On tap at 2024 Society of Catholic Scientists convention: AI, evolution, and the nature of faith

On tap at 2024 Society of Catholic Scientists convention: AI, evolution, and the nature of faith

In addition to connecting members with opportunities and resources of common interest, the group has sought to provide educational resources to those outside its membership by providing on its website answers to common questions related to faith and science. 
Five of the 13 scheduled talks at the upcoming SCS conference deal in some way with the topic of artificial intelligence, a hot subject both in the secular and Catholic worlds. The Vatican under Pope Francis has in recent years emphasized the ethical use of AI, while a number of Catholics around the world are working to develop new catechetical tools that make use of AI technology for the purposes of sharing the Catholic faith. 
Karin Öberg, left, professor of astronomy at Harvard University, talks with fellow attendees at the 2019 Society of Catholic Scientists convention in South Bend, Indiana. Credit Photo courtesy of Stephen Barr
Barr said one of the AI-related talks he is most excited for is one to be presented by Alexander Pruss, a philosopher and mathematician at Baylor University, on the topic of AI and human souls. 
Other highlights will include a talk by Martin Nowak, a renowned Harvard mathematical biologist, on the topic “Does Evolution Lead to God?”; Suzanne Bohlson, a professor of biology at University of California-Irvine, will speak about how and why scientists convert to Christianity and the nature of faith. Other presentations will focus on topics such as the existence of free will and the problem of evil.
The Catholic Church has long supported the sciences, sponsoring for centuries endeavors such as the Vatican Observatory and hosting conferences in recent years on scientific topics such as quantum physics.

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