Creating a positive digital culture that emphasizes the dignity of every individual is essential, the pope said. “We must educate in the wise use of technology and AI, placing the person before the algorithm, and harmonizing technical, emotional, social, spiritual and ecological forms of intelligence,” he wrote. While schools and society can not ignore technology, people must be discerning about how we use digital platforms and tools like AI. “No algorithm can replace what makes education human: poetry, irony, love, art, imagination, the joy of discovery, and even education in error as an opportunity for growth. The decisive point is not technology but the use we make of it,” the pope noted.
The pope’s third priority is bringing peace into our world by building bridges. “Let us educate in nonviolent language, reconciliation and bridge-building rather than wall-building; may ‘Blessed are the peacemakers’ – (Mt 5:9) – become both the method and the content of learning.” Have conversations with your children – and reflective time with yourself – on ways to learn about and positively connect with people of differing backgrounds and beliefs.