One of the first things Fr. Philip Larrey learned at the start of a 20-year run teaching philosophy, logic and epistemology at the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome is that “you never tell a bishop what to do.”

In advance of his Sept. 23 keynote speech at the Canadian Conference of Bishops (CCCB) annual plenary assembly in Montreal, the 62-year-old told The Catholic Register that he would not issue any directives about how these shepherds should navigate the burgeoning artificial intelligence revolution.

However, if any of these diocesan administrators seek his counsel, the professor of theology at Boston College is ready to oblige their request. Larrey said he would advise bishops to bolster parish priests’ knowledge about this issue.

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“Try to get the parish priests involved so that they don't just write this off because a lot of priests don't have time to understand the technology or understand what's going on in their parishioners' lives in terms of AI,” said Larrey. “Well, let's give them a hand. Let's talk about it. When I went to Toronto, the priests were like, ‘geez, I never knew this was going on. I had no idea.’ It's because it's not their area of expertise.”

Larrey suggested that hosting AI-centred forums is one method to help imbue priests with greater command on this subject.

He specifically alluded to the “A.I. Is Transforming Society: Are Catholics Ready?” symposium scheduled at St. Mary’s University in Calgary from Oct. 17 to 18. The Calgary diocese and the Catholic liberal arts college are convening theologians, tech experts, ethicists and Church leaders from around the world for the event to examine ethical uses of machine learning, its impacts on education, work and community, the repercussions it can have on evangelization and pastoral work, and how the Church can lead in this new frontier age.

While Larrey cannot come to Alberta directly, his professional colleague Matthew Sanders will be in attendance. Sanders is the creator of Magisterium A.I., the most prominent Catholic AI platform in the world.

Larrey and Sanders collaborate closely on Humanity 2.0, an organization that convenes clerics and secular leaders from various sectors to collaboratively formulate initiatives that will advance human flourishing. The former serves as chairman while the latter is co-founder and CEO. A goal of the organization is to determine how to use “virtuous technologies” to improve health, economic, educational, human rights and solidarity outcomes for all.

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Larrey said he is unsure if “we’ll ever get to a point” where the “whole world will agree on how to use these instruments so that it will be used for the good of humanity and not for the detriment.”

Amid so many competing visions, Larrey said turning toward Pope Leo represents a promising path forward as the Bishop of Rome has already delivered several major addresses about AI within the first five months of his pontificate.

“Take his lead on this so that as a Church we can provide a voice that the world needs,” said Larrey. "I always say in the absence of a unified consensus about the moral or ethical ramifications of artificial intelligence, the voice of Pope Leo is a very strong voice because he's an international figure and he is a moral figure.”

Larrey shared that he and Sanders do routinely dialogue with people who envision transhumanist uses for this technology. He said there are some adherents of transhumanism who demonstrate a willingness to hear the divergent viewpoints of Humanity 2.0.

However, he said “the radical form” of the movement does wish to “steer the world away from its biological base” by utilizing nanotechnology and mind uploading to achieve immortality. He expressed hope that “the transhumanist movement will always be a fringe thing.”

Paraphrasing a quotation from Elon Musk, Larrey said “we have to make sure that artificial intelligence platforms consider us a meaningful part of the universe.”

The author of Artificial Humanity: an essay on the philosophy of artificial intelligence and Connected World: From Automated Work to Virtual Wars: The Future, By Those Who Are Shaping It also said he wants everyone to not be fearful of AI.

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“When I’m at conferences the common denominator is that people are afraid of this technology,” said Larrey. “At the same time, I say ‘let’s not be naïve.’ We know that the risks are high, but don't be afraid. Fear doesn't come from God.

“This one person asked me in a conference: 'do you think that God is happy with AI?' and I said, ‘yes, because God gave us the capacity to create.' ”