Magnifica Humanitas Initiative

As the Jesuit Catholic university in San Francisco with a mission to engage the city in building the common good, we foster shared discernment on directing AI toward human flourishing.

The Magnifica Humanitas Initiative at USF promotes interdisciplinary scholarship and teaching as well as public engagement with Pope Leo’s encyclical on Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence.

...join forces in building up the common good, so that humanity will never lose its beauty, and the world once again will come to recognize the human heart as the place where God desires to dwell.”

– Pope Leo XIV Magnifica Humanitas, 16.

Current Projects

• On Purpose pilgrimage to Ignatian Spain in partnership with Notre Dame DELTA Initiative on AI ethics
• Partnering with Catholic High Schools engaged in discernment around AI and education

Spring 2027 Conference: Living into the Wisdom of Magnifica Humanitas

• Day 1: Embodiment, Finitude, and Healing
  Spirituality of Healing Panel
  Person-Centered Healthcare in the Age of AI
• Day 2: Dignity, Discernment, and Transformative Learning
  Vocational discernment and learning: Panel of student participants in On Purpose immersion
  Discerning for the Common Good: Magnifica Humanitas across the curriculum

A Look Back at Our Work

Thought Leadership

• Erin Brigham and Michele Neitz, San Francisco Chronicle, "Why non-Catholics should listen to Pope Leo's message on AI” (May 27, 2026).
• Erin Brigham, “Where synodality shows up in Magnifica Humanitas” America Magazine (May 28, 2026).

Engaging Faculty Across Disciplines on AI Ethics and Education

• Fall 2023: Established a Visiting Scholar for AI, Faith, and Ethics, Mark Graves, PhD and a partnership with AI and Faith
• Fall 2024: Convened USF Faculty Collaborative on AI, Faith, and Ethics. Representing the fields of theology, neuroscience, computer science, law, AI governance, and management, we meet regularly to discuss readings and present our own research.
• Spring 2026: Roundtable Discussion on AI, Discernment and the Common Good featuring scholars from various Jesuit universities and representing multiple disciplines.
• Fall 2026: Interdisciplinary Symposium on the Encyclical and USF: “What are we Building: Magnifica Humanitas and the University.”

Fostering Interfaith Dialogue and Shared Discernment

• Fall 2024: Event Series on AI, Faith, and Ethics: We integrated an online series AI, faith, and ethics in partnership with a USF course of the same title. Five events highlighted multi-faith and multi-disciplinary topics related to AI.
• Summer 2026: Retreat on Magnifica Humanitas for St. Ignatius and St. Agnes Catholic Churches.

Building Public Knowledge of Catholic Social Teaching on AI

• Fall 2025: Public Events including Mark Graves on Moral Attention and Compassionate AI (September) and Brian Green on Pope Leo XIV, Catholic Social Teaching and Artificial Intelligence (October)