Jesuits Discuss Artificial Intelligence and Educational Processes in Florence

Jesuits and lay partners from around the world met at the Gonzaga University campus in Florence, Italy, to discuss how to integrate artificial intelligence and virtual technologies into educational processes.

International Gathering in Florence

Jesuit educators, theology students, and mission partners gathered in Florence, Italy, from July 5 to 12, 2026, to evaluate the impacts of artificial intelligence and virtual technologies on Jesuit formation.

Digital Natives and Rapidly Changing Worlds

While it was noted that a large portion of today's Jesuit candidates consist of digital natives, it was emphasized that artificial intelligence—particularly large language models such as ChatGPT and Claude—is rapidly transforming the ways of thinking, writing, learning, and communicating.

Catholic Social Teaching and Artificial Intelligence

It was recalled that in October 2025, Pope Leo met with Jesuit superiors and described artificial intelligence as one of the areas where traditional maps fall short, and that the Magnifica Humanitas encyclical addresses these issues.

Thematic Areas Addressed at the Conference

Throughout the conference in Florence, different thematic areas were discussed daily, such as the co-evolution of technology and religion, smartphone policies in formation houses, and the integration of artificial intelligence in pedagogy and apostolates.