AI_ENGLISH :: Social Communication

Expand document

Collapse document

AI_ENGLISH

1 Page 1

2 Page 2

3 Page 3

4 Page 4

5 Page 5

6 Page 6

7 Page 7

8 Page 8

9 Page 9

10 Page 10

AI_ENGLISH

1 Page 1

▲back to top

A Salesian

look at

Artificial

Intelligence

SOCIAL COMMUNICATION SECTOR

2 Page 2

▲back to top

A SALESIAN LOOK AT ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

PRESENTATION

At the beginning of 2024, the Salesian Congregation’s Social Communication Sector estab-

lished an International Commission on Artificial Intelligence (ISCAI) with the aim of col-

laborating in educational reflection and Salesian guidance for the use of Artificial

Intelligence, in particular in the area of education and communication.

This Commission is made up of Artificial Intelligence experts linked to the fields of computer

science, robotics, engineering, neuroscience, education, philosophy, mechatronics and Sales-

ianity. All members of this Commission are familiar with Salesian pedagogy and work in

our universities, schools and communication areas. During the year we held several meetings

and shared reflections and studies on AI.

After this path of reflection and sharing, the Commission has prepared this first item that

you are receiving, which we have entitled “A Salesian look at Artificial Intelligence”.

It is important to emphasise that AI is growing enormously in many segments of society (in

the economy, education, health, safety, communication sectors, etc.). Many studies have been

conducted on the use of AI in various areas of human life. The Church itself, through the

teaching of Pope Francis, has spoken of the importance and challenges of AI in today’s

world and in the future of humanity.

With the aim of awakening Salesians and lay people from Salesian works and activities to a

knowledge of AI and its dialogue with Salesian pedagogy, we invite you to read this text and

send suggestions to our Team to continue deepening and improving the knowledge and prac-

tice of AI in Salesian education.

We thank each member of the Committee on Artificial Intelligence:

Ernest Rosario (Chennai, India), Ricardo Campoli (Rome, Italy), Michal Vojtas (Rome, Italy),

Paulo Soares (Sao Paulo, Brazil), Charo Fernandez (Madrid, Spain), Cristina del Aguila

(Barcelona, Spain), Fr Arockia Selva Kumar (Trichy, India), Fr Paul Dunga (Philippines),

Brendan Chua (California, USA), Hemerson Pistori (Campo Grande, Brazil), Felix Olamide

(Nigeria), John Paul Swamionathan (Paris, France), Esteban Inga Ortega (Ecuador).

Enjoy your reading! If you have suggestions and new ideas to enrich this text, please send

an email to comunicazionesociale@sdb.org

Fr. Gildasio Mendes dos Santos – SDB

GENERAL COUNCILLOR FOR SOCIAL COMMUNICATION

3 Page 3

▲back to top

A SALESIAN LOOK AT ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

1. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, SOME PRELIMINARY NOTES

Artificial Intelligence is the ability a computer has to perform tasks commonly associated

with intelligent beings. The latest generations of AI are like “super imitators” able to identify

shapes, patterns and models in spoken and written language, in images, videos or other data.

Subsequently, generative AI is able to reproduce and combine these shapes and models in

new contexts. AI research has mainly focused on the following components of intelligence:

learning, reasoning, problem solving, perception, and language use.

The idea of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), which aims to reproduce human intellec-

tual abilities, still remains a controversial hypothesis and beyond the reach of technical skills.

It should be remembered that for the further development of AI, there is still the great chal-

lenge of significantly and qualitatively enhancing the current results of AI. Until now, recent

developments in generative AI are just a combination of machine learning, natural language

processing, and predictive algorithms based on neural network architecture.

In short, we could say that AI is an artificial imitation of some aspects of human intelligence

and, of course, it is not an intelligence in itself, nor does it have a consciousness or self-con-

sciousness similar to that of humans.

2. HOW DO WE UNDERSTAND AI FROM A SALESIAN PERSPECTIVE?

The integration of AI in educational environments presents both significant opportunities and

considerable risks, especially within institutions inspired by the Salesian charism. Educators

who find inspiration in the principles of loving-kindness, reason, religion, caring, family com-

munity, inclusiveness and joy, emphasise integral education and care for the moral and spiri-

tual development of young people. Considering these educational principles, the question

arises: how can AI be implemented in Salesian educational contexts to take advantage of its

benefits and mitigate its risks?

Artificial Intelligence can be useful for education focused on the human person. Given this,

AI should be used to improve education and learning, not to replace educators. It is critical

to ensure that technology supports personal interactions, rather than reduces them. In Sales-

ian education, activities and curricular processes that promote community, empathy and per-

sonal growth should take precedence over the processes of implementation of technological

tools. Policies regulating the use of AI in different contexts should be encouraged, focusing

4 Page 4

▲back to top

A SALESIAN LOOK AT ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

on transparency, accountability and respect for human dignity.

There are some crucial risks to be noted from a Salesian educational perspective: excessive re-

liance on AI could reduce face-to-face interactions, weakening the relational and community

aspect which is crucial for Salesian pedagogy; AI could lead to a loss of emotional connection

in education, because robots cannot replicate human empathy and understanding. These re-

lational qualities, which characterise human relationships, are vital for nourishing Salesian

joy and optimism. In addition, AI’s focus on efficiency and performance could overshadow

the importance of moral and spiritual education.

