Oscar Cantú, chair of US bishops’ AI task force, urges Trump to look beyond ‘ego’ in AI race

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VATICAN CITY (RNS) — On Sept. 16, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops announced Bishop  of San Jose, California, would chair a new task force on preserving human dignity in the age of artificial intelligence. The initiative aims to engage AI developers, advocate for government safeguards and educate bishops and dioceses about the emerging technology.

The task force follows Pope Leo XIV’s call for transparency, accountability and broad public participation in shaping AI, as outlined in his May encyclical, “Magnifica Humanitas.”

Religion News Service spoke with Cantú via Zoom on Sept. 17 about Silicon Valley’s growing interest in the Catholic Church’s input, tensions with the Trump administration and the possibility of the Vatican mediating talks over shared AI safeguards between the U.S. and China.

The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.

What are the objectives of USCCB’s task force on artificial intelligence? It’s not like we’re going to solve the issue in three months. I’m not the AI czar. I’m a bishop, and I will be representing the voice of the church in…