The Pope Just Challenged Higher Ed
Preview:
Pope Leo XIV's first encyclical, "Magnifica Humanitas," poses a direct challenge to higher education by warning that AI risks replacing genuine inquiry with an endless flow of information, fragmenting knowledge and eroding students' capacity for critical thought and moral judgment. Colleges that respond by training students to use AI tools are missing the point; what is needed is a curriculum that preserves the humanities, synthesis across disciplines, and the formation of conscience that no algorithm can supply. Graduates entering fields where AI shapes hiring, policing, lending, and warfare need more than technical capability — they need the moral frameworks to question what they are being asked to build.
Originally published: June 2, 2026
Author: Eric Spina
Position: President
Institution: University of Dayton Ohio
Published by: Inside Higher Ed