“We can have a hammer, and you can take the hammer and use it to build a house for someone who is homeless. Or you can take that same hammer, and you can smash someone’s face in,” said Prof. Beth Luoma, executive director of the Center for Teaching and Learning at Sacred Heart University during her presentation at the latest “Human Journey Colloquia Series” on Oct. 28.
Speaking at an open discussion on Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical, Luoma’s point highlights that the same object can act both as a tool and a weapon.
|AP News, Alessandra Tarantino|
An encyclical is a document that is issued by the Pope, commonly addressed to, but not exclusively, the Bishops of the Catholic Church, that summarizes the Church’s perspective on a topic, usually social or moral issues.
Published on May 15, 2025, Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical “Magnifica Humanitas” covered multiple topics, from equal dignity and human rights to precautions regarding rapid AI development.
In the encyclical, Pope Leo explains that the technology is not morally neutral. It is a very valuable tool, but it requires oversight by people outside of the tech experts.
Along with Luoma, Prof. Christine Susienka, in the Department of Philosophy, was on the panel at the discussion and shared her thoughts on human rights.
To her, humans are more than “machines,” they are living beings who experience illness, death and arangeof emotions throughout their lives.
“Part of what creates opportunities for us to find beauty, meaning, love and connection come from that vulnerability. What’s happening is, these vulnerabilities are things that we just need to reject and pretend aren’t a part of who we are,” said Susienka.
Professor Dan Rober in the Catholic Studies department moderated the event.
“Frankly, it seems like the Church is the only institution that’s interested in engaging this in a way that’s not motivated, seemingly by financial consideration,” said Rober.
Department Chair of the Catholic Studies department Prof. Brent Little talked about how an encyclical can spark change.
“It really depends a lot on how, not just Catholics, but politicians, how seriously they want to take its warnings,” said Little. “When it comes to precedents, the most recent came with Pope Francis’ ‘Laudato Si.’’ That actually did have an impact on the Paris Agreement in the short term.”
A lot of the agreements in the treaty have fallen to the wayside, meaning that in the long run, the encyclical did not seem to have much of an impact. However, for Little, a direct result is not the most important outcome.
“It’s much more about trying to raise awareness of the issues and get the conversation going,” said Little.
Senior Brian Walsh attended the colloquium, one of his biggest takeaways being the emphasis of awareness of AI.
“I believe that our regulations have focused heavily on stopping the problems or legal challenges of AI after the fact, which is allowing for rapid growth,” said Walsh. “One of the biggest lessons to take away from the colloquium is to make sure we always understand the ramifications of AI and our place in relation to it.”
At Sacred Heart, the Academic Integrity Policy prohibits AI in any capacity unless explicitly allowed by a professor. For the Catholic Studies department in particular, the policy is in constant development.
“We are moving much more into more impersonal assessments in semesters to come. The in-class oral podcasts were the start of that, but I think there’s even going to be more handwritten assignments as well,” said Little.
To Rober, AI cannot be a catch-all for information or knowledge. People must understand the basics before relying on technology.
“If you’re in a self-driving car, and the car fails and you don’t know how to drive,” said Rober. “Well, that’s a big problem.”
