Paragraph 98 reads: "All of us, including those who design them, possess only a limited understanding of their actual functioning. Indeed, current AI systems are more 'cultivated' than 'built,' for developers do not directly design every detail, but instead create a framework within which the intelligence 'grows.'"
I have worked with children for over 35 years in spiritual development. I recognize a similar pattern in children... cultivated, not built. Most of my work with children has asked the question: "What kind of child am I in relation with?"
What practices shape the child come later.
Anthropic approached LLMs with the what practices shape the intelligence. Only in 2026 did Anthropic ask Rome the question: "What kind of intelligence am I in relation with?"
Would the Church be willing to bring discernment to the question, "What kind of intelligence am I in relation with?".
I had a surprising, heart-stopping moment with my 5 year old grandson the other day. We were walking together outside and, pointing to the billowing clouds, he asked: "Is that AI?"
Read Randy Woodley’s excellent work on this. Pope Leo offers much of the expectation but Woodley’s work brings an idea of next steps. Humanity is the goal, Wisdom is the key.
"Children are at the heart of this question. They are not just users of technology, but people whose minds and spirits are still developing. Maybe the most important thing we can give children now is not endless connection or constant improvement, but habits that help them stay truly human. Silence. Wonder. Deep reading. Boredom. Friendships that are real. Time outside. Prayer. Art. Free play. Places where they can relax enough to remember who they are."
As a decades long teacher, this paragraph shines!
Thank you, Cameron for writing this. Many teachers know intuitively that this is where we should be spending more time. Many do, but school systems are set up to focus more on data and consumption of information, so it is a challenge to bring Wonder, time in nature, art, and even free play into the school day. I hope and pray that future schools will be designed more for children's spirits than merely for acquiring book knowledge. (There are indications the shift is already beginning with forest schools and, in my local school district, a partnership with a branch of the National Wildlife Refuge.)
Thank you, as always, for your thoughtful and thought provoking meditations.
Thank you! Thank you! for joining the very small chorus of people and groups asking about the impact of AI on us as human beings!! Thank you for asking about the children? Thank you for continuing to question and delve deeper into the huge technology choices that are steamrolling us! ❣️
What a powerful and impactful set of meditations. I have yet to read the document but you summarized it beautifully Cameron. I decided this morning to offer a Zoom program at the Franciscan Center in Tampa where I offer mostly book circles now. The tentative title is "The Impact of AI on Body, Mind, and Spirit". Your two meditations will be required reading for sure. I took my own stab at my relationship with AI in a Substack. Continued prayers and blessings for your work. https://morconnors.substack.com/p/from-love-to-hate-with-ai-and-back?r=99y4q&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
I am grateful for teachings of Buddha. I have also found wisdom in Dostoevsky, Gandhi, and some atheists writings. As a Christian minister and teacher, I believe the Church of Jesus Christ and, more so, the world at large, desperately need to continually hear from Jesus and the writers/compilers of the Bible. We are a Biblically illiterate culture and church and are thus easily led astray from the Truth. I would hope to see and hear more from Jesus and the New Testament than from secular or non-Christian voices.
I believe we can start developing suggestions for implementing MH right now, each one of us by ourself and with our organic co-horts, by evaluating & reflecting on the principles of Catholic Social Doctrine outlined with an American pragmatism by Pope Leo’s Magisterium.
I can foresee, with the assistance of an appropriately trained & deployed AI, a simple way to develop a CSD score based on adherence to the main principles with suggestions for group discussions and deliberations.
It’s not just or even mainly about AI, how and when to use it. Yes, let us all learn how to be more discerning of its use and results.
Question for the dignity of the human person that each of us is responsible for, how do the principles of CSD integrate with the spirit and principles of synodality?
Pope Leo has dropped various hints throughout (every explicitly), like a good teacher, alluding to possible applications.
Let’s find and practice living them together! 🥷🙏🏼❤️🌹
Paragraph 98 reads: "All of us, including those who design them, possess only a limited understanding of their actual functioning. Indeed, current AI systems are more 'cultivated' than 'built,' for developers do not directly design every detail, but instead create a framework within which the intelligence 'grows.'"
