July 28, 2025
WOF 500: Catholic Social Thought in the Age of AI
The Word on Fire Show - Catholic Faith and CultureAbout this episode
In taking the name Pope Leo XIV, the new pope has signaled that the Church finds itself in an era marked by tumultuous social change. The question remains whether the Catholic social thought of his predecessor Leo XIII's time is still applicable today given the radically different world we now live in—a world increasingly defined by the rise and possible dominance of artificial intelligence, robotics entering into mainstream life, the breakdown of regular physical contact among people, and the rise of transhumanism. Can Catholic social thought help us to navigate these uncharted waters? A listener asks: How does one respond to "Science doesn't care what you believe"? 00:00 | Introduction 01:45 | Episode 500! 02:51 | What is Catholic social thought? 03:59 | Pope Leo XIII and Catholic social thought 06:05 | The Catholic conception of human dignity 08:00 | How Catholics understand the common good 09:36 | Defining solidarity 11:39 | Understanding subsidiarity 13:45 | Factoring in the question of sin 17:19 | The significance of the name Leo XIV 18:08 | Examining the nature of artificial intelligence 23:23 | Humanity and the machine 29:09 | Limiting principles 31:35 | Virtual reality, avatars, and companions 35:38 | AI and the workforce 40:43 | AI and art 43:14 | Listener question: How does one respond to "science doesn't care what you believe"? 45:16 | Join the Word on Fire Institute Links: Goldman Sachs citation: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/2023/03/31/goldman-sachs-predicts-300-million-jobs-will-be-lost-or-degraded-by-artificial-intelligence/ Word on Fire resources on artificial intelligence: https://www.wordonfire.org/topics/artificial-intelligence/ Word on Fire Institute: https://institute.wordonfire.org/ NOTE: Do you like this podcast? Become a Word on Fire IGNITE member ! Word on Fire is a non-profit ministry that depends on the support of our listeners . . . like you! So become a part of this mission and join IGNITE today to become a Word on Fire insider and receive some special donor gifts for your generosity.