AI Seminar Explores Pope Leo XIV’s Magnifica Humanitas

Seton Hall University’s Center for Catholic Studies and the International Academy of Catholic Leaders will host a seminar on Saturday, October 24, 2026, grounded in Pope Leo XIV’s new encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas.

The document’s call to safeguard the human person will frame “Ethics and Values in the Era of AI,” a conversation about human dignity and the common good across education, finance and healthcare.

Patrick Manning, Ph.D., director of the Center for Catholic Studies, will moderate the education panel featuring Sebastian Budinich of Fordham University and Chris Tyrrell and Douglas C. Minson of Classical Intelligence.

Danielle Papandrea, managing director at Merrill Wealth Management, will join a finance fireside conversation.

Healthcare presenters are Elena Herrero of SOMOS Community Care and Diego Ponieman, MD, MPH, of the James J. Peters Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

The seminar is presented in partnership with the G.K. Chesterton Institute for Faith and Culture, the Joseph A. Unanue Latino Institute and Campus Ministry, and in collaboration with Basilica Medical Management and SOMOS Community Care.

The seminar runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern in the Chancellor’s Suite of the Bishop Dougherty University Center. Check-in begins at 8:30 a.m.; optional Mass follows at 4:30 p.m.

Registered virtual participants may join the live plenary and presentations through Microsoft Teams, with moderated chat and Q&A. Table discussions, breaks, lunch, networking and Mass are in-person activities.

Registration is free and required. It closes Tuesday, October 20, at 5 p.m. Eastern. In-person space is limited. No technical AI background is required.

Register for the October 24 seminar.

Categories: Faith and Service