Magnificent Humanity: Global Catholic Perspectives on AI and the Future (Day 2)

::: Day 2—World Catholicism Conference 2027 :::

On April 8 and 9, the Center for World Catholicism and Intercultural Theology (CWCIT) is hosting its 18th annual World Catholicism Conference, and the 2027 theme is taken from Pope Leo XIV's first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas: On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence. Since it was released in May 2026, there have been many conferences and events centered on AI and this document from Pope Leo; however, in this gathering, CWCIT is shifting the conversation about AI from the technologically advanced countries in the global North to the global South, where the impact of AI is quite different and where Catholicism provides a unique voice and perspective.

In the face of global inequalities of power and information, Pope Leo's encyclical Magnifica Humanitas urges us to think in terms of the common good of all people. At this conference, speakers from every part of the globe will address Catholic perspectives on the the interplay between AI and (1) climate & capital; (2) authoritarianism & democracy; (3) bioethics; and (4) colonialism & war. Speakers will ask if global Catholicism has a vision for the future in which God—not AI—rules.

The 2027 speakers include the following:

Levi Checketts, Associate Director, Centre for Applied Ethics (Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong); Director, Vatican's Asian Research Group on AIJay Cunningham, Director, Responsible AI Systems & Societal Experiences (RAISE) Lab (DePaul University, Chicago, US) Dean Dettloff, Sessional Faculty on Media, Religion, and Politics (Institute for Christian Studies, Toronto, ON, Canada)Anthony Egan, SJ, Professor of History & Politics (Hekima Institute of Peace Studies & International Relations, Nairobi, Kenya)Ivan Efreaim A. Gozum, Pedagogical Lead, Institute of Religion (University of Santo Tomas, Manila, Philippines)Noreen Herzfeld, Director, Benedictine Spirituality & Ecotheology Program (St. John’s University, Collegeville, MN, US); Member, Vatican's AI Research GroupThallita G. L. Lima, Professor, International Relations; Research Coordinator, Center for Security & Citizenship Studies (Federal Rural University of Rio de Janiero, Seropédica, Brazil)
M. Therese Lysaught, Rose Kennedy Chair in Christian Ethics (Georgetown University, Washington, DC, US) Evelyn Namakula Mayanja, Assistant Professor, Institute of Interdisciplinary Studies & Institute of African Studies (Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada) Justin Nnaemeka Onjeukaziri, Assistant Professor, Information Management & Center for Holistic Education (Fu Jen Catholic University, Taipei, Taiwan) María Elizabeth de los Rios Uriarte, Professor & Chair of Clinical Bioethics (Universidad Anáhuac, Mexico City, Mexico)Andrea Vicini, SJ, Michael P. Walsh Professor of Bioethics; Chair, Theology Department (Boston College, Boston, MA, US)