Catholic universities in Indonesia put “Magnifica Humanitas” into practice in the age of AI
Twenty-two communication students from five Indonesian Catholic universities took part in a six-day AI bootcamp and national competition in Yogyakarta from 6 to 11 October. The programme combined technical training, ethical reflection, and practical projects, drawing on Pope Leo XIV’s vision in *Magnifica Humanitas*. Organizers emphasized that AI should serve people and communities while protecting human dignity, truth, and the common good. Researchers from the five universities developed 14 modules on responsible AI use in communication fields including marketing, public relations, and journalism.
about 2 hours ago
Twenty-two communication students from five Indonesian Catholic universities took part in a six-day AI bootcamp and national competition in Yogyakarta, exploring how to use artificial intelligence in ways that protect human dignity and serve communities. The programme connected practical training with ethical reflection under the theme of Pope Leo XIV’s Magnifica Humanitas.
Held from 6 to 11 October at the Carolus Borromeus Formation House Syantikara, the programme brought together students from universities in Yogyakarta, Jakarta, Semarang, Surabaya and Kupang. Researchers from the five institutions developed 14 learning modules covering AI applications in communication, including marketing, public relations and journalism.
Organizers framed AI as a tool that can speed information processing, generate content and expand creative possibilities, while also raising concerns about overreliance on automated systems, weakened critical thinking, and the displacement of human skills and creativity. Students were encouraged to understand both AI’s capabilities and limits, and to retain independent judgment, creativity and professional responsibility.
The programme applied Magnifica Humanitas by asking how technology can support human flourishing without reducing people to data, automated decisions or machine capabilities. Its stated aim was to keep AI in service of people, relationships, truth and the common good.
Students visited Yogyakarta’s Tugu area to interview and observe street vendors, tourists, artists and other residents before developing AI-based prototypes. The process was designed to ground projects in people’s lived experiences and identified social or communication needs, rather than in technology for its own sake.
Research-team leader Mario Antonius Birowo said students’ engagement grew as the programme progressed and they connected the modules in their prototype presentations. He described the bootcamp as an experimental “laboratory” and said additional time could help students further develop their ideas.
The organizers presented the bootcamp as both skills training and formation for future communication professionals. Its broader purpose was to help students assess not only whether an AI application works, but whether it addresses a genuine need, respects affected people and offers a responsible response.
Catholic teaching grounds human-centered artificial intelligence in human dignity
Catholic teaching supports human-centered artificial intelligence, but grounds that principle in more than usefulness or user preference: every human person possesses inherent dignity because each is created in the image of God. That dignity does not depend on intelligence, productivity, or ability, so AI must serve people without reducing their worth to what they can do.
Accordingly, AI’s purposes, methods, and underlying assumptions should be assessed by whether they respect human dignity and promote the common good. Responsibility for directing AI rightly belongs to people and institutions—developers, operators, regulators, and users—not to the technology itself.
This does not mean rejecting technological progress: the Church regards human creativity and technological work as capable of serving God and creation. But efficiency alone is not an adequate measure of progress; technology should serve the human person and the common good.