AI and the Common Good
This is a hybrid event, so you can join us in person on DePaul's Loop Campus or online via Zoom.
Please note: We are sold out for in-person seats. Zoom is an available option.
In May 2026, Pope Leo XIV issued Magnifica humanitas, the first papal encyclical devoted to artificial intelligence. It is now one of the most widely read statements ever written on the subject — and its central claim is sharper than most coverage has suggested. The problem, it argues, is not what AI can do. It is that the technology has concentrated in the hands of a few, and that its development answers to profit rather than to any public. At the same time, hundreds of scientists, technologists, and public figures have called for a halt to the race toward superintelligence without guardrails, and for public scrutiny to ensure AI development aligns with human values. We do not have to be Catholic, or a computer scientist, or convinced by either argument to find these foundational questions worthy of a conversation.
On Friday, October 23, from noon to 2:00 PM, the DePaul AI Institute is convening a roundtable over lunch. Several colleagues from across different disciplinary areas will take a few minutes to set the stage for a broader discussion, followed by an open moderated discussion.
We are pressing on two things in particular:
Who decides what AI gets built — and which of those decisions are made with no public voice at all?
What would it actually take for AI development to answer to human values rather than to whoever is controlling model training — and who would have to give something up?
We hope that this will be the first in a series of conversations on one of the most consequential issues of our time.
Lunch is provided. Remote participation available via Zoom. Bring a question.