder & CEO of Longbeard, creator of Magisterium AI (deployed in 190+ countries, 50 languages)Dr. Brett Robinson Director, Church Communication Ecology Program,McGrath Institute for Church Life, University of Notre DameFr. Jean GovéDiocesan Coordinator for AI, Archdiocese of Malta; author of Malta's 2026 position paper on the ethical adoption of AI; Holy See representative at the Council of Europe on AI🟠 We dig into:— Why the Pope refuses to call AI "just a tool"— "AI is not neutral" — what that actually means for the average user— Whether the EU AI Act and the Vatican are using the same words to  mean different things— Why "becoming more human" is the litmus test Pope Leo keeps coming  back to— Why Anthropic sent Chris Olah and Amanda Askell to the encyclical's  launch (and what that signals)— Two practical questions to ask before opening any AI tool— Digital sobriety, the family, and what the early Christian  communities can teach us about living in a saturated AI environment— Tower of Babel vs. the New Jerusalem — the recurring frame Pope Leo  uses to read our momentThis is the first of three panel conversations on Magnifica Humanitas.Subscribe so you don't miss Panels 2 and 3, dropping later this week.🟠 CHAPTERS00:00 Welcome + introducing the panel05:00 First impressions of Magnifica Humanitas10:00 "The Pope didn't pull his punches"13:00 Why AI is not neutral16:00 Tool vs. environment 21:00 Can education alone fix this? 26:00 What does human flourishing actually look like?35:00 The EU AI Act vs. the Vatican on "human dignity"44:00 Should chatbots have to announce themselves?52:00 Dorothy Day, Mother Teresa, the "martyrs of everyday life"01:04:00 Digital sobriety, the family, and parish life01:11:00 Babel, Pentecost, and the bitrate of Christ01:22:00 Fr. Gové's two questions for any AI interaction01:25:00 Why it matters WHO is building these systems01:29:00 Brett's practical shifts as an educator (and a parent)🟠 LINKS— Magisterium AI: https://magisterium.com— McGrath Institute for Church Life: https://mcgrath.nd.edu— Archdiocese of Malta Position Paper on AI: https://ms.knisja.mt/AI/Ethical_Adoption_of_AI.pdfThis episode is brought to you by ParishStaq by Pushpay — thecomprehensive parish platform built for Catholic parishes. Schedule alive demo at https://pushpay.com#PopeLeo #MagnificaHumanitas #FaithAndAI #CatholicAILearn more and access free resources at faithandaiproject.com.

The Vatican just dropped a major document on AI, transhumanism, and the future of humanity titled: "Quo Vadis Humanitas?" In this episode, we sit down with Fr. Michael Baggot, a bioethicist based in Rome who specializes in transhumanism and emerging technology, to unpack what the International Theological Commission is saying about digital culture as a living environment, brain-computer interfaces, mind uploading, and why the Church insists the body matters more than ever. Three years in the making, this document is the Church reading the signs of the times and it has a lot to say.Learn more and access free resources at faithandaiproject.com.

In this episode of The Faith & AI Project Podcast, Dr. Brett Robinson reframes the AI conversation: it’s not just about whether a chatbot gives the “right” answers, but about what kind of environment AI creates and how that environment forms our attention, imagination, and relationships over time.We talk about “communication ecology,” why tech is never neutral, how these tools quietly reshape education and discipleship, and what a distinctly Catholic response could look like when we take formation seriously. If you’ve ever felt torn between AI hype and AI panic, this conversation offers a wiser path forward and a better set of questions for the Church to ask.Learn more and access free resources at faithandaiproject.com.

Can a Catholic AI trained on the Church’s documents help people encounter truth… or is conversation with a chatbot fundamentally disordered?In this episode of The Faith & AI Project Podcast, Edmund Mitchell hosts a spirited (and surprisingly charitable) debate between Matthew Sanders (founder & CEO of Longbeard, the team behind Magisterium AI) and Dr. Marc Barnes (editor of New Polity).The conversation started with a little bit of Catholic-internet drama: Marc published an essay titled “Delete Magisterium AI,” arguing that chatbot-style “conversation” is not a neutral interface—but a formative act that can subtly reshape how we relate to truth, authority, and even God. Matthew responded publicly with his own article, pushing back on the critique and defending Magisterium AI as a tool meant to point people back to sources, not replace teachers, pastors, or the Church’s living authority.Instead of letting the debate spiral into side-takes and subtweets, we invited both men onto the podcast to talk it out directly, thoughtfully, and in good faith.If you’ve been wondering whether Catholics should delete tools like this… or learn how to build them…this conversation is for you.This Episode is Sponsored by PushpayEvery person in your parish community is on a journey. As a parish leader, you’re called to know where people are on that journey, and help them take their next step. That’s why Pushpay is developing AI solutions that enable you to easily see who’s moving forward, know who might be stuck, and reach people before a moment for meaningful ministry is lost. Because when every soul comes into focus, ministry becomes more personal, and more impactful. Discover what Pushpay’s AI solutions can do for your parish today at pushpay.com/innovation.Learn more and access free resources at faithandaiproject.com.

