Tania Tetlow, president of Fordham University, joined journalists Edie Lush and Mike Oreskes on the We’re All Going to Die! podcast for a wide-ranging conversation on Pope Leo’s encyclical on artificial intelligence and the moral questions emerging from one of the most consequential technologies of our time.
In the conversation, Tetlow explored why AI is not simply a technological challenge, but a human one—raising questions about dignity, responsibility, wisdom, and the role of universities in preparing leaders for an AI-shaped future.
“You might ask yourself, ‘What does a pope have to say about technology?’ But AI has become the most powerful tool that humanity has ever built, a tool that can be used for good or for ill, and it calls into question the very notion of what humanity means. Who are we? And no one has thought more about that than theologians and philosophers for thousands of years,” Tetlow said.
“The encyclical is full of practical ideas really aimed at government, the UN, of corporate responsibility, of so many of the folks who really drive what’s happening now. But it’s also full of ideas for each and every one of us—of how we can speak out, of how we can be changemakers—as he calls us weavers of hope in the world.”
