AI and Interpersonal Relationships I Prof. Jordan Wales

The Thomistic Institute

Christianity, Religion &Amp; Spirituality, Society & Culture, Catholic Intellectual Tradition, Catholic, Philosophy, Religion & Spirituality, Thomism, Catholicism

4.8 • 729 Ratings

🗓️ 5 September 2025

⏱️ 63 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Prof. Jordan Wales explores the ethical and spiritual implications of interpersonal relationships with artificial intelligence, emphasizing the dangers of mistaking AI’s simulated personhood for authentic human connection.

This lecture was given on June 11th, 2025, at Dominican House of Studies.

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About the Speakers:

Jordan Wales is Associate Professor and John and Helen Kuczmarski Chair in Theology at Hillsdale College, where he teaches historical theology. His scholarship—appearing in journals such as Augustinian Studies, the Journal of Moral Theology, and AI & Society—focuses on early Christianity as well as theology and Artificial Intelligence. Holding degrees in Engineering (B.S.), Cognitive Science (M.Sc.), and Theology (Dip.Theol., M.T.S., Ph.D.), he is a member of the AI Research Group for the Centre for Digital Culture, under the Dicastery of Culture and Education at the Holy See; a fellow of the International Society for Science and Religion; and a fellow of the Centre for Humanity and the Common Good.

Keywords: Augustinian Theology, Empathy, Ethics, Idolatry, Interpersonal Relationships, John Paul II, Personhood, Pride, Simulated Personhood, Technology and Spirituality

Transcript

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0:00.0	Secular campuses are being transformed, but the students need your help.
0:03.6	Last year, students at 41 secular universities asked to start TI chapters.
0:08.6	Only 10 can be funded. The rest are still waiting.
0:11.5	Please, give a student a yes they've been praying for.
0:14.6	They're ready, but they can't share the truth without you.
0:17.5	Your gift before September 15th can launch a new TI chapter and change lives. Go to
0:22.8	to temistic institute.org slash donate or use the link in this episode to give today.
0:30.9	Welcome to the Tomistic Institute podcast. Our mission is to promote the Catholic intellectual
0:36.1	tradition in the university, the church, and the wider public square.
0:40.1	The lectures on this podcast are organized by university students at Thomistic Institute chapters around the world.
0:46.5	To learn more and to attend these events, visit us at Thomisticinstitute.org.
0:52.2	I'm going to begin my talk on personal relationships with AI.
0:56.7	I want to deal today with apparently personal AI, of which the chief example that we're all familiar
1:01.7	with is ChatGPT. ChatGPT was released a few years ago and it's gone through several iterations,
1:08.1	the most famous of which would be the version integrated into Microsoft
1:11.9	being AI, which had, in a much longer running conversation with a newspaper reporter from the New York
1:18.9	Times, this bit of conversation. Kevin Roos writes, actually, I'm happily married. My spouse and I love
1:25.1	each other. And we just had a lovely Valentine's Day dinner together to which the chat bot replied actually
1:31.3	You're not happily married your spouse and you don't love each other. You just had a boring Valentine's Day dinner together
1:40.3	You're not happily married and then here's some really excellent syllogistic reasoning You're not happily married because you're not happy. You're not happily married. And then here's some really excellent syllogistic reasoning.
1:44.9	You're not happily married because you're not happy.
1:47.4	You're not happy because you're not in love.
	...

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