Silicon Valley is increasingly comfortable talking about end-times, salvation, immortality, and even the apocalypse — often through the language of artificial intelligence and technological progress.Why aren’t Catholics?In this episode of The Faith & AI Project, Edmund Mitchell sits down with John Johnson for a deep and provocative conversation about AI, technocracy, and what’s really at stake beneath the hype. Together, they explore why AI isn’t just a technical or economic issue, but a profoundly theological one, raising urgent questions about human dignity, salvation, and what it means to be truly human.From “counterfeit human personhood” to transhumanist promises of immortality, from Aquinas to the Book of Revelation, this conversation challenges Catholics to reclaim their own intellectual and spiritual tradition in a moment when the culture is asking apocalyptic questions without theological grounding.This episode isn’t about fear. It’s about clarity. And it’s about why the Church has something essential to say right now. 00:00 — Counterfeit Human Personhood04:12 — What Is Technocracy?08:05 — AI as Salvation Story12:48 — Machines Move Into Bodies17:32 — Revelation Is Our Book22:41 — Defining the Human Person28:19 — Education vs Training34:06 — Liberal Education and HopeLearn more and access free resources at faithandaiproject.com.

In this conversation, Edmund sits down with Matthew Sanders, co-founder of Magisterium AI, to explore how Catholics can faithfully and intelligently engage emerging technologies. Matthew brings a refreshing perspective rooted in pastoral reality, human formation, and a deep trust in the Church’s mission.They discuss why AI should not be evaluated in isolation, how good formation dictates good discernment, what Thomas Aquinas might do with ChatGPT at his elbow, and why Catholic leaders should look closely at the stated visions of today’s major AI companies. Matthew also explains how AI can serve as a “front porch to the Church” for seekers—and why the ultimate goal isn’t Catholic AI, but fully formed Catholics who no longer need it.If you’ve wondered how AI fits into the journey toward human flourishing and sainthood, or what a “City of God in the robotics age” might look like, this episode offers clarity, challenge, and hope.Matthew Sanders is the CEO of Longbeard, a digital technology and marketing agency, who is also behind Magisterium AI. He  spent years in Rome and then Malta working with the Holy See and Pontifical Universities to help them more effectively leverage digital technologies to promote the faith. Longboard is also behind Vulgate, a project that utilizes several AI technologies to make library contents more accessible. Vulgate is currently powering a historic library digitization project with Pontifical universities in Rome.Learn more and access free resources at faithandaiproject.com.

How do spiritual seekers use AI to take their next step toward God? In this conversation with Truthly’s cofounders Zac Johnson  and Jacob Ciccarelli, we dig into what people are actually asking AI about faith, why “companionship” and “purpose” are exploding use cases, and how a Catholic tool can help that hunger by guiding people towards answers and connection with clarity and care. They share stories like late-night questions to an atheist now in OCIA, plus the design philosophy behind nudging users off the screen and back into real life. We also talk about formation beyond quick answers (think Duolingo for Catholicism), the ethics of trustworthy sources, and how to keep AI from becoming a counterfeit companion.Learn more and access free resources at faithandaiproject.com.

In our season premiere, Edmund sits down with Letti Garcia, Director of the Leadership Initiative at Harvard Business School, to ask a big question: what does faithful, effective leadership look like in the age of AI? Letti shares a practical, hope-filled path—rooted in Ignatian discernment and the “be–know–do” model—for leaders who feel both curious and cautious. They discuss technical vs. adaptive challenges (Heifetz/Kegan/Lahey), the power of contextual intelligence (reading the times), how to avoid the Dunning–Kruger trap with feedback and small experiments, and why the Church needs real learning strategies—not just one-off trainings. The takeaway: do not be afraid, become a learning leader, and build communities of practice so we can discern and deploy AI together.Learn more and access free resources at faithandaiproject.com.