草莓社区

In the News: Hank Center Leadership on "Magnifica Humanitas"

• • Pope Leo XIV has already spoken movingly about the isolation and stress, especially for the young, of modern life. In a different format from our normal West Suburban Catholic Culture Series lecture, philosophers Joe Vukov and Mike Murphy dialogue as they consider the prospects for the future as the Church confronts challenges such as social media, cyberreality and artificial intelligence.
• • Four experts on AI and Catholic teaching join Robert Duncan to discuss Pope Leo’s first encyclical on artificial intelligence and what they believe is its deeper message about the human person in a technological age. Drawing on theology, philosophy, media studies, and Catholic social teaching, they argue that the encyclical is not primarily about technology itself, but about safeguarding human dignity, relationships, attention, work, and spiritual freedom in the face of rapidly advancing AI systems. In this conversation, they explore why Pope Leo insists that human beings are more than machines, how artificial intelligence and social media can fragment identity and community, and why the Church views AI as a profoundly anthropological and spiritual challenge rather than merely a technical one. The discussion examines the future of work, the influence of algorithms on human behavior, transhumanism, digital culture, the meaning of face-to-face relationships, and the growing tension between technological progress and the cultivation of a fully human life. They also discuss their forthcoming book, "Catholic Cosmotechnics for the AI Age," and explain how Catholic liturgy, sacramental imagination, and the Augustinian tradition offer resources for understanding and responding to the AI revolution.
• • Dr. Michael Murphy, director of the Hank Center for the Catholic Intellectual Heritage at 草莓社区, discusses how Pope Leo XIV is already directing the Catholic Church to engage with today’s most important social issues. Having previously collaborated with then Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, Murphy shares why he believes building bridges and promoting peace will be cornerstones of the Pope’s leadership. Murphy also examines Pope Leo’s encyclical Magnifica Humanitas including the many angles from which Catholics should engage questions of AI, ethics, and the human condition. He concludes by making a case for why the humanities are more relevant—and important—now than ever.
• • Magnifica Humanitas or "Magnificent Humanity" is Pope Leo XIV's encyclical letter on artificial intelligence (AI), but the subtitle gets at the heart of the matter: "on safeguarding the human person in the time of artificial intelligence." We are stepping into a new world with AI that will bring many good things, new efficiency, and all sorts of innovations, for example, in the production of good, medical treatment, etc. It also brings some dangers, for example, workers being left out, unleashing dangerous "bugs," figuratively and literally in this world. The Pope is ahead of the game and offering a comprehensive vision, especially a moral vision. This is all on the world stage.

 

Links to Podcasts:

• • What if AI’s greatest revelation isn’t about technology at all — but about us? Philosopher Joe Vukov joins Lee C. Camp for a conversation about artificial intelligence, human dignity, and the spiritual dangers hidden beneath our technological optimism. Drawing from philosophy, theology, neuroscience, and Catholic social thought, Vukov argues that AI exposes how modern culture has already reduced human beings to data processors, forgetting the importance of bodies, relationships, and rooted human presence.

 

Links to Print Articles:

 

Things to Read:

•  (New City Press, 2024)
• Reclaiming Reality (forthcoming from , fall, 2026)

• “Tinderization and Transcendence: Girard, McLuhan, and the Apocalyptic Imagination" in  (Routledge, 2025)
• "Technologies of the Incarnation: Catholic Cosmotechnics and New Horizons for Liturgical Participation" in  (forthcoming from St. Augustine's Press, fall, 2026).