Steven Umbrello

3 weeks ago | wordonfire.org | Steven Umbrello

On May 22, 2025, the Vatican issued a rare and pointed condemnation—not of a person but of a machine-generated lie. A thirty-six-minute video had circulated online in which Pope Leo XIV appeared to praise Captain Ibrahim Traoré, the controversial revolutionary leader of Burkina Faso. The video, complete with lip-synced movements and papal solemnity, seemed real to the average viewer. But it was a fake.

1 month ago | wordonfire.org | Steven Umbrello

In recent years, nations have poured enormous resources into artificial intelligence (AI) as if engaged in a new arms race. Leaders frame AI as a strategic technology that will confer global power on those who master it​. The US National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence warned in 2021 that America was unprepared for the coming AI era and could lose its leadership to China within a decade if it failed to act​. China, for its part, has declared AI a key to national rejuvenation.

1 month ago | wordonfire.org | Steven Umbrello

When Cardinal Prevost chose the name Leo XIV upon his election to the papacy, observers immediately noted the homage to Pope Leo XIII. Over a century ago, Leo XIII ushered in the era of Catholic social teaching withRerum Novarum (1891), an encyclical confronting the injustices and upheavals of the industrial revolution. By taking the name Leo, the new pope signaled that the Church would face today’s transformative technological upheaval with similar courage and clarity.

Mar 17, 2025 | jeet.ieet.org | Steven Umbrello |Paul O'Hara

DOI: https://doi.org/10.55613/jeet.v35i1.165 Keywords: human dignity, digital ethics, Dignitas Infinita, Catholic Social Teaching, misinformation, digital violence, common-sense bias, imago Dei, Bernard Lonergan, synodal method References 1. Aïmeur, Esma, Sabrine Amri, and Gilles Brassard. “Fake News, Disinformation and Misinformation in Social Media: A Review.” Social Network Analysis and Mining 13, no. 1 (2023): 30. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13278-023-01028-5. 2. Alberts, David Stephen, and...

Feb 13, 2025 | wordonfire.org | Steven Umbrello

The Vatican has positioned itself as an influential moral authority in global discussions on artificial intelligence, framing the debate not merely as a technical or regulatory challenge but as a fundamental question about the future of human dignity and ethical responsibility. Over the past few years, it has actively shaped conversations on AI governance, moving beyond abstract ethical pronouncements to engaging directly with policymakers, corporations, and international institutions.