The recent International Zoom Session for Holy Family Information/Communication Teams was the first time I was really exposed to some of the possibilities of Artificial Intelligence: the dreaded or lauded AI. What we experienced was only an infinitesimal part of what AI is capable of at present, and an even smaller part of what it will be capable of in the future.
The presenter asked the AI platform for something on the Holy Family Charism, a theme I had been tasked with for the following day. In seconds, literally, a paragraph was produced containing ideas that had taken me hours to put together. This set me thinking; if I had used AI for my theme and I had presented the result, would it have been “my” work? And how far can I trust that what I am reading or seeing anywhere comes from the mind and heart of the author and not something AI has “cooked up” from myriad source? What is being communicated here?
Communication “shortcuts”
We have seen personal letters become emails, then WhatsApp messages, then emojis. We have seen assemblies and meetings where people are physically present become Zoom or Team Meetings online. While really appreciating the advantages that these bring, sometimes I feel that our ability to truly communicate is being impoverished. Does an emoji really express what I feel or want to say? On Zoom, can I interpret correctly a person’s body language? Can I “feel the vibes” in a group to help me understand the atmosphere, connect with the whole picture?
Today, what kind of time do we give for conversation, for storytelling, for listening, for simple sharing, without a particular “agenda”, for just being together in comfortable but eloquent silence without our phones, for being present HERE, rather than waiting impatiently for the moment when we can contact friends or family elsewhere, or when we can “do our own thing”, like watching our own favourite programmes, videos/games online, in our own rooms?
Are we losing touch not only with those around us in the everyday, but also with our deeper selves? How do I know that these things happen? Easy. I am as guilty as anyone else. Now, with AI, even more “shortcuts” will be available. Will we gradually lose the capacity to communicate deeply and authentically with one another?
Pope Francis has warned us: “There is also another troubling phenomenon: what we might call the “programmed dispersion of attention” through digital systems that, by profiling us according to the logic of the market, modify our perception of reality. As a result, we witness, often helplessly, a sort of atomization of interests that ends up undermining the foundations of our existence as community, our ability to join in the pursuit of the common good, to listen to one another and to understand each other’s point of view.” (Emphasis mine) Message for Communications Sunday, 2025.
However, Pope Francis also had a dream for communication, which could also apply to families, communities, and personal relationships in general: “I dream of a communication capable of making us fellow travellers, walking alongside our brothers and sisters and encouraging them to hope in these troubled times. A communication capable of speaking to the heart, arousing not passionate reactions of defensiveness and anger, but attitudes of openness and friendship. A communication capable of focusing on beauty and hope even in the midst of apparently desperate situations, and generating commitment, empathy and concern for others. A communication that can help us in “recognizing the dignity of each human being, and working together to care for our common home”. (Dilexit Nos, 217) I dream of a communication that does not peddle illusions or fears, but is able to give reasons for hope.“
Dare we dream the same dream?
Sr. Eithne Hughes