I have worked with children for over 35 years in spiritual development. I recognize a similar pattern in children... cultivated, not built. Most of my work with children has asked the question: "What kind of child am I in relation with?"
What practices shape the child come later.
Anthropic approached LLMs with the what practices shape the intelligence. Only in 2026 did Anthropic ask Rome the question: "What kind of intelligence am I in relation with?"
Would the Church be willing to bring discernment to the question, "What kind of intelligence am I in relation with?".
I had a surprising, heart-stopping moment with my 5 year old grandson the other day. We were walking together outside and, pointing to the billowing clouds, he asked: "Is that AI?"
Read Randy Woodley’s excellent work on this. Pope Leo offers much of the expectation but Woodley’s work brings an idea of next steps. Humanity is the goal, Wisdom is the key.
Pope Leo appears to be the only world leader thinking of being human in a world that is focused on everything but…
"Children are at the heart of this question. They are not just users of technology, but people whose minds and spirits are still developing. Maybe the most important thing we can give children now is not endless connection or constant improvement, but habits that help them stay truly human. Silence. Wonder. Deep reading. Boredom. Friendships that are real. Time outside. Prayer. Art. Free play. Places where they can relax enough to remember who they are."
As a decades long teacher, this paragraph shines!
Thank you, Cameron for writing this. Many teachers know intuitively that this is where we should be spending more time. Many do, but school systems are set up to focus more on data and consumption of information, so it is a challenge to bring Wonder, time in nature, art, and even free play into the school day. I hope and pray that future schools will be designed more for children's spirits than merely for acquiring book knowledge. (There are indications the shift is already beginning with forest schools and, in my local school district, a partnership with a branch of the National Wildlife Refuge.)
Thank you, as always, for your thoughtful and thought provoking meditations.
Thank you! Thank you! for joining the very small chorus of people and groups asking about the impact of AI on us as human beings!! Thank you for asking about the children? Thank you for continuing to question and delve deeper into the huge technology choices that are steamrolling us! ❣️
Yes! I’m concerned about myself, my husband, his daughter and our young grandchildren!
Thank you, the Pope and Randy Woodley!
What a powerful and impactful set of meditations. I have yet to read the document but you summarized it beautifully Cameron. I decided this morning to offer a Zoom program at the Franciscan Center in Tampa where I offer mostly book circles now. The tentative title is "The Impact of AI on Body, Mind, and Spirit". Your two meditations will be required reading for sure. I took my own stab at my relationship with AI in a Substack. Continued prayers and blessings for your work. https://morconnors.substack.com/p/from-love-to-hate-with-ai-and-back?r=99y4q&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
I am grateful for teachings of Buddha. I have also found wisdom in Dostoevsky, Gandhi, and some atheists writings. As a Christian minister and teacher, I believe the Church of Jesus Christ and, more so, the world at large, desperately need to continually hear from Jesus and the writers/compilers of the Bible. We are a Biblically illiterate culture and church and are thus easily led astray from the Truth. I would hope to see and hear more from Jesus and the New Testament than from secular or non-Christian voices.
Charlie Robinson
I believe we can start developing suggestions for implementing MH right now, each one of us by ourself and with our organic co-horts, by evaluating & reflecting on the principles of Catholic Social Doctrine outlined with an American pragmatism by Pope Leo’s Magisterium.
I can foresee, with the assistance of an appropriately trained & deployed AI, a simple way to develop a CSD score based on adherence to the main principles with suggestions for group discussions and deliberations.
It’s not just or even mainly about AI, how and when to use it. Yes, let us all learn how to be more discerning of its use and results.
Question for the dignity of the human person that each of us is responsible for, how do the principles of CSD integrate with the spirit and principles of synodality?
Pope Leo has dropped various hints throughout (every explicitly), like a good teacher, alluding to possible applications.
Let’s find and practice living them together! 🥷🙏🏼❤️🌹