In Pope Leo’s message to the Second Annual Rome Conference on Artificial Intelligence in June of last year, he stated:
“AI, especially Generative AI, has opened new horizons on many different levels, including enhancing research in healthcare and scientific discovery, but also raises troubling questions on its possible repercussions on humanity’s openness to truth and beauty, on our distinctive ability to grasp and process reality.”
The future of the human race is undoubtedly closely tied to artificial intelligence and the digital world. For the Christian, our duty is not to remove ourselves from culture, but to evangelize it, to bring the Good News to new frontiers wherever people gather.
Two brothers from Potomac, Maryland, Peter and Thomas Cooney, recognized a need for Catholics to be empowered with an AI tool that would serve them in this new age without providing information that contradicts the truth as understood in the Catholic tradition.
Peter, a junior economics student at the University of Dallas, and Thomas, a freshman computer science student at Baylor University, are building Acutis– “a Moral AI rooted in Catholic doctrine” in the off-hours between classes, regular reception of the sacraments, and the ordinary responsibilities of college life.
Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, remarked in a recent interview, “I actually don’t worry about us getting the big moral decisions wrong... Maybe we’ll get those wrong, too.”
Because current AI chatbots such as ChatGPT and Claude are not trained to provide guidance grounded in Christian moral teaching, the Cooney brothers jumped into action to make this possible.
No longer must believers, or parents of young Catholics entering the world of AI, worry about the moral framework guiding their digital assistant.
The Vatican’s recent document Antiqua et Nova (“Ancient and New”) states:
“Like any product of human creativity, AI can be directed toward positive or negative ends. When used in ways that respect human dignity and promote the well-being of individuals and communities, it can contribute positively to the human vocation.”
Acutis’s mission reflects this vision. The company states that all responses are grounded “in integrity, human dignity, and timeless values to guide users in daily life,” a direct response to the Church’s concerns about this rapidly developing technology.
As Peter Cooney explained:
“We recognized the need for an AI platform that prioritizes the safety and well-being of children and teenagers, one that parents can actually trust. Acutis gives kids a helpful tool for schoolwork and research while giving parents meaningful control over what their children access and how they use the platform. Parents can set appropriate boundaries without sacrificing their kids’ ability to learn and explore information responsibly.”
The beloved, newly canonized Saint Carlo Acutis is the company’s namesake.
When asked about the inspiration behind the name, Peter Cooney remarked,
“He is perhaps the best example of how to use technology to serve God. Our hope is that this platform continues the mission he began, spreading the faith through technology.”
Acutis is a strong example of aligning entrepreneurial pursuit with the mission of the Church and the building up of the Kingdom here on earth. Over the last couple of years, various Catholics with technical prowess and entrepreneurial zeal have begun building AI products to help human beings flourish, including Truthly and Magisterium AI, in their faith, careers, and daily lives.