By Jacqueline Wilkinson, Director of Schools, Catholic Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle
On Monday, 25 May, Pope Leo XIV published his first encyclical, 听(“Magnificent Humanity”), on safeguarding the human person in the time of artificial intelligence (AI). Signed on the 135th anniversary of Leo XIII’s Rerum Novarum, it brings the Gospel to the challenges of today and contains messages that are central to the Mission of our schools.
The Holy Father applies the principles of Catholic social teaching – dignity, the common good, subsidiarity, solidarity and social justice – to the rise of AI, examining its consequences for truth, work, learning and freedom. The encyclical is a rich resource and reminds us of the challenges and possibilities of the inevitable use of AI in classrooms, offices and homes.
While AI brings endless new opportunities, the essence of humanity, “in its grandeur and woundedness” must never be replaced. The Holy Father identifies schools as having a central role in this task.
Clearly, we are raising children in a world where answers arrive instantly. A question is typed. A response appears. An idea takes shape and quickly expands. It is impressive. It is efficient. And in many ways, it is opening up new possibilities for learning.
While many continue to debate whether artificial intelligence (AI) belongs in our world, to my mind that question is now redundant. It is already woven into so many aspects of our lives, often in ways we don鈥檛 even notice.
The more important task now is to keep asking how education should evolve when answers are so readily available.
As Director of Catholic Schools in the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle, I am committed to ensuring our educational approach remains responsive to these rapidly evolving technologies in ways that enhance, rather than hinder, student learning and wellbeing.
In our Catholic schools, we are not stepping away from AI. Nor are we adopting it without reflection. Like any powerful tool, AI brings both opportunity and responsibility. It shapes not only what students produce, but how they approach their learning.
Used well, AI can spark ideas, help students get unstuck and open up possibilities that might otherwise remain out of reach. It can also build confidence and extend learning. This is why we see AI not as something to avoid, but something to learn to use well.
It is a tool I now draw on myself at times, and one I would likely have embraced enthusiastically as a student. But experience also brings perspective. Learning is not simply about arriving at an answer as quickly as possible. It is about the thinking that goes into forming that response.
And that insight remains just as important today.
While we embrace AI in our classrooms, our approach is clear. It must never drive the learning agenda.
If students rely too heavily on these tools to do the thinking for them, they risk missing the opportunity to develop the skills that matter most. The ability to question, to problem-solve, and to make sense of the world for themselves.
At the same time, there is an important layer of understanding we must help young people develop.
AI does not 鈥渢hink鈥� like a person. It draws on patterns in data, and that data can reflect bias, inaccuracies, or incomplete perspectives. This means that not every answer it provides is neutral or even correct.
What makes this challenging is that these tools can present information with great confidence, even when it requires careful questioning. Students need to learn to question not just what they search for online, but what they are given by AI. They need to understand that these technologies can amplify misinformation or present ideas in ways that seem convincing, even when they are not.
There are also important moral considerations.
The Holy Father reminds us that parents entrust schools with a great responsibility, hoping that Catholic schools will foster in their children the capacity to form relationships, develop critical thinking and embrace solid values.
Our role as educators is essential in supporting parents to navigate and regulate the use of AI and digital devices appropriately. AI tools can be used to generate images, voices or written content that misrepresent people or ideas. They can make it easier to take shortcuts, or to present work that is not genuinely one鈥檚 own.
Helping students navigate this responsibly is not simply a matter of digital literacy. It is about integrity, respect for others, and a clear understanding of right and wrong.
Across our schools, the use of AI is guided by a simple belief: education is, first and foremost, about forming the person.
We want our students to use all tools, including AI, with confidence and with care. To engage with them in ways that support their learning, not replace it, and to apply sound judgement about when and how they are used.
Because even in a world of instant answers, some things cannot be rushed.
Learning often grows through challenge, through questioning, and through working things out, not simply being given the answer.
Children still need time to think, to make connections, and to create something that is truly their own. These experiences build confidence, resilience, and trust in their own thinking.
Pope Leo XIV鈥檚 reflections remind us that the risk is not that technology becomes more capable, but that we begin to measure ourselves by its metrics, speed, efficiency and output, and lose sight of what is uniquely human.
And this brings me to an important point. Your role as a parent remains essential.
Even if your child鈥檚 use of AI technologies outpaces your own experience, your influence in shaping how they think, question and reflect is irreplaceable.
As their first educators, you share the responsibility we hold at school, helping young people learn not just how to use these tools, but how to think alongside them, to reflect, to connect, and to make thoughtful decisions.
In your home, this might look like:
鈥� asking what they are thinking, not just what they are doing
鈥� wondering together whether something is accurate or helpful
鈥� talking about where information comes from and whether it can be trusted
鈥� encouraging them to use tools to support their ideas, not replace them
鈥� discussing why honesty and authenticity still matter, even when technology makes it easier to blur the lines
鈥� creating space for conversation, creativity and time away from screens
Artificial intelligence will continue to evolve. That is certain. What matters most is how our children grow in a world where artificial intelligence is part of everyday life.
Our shared responsibility is to ensure they learn not only how to use these tools, but how to think alongside them. Because in the end, the promise of artificial intelligence is not just in what it can do.
It is in what it makes possible for human learning, when it is used thoughtfully, wisely and well.
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