VATICAN CITY (RNS) — Po-Shen Loh, a U.S.-born mathematician and inventor, didn’t have the leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics weighing in on the future of artificial intelligence on his 2025 bingo card. Nor did he think that a new pope would be involved in a meme war with a Silicon Valley investor.
A Catholic and the father of three, Loh, 43, has watched the development of AI with concern for its profound impact on society, especially on young people. Since the launch of ChatGPT in 2022, Loh has traveled around the country trying to prepare the next generation. The Vatican is his latest stop.
“I’m here because I’ve been running around the world trying to figure out how to help humanity survive AI,” said Loh, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.
Loh is among a growing number of mathematicians, tech experts and entrepreneurs who have expressed interest in the Catholic Church’s moral leadership on AI. With the new pope’s vocal interest in the subject, Loh hopes the church can use its resources to promote a model of critical thinking and kindness.
In a November post on X, Pope Leo XIV urged the builders of AI to “cultivate moral discernment as a fundamental part of their work — to develop systems that reflect justice, solidarity, and a genuine reverence for life.” That post brought on the meme war Loh referred to, when billionaire and AI enthusiast Marc Andreessen reacted to the pope’s …