Reflections on AI and Magnifica Humanitas
Technology—especially AI—is never neutral. It reflects the values of those who design, fund, and deploy it. The central question, then, is not whether we should embrace or reject technology, but whether a particular use serves human dignity or diminishes it. This gathering will explore several key implications of the encyclical and consider what they mean for the development and use of emerging technologies.
Event info:
Date: Wednesday, September 23, 2026
Time: 3:00-6:00 p.m.
Location: Lake Shore Campus, 1000 W. Sheridan Rd., Coffey Hall 139
Agenda
View program
3:00 pm
Welcome
Featuring Steven Keith Platt
3:10pm
It Takes a Pope
Featuring: Diana Acosta Navas, Matthew Dunch, Joseph Vukov, and Ken Archer
In an era where transnational tech conglomerates wield unprecedented power over the development of Artificial Intelligence, governments have struggled to adequately address the ethical implications of this technological transition. "It Takes a Pope" explores why the Vatican, a moral authority unburdened by corporate lobbying and electoral pressures, has uniquely catalyzed global conversations on AI. Drawing on Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, this session investigates the profound tension between technical efficiency and human dignity, challenging the "Babel syndrome," where profit and optimization reduce individuals to mere data points. Attendees will gain actionable insights into how regulatory frameworks and ethical grounding can orient AI deployment toward solidarity, care, and the common good, ensuring that technological advancement serves humanity rather than subjugating it.
4:15 pm
Reflections on Meeting the Pope
Featuring: George Trone
4:30 pm
Audience Q&A / Coffee Break
5:00 pm
Humanizing AI in Applied Fields
Featuring: Steven Keith Platt, tavis d. jules, and Sammie Tootooni
Technology is not neutral. Implementation forces a confrontation with human questions: Who bears the risk when an algorithm makes a consequential decision? Whose values are encoded into a diagnostic tool, a grading system, or a hiring model? What happens to trust, accountability, and the patient-physician or teacher-student relationship when AI mediates the exchange? "Humanizing AI in Applied Fields" brings together thought leaders from business, education, and medicine to explore the practical implications of AI.
6:00 pm
Adjourn
Speakers:
- Diana Acosta Navas, Assistant Professor of Management and Business Ethics, Quinlan School of Business, Loyola University Chicago
- Ken Archer, AI Product Lead, Microsoft and PhD Researcher, Linköping University
- Matthew Dunch, SJ, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, College of Arts and Sciences, Loyola University Chicago
- tavis d. jules, Full Professor in Cultural and Educational Policy and International Higher Education, School of Education, Loyola University Chicago
- Steven Keith Platt, Clinical Assistant Professor of Applied AI and Director of Analytics, Quinlan School of Business, Loyola University Chicago; and LUC Director of the Lab for Applied AI and Site Director, Institute for Data, Econometrics, Algorithms, and Learning
- Jeffrey R. Tharsen, Associate Director of Technology and MA Thesis Counselor, University of Chicago
- Samie Tootooni, Associate Professor of Health Informatics and Data Science, Parkinson School of Health Sciences and Public Health, Loyola University Chicago
- George Trone, Vice President and Chief of Staff, Office of the President, Loyola University Chicago
- Joseph Vukov, Associate Professor; Associate Director, The Hank Center for the Catholic Intellectual Heritage, Loyola University Chicago
- Maria V. Wathen, Associate Professor, Social Work, Loyola University Chicago