Rapid progress in AI tools designed for everyday users has prompted the Catholic Church to strengthen its engagement with the companies shaping the next generation of digital technology. That involvement has drawn criticism from multiple directions.
Some observers question whether the Church should play a role in discussions surrounding AI development, while certain voices within the technology sector have expressed skepticism toward industry leaders who maintain dialogue with religious institutions.
Taylor Black, however, argues that excluding theology and faith from conversations about innovation may limit developers’ understanding of the people who ultimately use their products.
Black serves as Director of AI and Venture Ecosystems within Microsoft’s Office of the Chief Technology Officer. He also leads the Leonum Institute for AI and Emerging Technologies at the Catholic University of America, becoming the institute’s first director. Alongside these professional responsibilities, he is pursuing formation as a deacon for the Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Phoenix.
His unique combination of roles places him at the intersection of technology, investment, and ethics. While helping guide Microsoft’s investments in AI startups, he also spends considerable time examining broader questions about how these technologies may influence society.
Black noted that technology itself does not contain an inherent understanding of human nature. Instead, modern AI systems generate responses by identifying statistical patterns in data and predicting likely outcomes based on user input and prior training.
Because of this, he said, individuals effectively participate in shaping their own interactions with AI systems. As a result, successful products require a deeper appreciation of how people think, reason, and make decisions.
The Church has increasingly contributed to these discussions. In January last year, the Dicastery for Culture & Education and the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith published “Antiqua et nova,” a document examining the links between human intelligence and AI. More recently, in May, Pope Leo XIV issued his first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas.
According to Black, both texts seek to apply the Church’s long-standing reflection on the human person to the challenges and opportunities presented by AI.
He said the pope’s encyclical highlights concerns that users may gradually surrender critical thinking if they begin accepting chatbot responses without independently evaluating their accuracy.
Black believes this concern is particularly significant for children and young people, whose capacity for judgment and decision-making continues developing well into early adulthood.
To illustrate the issue, he compared unrestricted AI use to leaving a child in the care of an adult who possesses extensive knowledge but may share ideas or information that parents would find inappropriate, even without harmful intent.
He also warned that AI tools capable of altering voices, images, or personal presentation can encourage users to embrace idealized versions of themselves. Such systems, he said, may subtly influence identity formation, especially among younger users who are still developing their sense of self and personal expression.
It would be illuminating to hear what other tech firms like D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE: QBTS) have to say about the Pope’s Magnifica Humanitas in relation to other frontier technologies being developed.
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