Catholic Futurist

Can the Pope stop the AI arms race?

What keeps AI researchers up at night? Not robots turning evil. Something far more plausible — and far more urgent. Most conversations about AI risk deal in abstractions. This one doesn't. Three guests at the intersection of faith, technology, and global security sit down to name the specific scenarios that concern them most — and to ask whether the Catholic Church is uniquely positioned to respond. In this episode of Catholic Futurist, Benjamin Crockett is joined by John-Clark Levin, Research Lead at Kurzweil Technologies, William Jones, Associate of the Futures Program at the Future of Life Institute, and Fr. Michael Baggot, L.C., Professor of Bioethics at the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum. They don't agree on everything. But they converge on this: the Catholic Church has something to say about AI that Silicon Valley cannot offer — and the window to say it is narrowing. Together they explore:  * why the most dangerous AI risks require no leap of speculative logic * how geopolitical pressure leads good people to catastrophic choices * what AI companionship is doing to human relationships and the soul * whether Pope Leo could play the role John Paul II played in the nuclear conversation * and what genuine hope looks like at the edge of civilizational risk Timestamps: * 0:00 – The "Grown" Intelligence  * 1:04 – Real-World Risks vs. Science Fiction  * 3:31 – The Geopolitical Arms Race  * 5:44 – AI and Nuclear Escalation  * 7:19 – Seeking a Collaborative Framework  * 10:51 – The Lack of Interpretability  * 12:53 – Deceptive Alignment  * 13:26 – Collateral Damage to the Soul  * 18:28 – The "Demonic Summer of Love"  * 24:21 – A Call for Democratic Control  * 28:28 – The Global Competitive Landscape  * 30:04 – The Case for Optimism

Are We Producing Human Bots?

Most of us move through an education system we didn’t design—and rarely have the opportunity to question. Fr. Ambrose Criste, O.Praem., does. Speaking at an AI conference in Rome, he traces the roots of modern schooling to systems built for efficiency and output—and asks whether Catholic education is still operating within a model not originally designed for human formation. Catholic education, he argues, has a deeper purpose: the formation of the human person, ultimately ordered toward the salvation of souls. Everything else—grades, college, career—follows from that. His response to the AI moment is not a better system of production, but a renewed vision of what a human being is—and what education is for. Timestamps: * 0:00 Intro: The True Purpose of Education * 1:03 Meet Father Ambrose * 1:34 How the Church is Actually Using AI * 4:08 The Problem with "Factory" Schools * 8:18 Why AI Will Never Have True Intelligence * 9:32 The Hidden Dangers of Tech Algorithms * 13:17 Why AI Can't Replace Human Teachers * 15:36 Using AI as a Teaching Tool * 17:23 Finding Hope in Screen-Free Schools

"Don't Hire Humans" — A Catholic Response to AI

A student sees a billboard: "Don't hire humans. Hire us robots." He walks into class and asks his professor: What's the point of this degree? That question—captured in this conversation—is the question of our era. And without a robust understanding of the human person, institutions struggle to answer it. In this episode of Catholic Futurist, Benjamin Crockett sits down with Dr. Aaron Dominguez, Provost of Catholic University of America, and John Brahier, a Catholic educator and Director of Partnerships at Longbeard, to explore what happens when an entire generation of students begins to wonder if humans are becoming obsolete. Timestamps: * 0:00 - The Mirroring Effect of LLMs * 5:54 - AI as a New Industrial Revolution * 7:11 - Human Soul vs. Digital Simulation * 12:15 - Responding to the "Hire Robots" Narrative * 16:11 - Three Pillars for Human-AI Teams * 19:47 - Protecting Human Dignity Amidst Job Loss The conversation examines how the Church's understanding of Imago Dei serves as a safeguard against digital reductionism—the belief that humans are just a collection of automatable tasks. Drawing on the launch of new AI degree programs at Catholic University and real challenges facing educators, they discuss: * why education must remain an incarnational encounter * the three pillars for ensuring technology leads to human flourishing * how to prepare for a world where work is disrupted but dignity remains * and what it means to find purpose when your profession may not exist in ten years

Will AI Create a New Super-Elite?

What scares people about AI isn’t just how fast it’s moving — it’s how quickly speed can harden into permanent power. In this episode of Catholic Futurist, Benjamin Crockett speaks with Sr. Nancy Usselmann, FSP, about the growing concern that artificial intelligence could consolidate control, influence, and opportunity into the hands of a small group — creating a super-elite that others may never be able to catch up to. * 0:00 - The Church’s Mandate for AI  * 1:10 - Ethics, Equity, and Silicon Valley  * 2:30 - Why Gen Z is “Checking Out” of Tech  * 6:12 - Using Magisterium AI vs. ChatGPT  * 8:30 - Evangelization in a Digital Age  * 13:10 - The Risk of AI Relationships

Star Wars & Catholicism: Is anyone beyond redemption?

Is anyone truly beyond redemption? Benjamin Crockett and professor Fr. Alejandro Crosthwaite, OP reflect on Darth Vader’s fall and redemption through a Catholic lens, unpacking how fear and the desire for control distort love, and how mercy can still break through. Timestamps: * 02:49 – What is The Force?  * 06:58 – Jedi Order vs. Religious Life  * 14:50 – Palpatine as the Biblical Satan?  * 27:08 – Anakin: The Judas Archetype  * 45:36 – Mustafar: A Vision of Hell * 53:13 – The Path to Redemption