Accra, 12 August, 2025 / 11:12 PM
The ever-increasing presence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in our lives should not result in the undermining of human dignity and values, the representative of the Holy Father in Ghana has told Catholic journalists in Africa.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Union of the African Catholic Press (UCAP) Congress in Ghana’s capital, Accra, Archbishop Julien Kaboré reflected on the theme of the August 10-17 convention, “Balancing Technological Progress and the Preservation of Human Values in the Age of Artificial Intelligence (AI).”
“Artificial intelligence must serve the human person, but not be subordinate,” Archbishop Kaboré said during the Monday, August 11 event that was held at Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) in Accra.
He added, “Artificial intelligence, with its dazzling speed and agility, is reshaping how we perceive information, how we perceive truth, identity, and even our common humanity.”
“Our task is certainly not to retreat in fear, nor advance uncritically, but to discern carefully and courageously,” the Burkinabe-born Vatican diplomat said.
Archbishop Kaboré affirmed the Church’s view of technological progress as “a noble fruit of human creativity and echo of the divine image in which we were made.” He warned against “the temptation to idolize technology or to delegate moral responsibility to machines.”
“AI may process data, generate text, or mimic thoughts, but it cannot love, it can’t forgive, it cannot suffer… Only the human person, created by God and called to commit, possesses the capacity to see what is true, to believe what is good, and to rejoice in what is good,” he told more than 100 participants from over 20 African nations and beyond.
The Apostolic Nuncio cautioned against threats posed by unregulated AI, including “manipulation of conscience, erosion of authentic relationships, and the fluctuation of truth into algorithmic preference.”
He emphasized that AI “must therefore be used responsibly, ethically, and always in service of the human person and the common good… The Church warns us against the reduction of human life to data, the replacement of authentic relationships with simulations, and the submission of conscience to algorithmic logic.”
While acknowledging AI’s potential in medicine, education, and peacebuilding, he warned that “technological advancement must never outpace spiritual maturity.” For him, “Only the human heart, open to truth, to love, and to God, can rightly govern such power.”
Addressing himself to the UCAP Congress participants, Archbishop Kaboré said, “Lift your gaze beyond the technological horizon… advocate for innovation, but much more for integrity. May your work contribute to a new ethic of communication, one that affirms truth, safeguards memory, nurtures freedom, and proclaims the gospel with joy and fidelity.”
He encouraged them to be “artisans of peace and reconciliation… to give voice to the voiceless and to inspire unity, healing, and fraternity.”
“Through your work here, may the light of truth shine brightly and the seeds of peace take root in the hearts of all of us,” the Vatican diplomat implored.
The 2025 UCAP Congress aims to examine how new media technologies and artificial intelligence are reshaping communication and influencing daily life. Discussions are to explore strategies for safeguarding ethics, dignity, and justice in media practice.
The gathering has brought together scholars, experts, policymakers, corporate leaders, and journalists from across the continent.
Deliberating on a broad range of issues, participants are to come up with recommendations to guide governments, media organizations, and society at large. Outcomes from the Congress are to shape UCAP’s future training programs and professional guidelines.
Also speaking during the August 11 event, the President of the Ghana Catholic Bishops Conference (GCBC) called on Catholic media professionals in Africa to resist misinformation and disinformation with “steadfast integrity, humility, and transparency.”
Bishop Matthew Kwasi Gyamfi warned that the abuse of media power is a “moral and cultural crisis” that undermines truth and social cohesion.
“It is a privilege for Ghana to host the African Catholic Union of the Press Congress at a time when the world is navigating the complex intersection of technological advancement and the perennial truths of our shared humanity,” Bishop Gymfi said.
Recalling the Church’s teaching since the Vatican II’s Inter Mirifica, Bishop Gyamfi affirmed that “social communications are not merely instruments of information exchange, but powerful means by which truth, beauty, and the dignity of the human person are either upheld or undermined.”
He said: “The means of social communication are marvelous technical inventions which God’s providence has placed in human hands. They are, therefore, moral as well as technical realities to be used in service of the common good.”
“This erosion of trust is not merely a professional challenge. It is a moral and cultural crisis,” the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sunyani said, adding, “The abuse of media power corrodes the bonds of social cohesion and undermines the very capacity of truth to illuminate public life.”
Bishop Gyamfi said the theme of the UCAP congress “resonates profoundly with the Church’s anthropology and moral vision.”
“While technological progress and, in our day, artificial intelligence, in particular, opens new horizons for human ingenuity, it also poses significant questions about the integrity of truth, the safeguarding of freedom, and the sanctity of life,” he said.
(Story continues below)
The Best Catholic News - straight to your inbox
Sign up for our free ACI Africa newsletter.
The President of GCBC further noted, “The Catholic tradition affirms that human dignity flows not from what we do, nor from the data we generate, but from what we are, persons created in the image and likeness of God, endowed with reason, conscience, and the capacity.”
On his part, UCAP President, Charles Ayetan, called for “strengthening the capacities of media professionals with the aim of educating the public on the need to promote and preserve human values in a world strongly impacted by technological progress, particularly with the advent of Artificial Intelligence.”
Mr. Ayetan described UCAP Congress as “our Union’s largest event, a continuing education forum that offers participants a wealth of information through conferences, debates, and discussions with experts.”
He explained that topics of UCAP Congresses are “carefully chosen” to help media practitioners “develop a more positive approach to covering local and global events, in the spirit of spreading universal human values.”
The native of Togo, who serves as the Communications Officer of the Ghana-based Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) wished participants “a fruitful Congress” that will contribute to the mission of Catholic media in upholding human dignity in the face of rapid technological changes.
Our mission is the truth. Join us!
Your monthly donation will help our team continue reporting the truth, with fairness, integrity, and fidelity to Jesus Christ and his Church.
Donate to CNA