The Pontifical University Antonianum is teaming up with Mississippi State University (MSU) to start the 'International Observatory for Integral Intelligence, Ethics, and Public Value'—in short, a research institute focused on the ethical use of artificial intelligence.
Collaboration between the two universities was announced in June of last year, but a recent conference hosted in Rome in early March marked the formal launch of the Observatory.
To learn more about this partnership between MSU and the Vatican university, Rome Reports spoke with several scholars to better understand the problems and promises of AI. The responses were both positive and cautious:
Vice President, Mississippi State University
So often what we're concerned about is that we do not want to see artificial intelligence replace human intelligence.
Associate Director of the Data Science Program, MSU
If AI is replacing a human in a particular situation, where does the responsibility lie? And there are some things like end of life, where we really do want a human to be the ultimate decider. So I think those are the issues where I think most discomfort with AI comes with it.
Besides leaders of this new Observatory, we also heard from professors at other pontifical universities:
FR. ANTONIO CARRÓN
Professor, Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome
I believe that, like any technology, artificial intelligence is neither good nor bad. We are the ones who make it good or bad, depending on how we use it.
The International Theological Commission at the Vatican also published a document on AI in February, 2026, titled 'Quo Vadis, Humanitas?'
GIOVANNI TRIDENTE
Associate Professor, Pontifical University of the Holy Cross
This document from the International Theological Commission reveals to us and confirms yet another anthropological aspect to consider today in the era of artificial intelligence, which is to rediscover the vocation of the meaning of man and of the human being. This vocation of meaning contrasts with the efficiency and precision of machines, but at the same time, it integrates into a relational aspect that we must learn to resolve.
In the late 19th Century, Pope Leo XIII wrote the encyclical 'Rerum Novarum' to defend the rights and dignity of workers during rapid technological growth at that time. As the AI revolution rises, can we expect Pope Leo XIV to do the same?
