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Pope Leo XIV, who released an encyclical on artificial intelligence. / Courtesy of Yonhap News

The Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea (CBCK) has formed a task force (TF) dedicated to artificial intelligence. This marks the initiation of a discussion panel at the Korean Catholic Church level to draw up guidelines encompassing the proper utilization and ethical direction of AI.

According to the CBCK on July 9, its standing committee convened a meeting on July 7 at the Catholic Central Council of Korea in Junggok-dong, Seoul, to deliberate and decide on major agendas, including the formation of the AI TF and relief support for the victims of the recent massive earthquake in Venezuela.

To establish AI guidelines for the Korean Catholic Church, the conference set up the AI task force, appointing Father Lim Min-kyun—director of the CBCK media office and executive secretary of the Committee for Social Communications—as its chairman.

The task force members include Father Kim Do-hyun, professor at Catholic University of Daegu; Father Bang Jong-woo, professor at the Catholic University of Korea; Father Oh Seok-joon, executive secretary of the Pro-Life Movement Headquarters under the CBCK Committee for Family and Life and secretary general of the Archdiocese of Seoul Life Committee; Father Jo Dong-won, professor at the Catholic University of Korea; and Brother Han Chang-hyun, provincial secretary of the Society of St. Paul Korea.

The AI task force plans to formulate guidelines outlining the proper utilization and ethical direction at the Korean Catholic Church level regarding artificial intelligence, which has recently emerged as a major societal topic.

The launch of this TF aligns with the Vatican's ongoing discussions on AI ethics. In January last year, the Vatican's Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and the Dicastery for Culture and Education released a document titled Antiqua et Nova (The Old and the New), which addresses the relationship between AI and human intelligence. The document set forth the principle that AI should not replace human intellect but rather be utilized in a way that promotes human dignity and the common good.

Furthermore, during his first official address to the College of Cardinals in May, Pope Leo XIV cited AI as a core challenge facing humanity, emphasizing the necessity of an ethical response to safeguard human dignity and justice.

The bishops' conference also decided to deliver aid funds through the Episcopal Conference of Venezuela to support those affected by the recent massive earthquake in the country. To this end, the conference will collect relief funds from dioceses nationwide by the end of this month.

In tandem with this, the Committee for the Cataloging Project of Korean Catholic Historical Records will release the fruits of its labor—which has been underway since 2017—through the digital archive of Korean Catholic historical records titled Heri et Hodie (Yesterday and Today) and publish an illustrated catalog featuring major records held by participating institutions. Additionally, as the software development project for refreshable braille displays—jointly pursued by the Korean Catholic Association for the Blind and the Catholic Central Council of Korea—has been completed, a demonstration session is scheduled to be held at the Catholic Central Council of Korea on September 1.

                                                                                                        Hwang Ui-joong