Thursday 29th January, 7.45pm: Artificial Intelligence: How the Church is Responding and how Catholics can get Involved - Dr Tomislav Karačić, London School of Economics.

Talk summary: In this talk, Tomislav will demystify artificial intelligence by introducing what it is and how it works, with particular attention to large language models (LLMs) and their deployment in conversational chatbots. He will situate these technologies within the broader historical relationship between the Catholic Church and major technological developments, showing how current debates about AI continue a long tradition of discernment about human creativity, moral responsibility, and the nature of progress.

Building on this foundation, Tomislav will examine AI through key principles of Catholic social teaching, such as the Imago Dei, preferential treatment of the poor, and subsidiarity, to show both the opportunities and challenges posed by advanced AI systems. He will explore how LLMs may support human flourishing while also posing significant risks to human dignity, relational integrity, and the common good.

Drawing on his ongoing research, Tomislav will present findings from a study of MagisteriumAI, a Catholic LLM tool, focusing on how individuals use chatbot-based systems for spiritual direction and pastoral questions. This case study highlights the emerging theme of “compassionate AI” and raises important theological and ethical questions about what happens when people bring their deepest struggles, uncertainties, and desires for guidance to a machine.

The talk will also survey current initiatives and conversations within the Church that aim to discern faithful paths for engaging AI. Tomislav will conclude by identifying concrete areas where Catholics can actively shape the development and use of AI technologies, emphasizing that we are not passive spectators but essential participants in ensuring that AI serves authentic human and spiritual good.

Speaker Bio: Tomislav is an Assistant Professor of Information Systems at the LSE. Tomislav’s journey began with a simple question: How do we come to know things through tools? This question took him from studying philosophy and communication sciences in Zagreb, to mathematical logic in Amsterdam, and finally to a PhD in information systems where he left his armchair thinking to study how real organizations use AI. After conducting research at a plant breeding company and moving to the London School of Economics as a researcher, he discovered his true calling when he realized how much he was using AI in his personal life to study theology and do Bible studies. Today, as an Assistant Professor at LSE, Catholic AI is his sole research focus as he explores how Catholic social teaching can inform the development of AI systems that lead to human flourishing.

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