The day had finally arrived. The big event was here and we were full of anticipation. None of us had pulled off an event like this before and we weren’t entirely sure what to expect. How many people would come? Would people enjoy it? Would they leave gaining something of value? What we did hope for was an event, a space, where people could come together and open up their minds and hearts to ponder their place in the universe in light of the emerging technology of Generative Artificial Intelligence (Generative AI).

AI and I: Educating the Human Person in the Age of Artificial Intelligence was a two-day event that took place September 20-21 at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. The original idea for the event was proposed by Riro Maniscalco, who had seen the “AI and I” exhibit at the New York Encounter and wanted to offer the same exhibit to the community in Minnesota.

Soon after, some members from my school of community came together to take on this project. Some of us had never actually interacted with generative AI tools like ChatGPT before, but recognized their importance and present and imminent impact on society. We saw this event as a way to become more immersed and educated in these technologies and arrive at an informed judgment.

Similar to the New York Encounter, we wanted to supplement the exhibit with a live discussion panel featuring experts in the field. For the Friday panel, we had Nick Stokman and Jacob Solawetz, local entrepreneurs who had started their own Generative AI companies, along with Dr. John Houston, founder of Logos4Wisdom, an online philosophy platform, who speaks, teaches, and writes extensively on these themes.



The Friday panel event was well attended and garnered strong reactions from some attendees. One friend said it was the best event he had attended in over a year. They were very impressed with the speakers and the ideas put forth, as they rarely had an opportunity to experience this kind of dialogue on these topics. In contrast, another friend actually left early, frustrated with some elements of AI pessimism they detected in some of the panel discussions.

On day two of the event, we offered formal tours of the AI exhibit, along with another opportunity for community dialogue, this time focused on Generative AI and religious art. Fr. Timothy Sandquist and local educator Julian Ahlquist gave a presentation on their work, titled, “generation of the sAInts”, a collection of AI-generated religious art created through the tool Midjourney. Fr. Sandquist provided a framework on how to best examine art utilizing criteria like aesthetics, intellectual content, and causes (i.e., the artist and the cultural/historical context). Mr. Ahlquist then spoke on major objections he’s encountered from people in the pursuit of this project, in particular apprehension around the use of generative AI in the creation of images considered religious or sacred.

This panel, too, brought out a number of community members, many of whom were Catholic artists with grave concerns about AI and how it affects the meaning and practice of art. One major takeaway was from someone who shared this observation: There has to be an artist for something to be considered art. This then compels us to consider the determining question — in the case of art created by Generative AI, who is the true “artist”? This reflected the ultimate question we desired people to take away from the two-day event: who is the “true artist” of the created world that we inhabit?

You’re invited to view a recording of both discussions from the Communion and Liberation Twin Cities YouTube channel here:

Friday Sept. 20 2024 | AI and I: Educating the Human Person in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

Saturday Sept 21 2024 | Dialogue with Creators of AI Religious Art

Irene, West St. Paul, MN