ITEST Webinar
Education and Evangelization in the Age of AI: Promise and Perils
This webinar was presented on November 18, 2023.
Our presenters
Greg Miller
Education and Evangelization in the Age of AI: Promise and Perils
Greg Miller is consultant and owner of Simplify AI Education, Training, and Consulting, LLC. He spent the last 17 years in Catholic Education where he served as campus minister, assistant principal, theology teacher, department chair, and principal. At his last school, he taught two classes, often subbed two, and was the principal. He realized the transformative potential of AI in January, when he began to use it practically in the classroom and office, and embarked on a deep exploration of the technology in all its facets. He has a passion for helping beleaguered educators and priests through training in these technologies. Greg lives in St. Louis, Missouri with his wife and two children.
Abstract
Join us for an innovative exploration into the potential and perils of generative AI. This session will be led by a former Catholic principal and theology teacher, Greg Miller. Dive deep into the intersections of faith and technology, understanding how Artificial Intelligence can be harnessed for the greater glory of God while being vigilant of its challenges. Discover the potential of AI in enhancing Catholic education and evangelization and engage in meaningful discussions of its risks to the people of God.
Dr. Sebastian Mahfood, OP
Developing Human and Spiritual Practices that Allow for the Authentic Development of Integral Formation in the Age of AI
Dr. Sebastian Mahfood, OP, Director of ITEST, is a Lay Dominican of the Province of Saint Albert the Great. He has served as a professor of intercultural and interdisciplinary studies in theological education for over two decades. In 2021, he transitioned full-time to developing his publishing house, En Route Books and Media, LLC, and his radio station, WCAT Radio, the missions of which are to promote the Catholic spiritual journey in the provision of resources that assist in the formation of priests and laity. He lives in St. Louis with his wife, Dr. Stephanie Mahfood, and children, Alexander and Eva Ruth.
Abstract
In a mediated world filled with dystopic science fiction that problematizes a transformative technology like AI, our culture is embracing its promise, perhaps forgetting Marshall McLuhan’s salient point that our technologies first ape us, then shape us. Our Christian faith is already a counter-cultural phenomenon, so authentic and integral human and spiritual formation has never been more important than it is today for the restoration of our human identity created as it was in the image and likeness of God.
Webinar resources
Simplify AI Education, Training, and Consulting
St. Louis Review Article: Emergence of artificial intelligence tools prompts Catholics to examine promises, pitfalls and questions about the human relational aspect
Foreign Affairs Article: AI Is Already At War: How Artificial Intelligence Will Transform the Military by Michele Flournoy
Foreign Affairs Article: The Coming AI Economic Revolution: Can Artificial Intelligence Reverse the Productivity Slowdown? by James Manyika and Michael Spence
Commonweal Article: More than Machines? Jacques Ellul on AI’s real threat to humanity by Nolen Gertz