To face the present and the future of communication and promote an educational approach

which is focused on the person, at the global level of Salesian research institutions and IUS

it is essential to develop an interdisciplinary dialogue from a Salesian perspective between

digital and Christian anthropology; an epistemology that involves philosophy, anthropology,

ethics, psychology and studies on the digital world and Artificial Intelligence. A new figure

of the philosopher-information technology-educator could emerge.

At the province and local levels, the formation of educators remains a key point for education

in the digital age. It is essential to develop and deepen the guidelines for a healthy relationship

between people and technology with all our people involved in education, be it in the class-

room or other areas, with particular attention to caring for creation, dignity, rights, and the

ethics of economics and politics. The goal is to safeguard our Common Home through fra-

ternity, following the proposal of Pope Francis starting from his Encyclical Laudato Si’ and

the Global Educational Pact.

In concrete terms, Salesian institutions should offer educators formation on the effective, eth-

ical and Salesian use of AI, including the development of critical thinking about AI, preju-

dices in its regard and the limitations of technology in general. Teaching students about the

role of AI in their education should be included in the curriculum, promoting digital literacy

and critical thinking about AI-generated technology and content. Salesian institutions should

opt for AI solutions and platforms that share or at least respect Salesian values and can be

adapted to the educational approach and ethical framework of the institution itself.

5 Page 5

▲back to top

A SALESIAN LOOK AT ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

3. WHAT ARE THE MAIN ADVANTAGES AND CHALLENGES IN EDUCATION?

ADVANTAGES AND POTENTIAL OF AI:

• Personalisation

Artificial Intelligence proves to be a powerful tool to help the educator provide per-

sonalised accompaniment. This means that each student can receive assistance

tailored to his or her needs and learning pace, resulting in a more effective and en-

gaging comprehension experience.

• Effectiveness of automation in administrative tasks

Artificial Intelligence can reduce the administrative burden on teachers, allowing

them to focus on accompanying young people and to gain first-hand knowledge of

the status of each student’s progress. Other tasks such as lesson planning, labs and

workshops, homework, assessment, and data management, among others, can be

automated.

• Importance of reflective and procedural skills

With the use of AI, computer programming or the creation of new applications will

become more accessible to non-engineering experts, since AI is able to process pro-

grams with natural language instructions. The importance of non-technological skills

such as creativity, reasoning, reflection, analysis, planning, evaluation, will increase.

Critical reflection and procedural skills will be strategic in the future.

• Integration of digital tools in learning

Artificial Intelligence is used to improve the teaching skills of teachers, facilitating

tasks such as the generation of content and lesson plans. Augmented Reality (AR)

and Virtual Reality (VR) viewers can be used to offer immersive experiences useful

for students’ learning process. It is possible to virtually explore biological models,

historical places and events, view astronomical models. These tools must always be

framed in a pedagogical context in which human interaction and critical reflection

are fundamental.

6 Page 6

▲back to top

A SALESIAN LOOK AT ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

CHALLENGES AND RISKS:

• Intrinsic limitations of AI technology

"Hallucination" in the current Large Language Models (LLM) technology is not a

minor defect that can be easily corrected, but is rather something intrinsic to the

functioning of these neural networks, which produce texts and images by approxi-

mation, without actually “understanding” the text. The same misunderstanding is

visible in anatomical or architectural errors in the production of Gen AI images and

videos.

• Digital gap

Not all students have access to AI technology, as it is usually associated with addi-

tional value which must be paid for; this can create inequality issues.

• Excessive use of AI

Students may use the AI tool indiscriminately for problem solving and learning,

without being able to develop their personal skills, relying excessively on technology

in daily life and important decisions.

• Lack of proper formation of educators

The lack of training and formation could lead teachers and other educators to mini-

mise the impact of AI technologies with prohibitions and restrictive or repressive

strategies, thus creating a gap between the world of adults and young people.

• Reductive ethical views on AI

Attention to efficiency and performance metrics could overshadow the importance

of moral and spiritual education. Ethical debate is crucial in the use of AI, but the

strong attention to transparency and respect for the privacy and dignity of users could

cloud other ethical questions and issues such as human manipulation through AI, the

growing dependence of human beings on technology, plagiarism, cultural colonisa-

tion, ethical decision-making induced by robots, the risk of a decrease in human-

human interactions, the production of isolation and hikikomori-type loneliness, etc.

7 Page 7

▲back to top

A SALESIAN LOOK AT ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

4. QUESTIONS FOR SALESIANS AND LAY EDUCATORS

a. How can Artificial Intelligence be integrated into the educational practice of the Prov-

ince to enrich and enhance the human and relational element of Salesian pedagogy?

b. What specific formation programmes can be developed to prepare Salesian educators

for the effective, ethical and critical use of AI, ensuring that they understand both

the potential and the limitations of this technology?

c. What are the main risks and opportunities associated with the official or unofficial

use of AI in the educational and communication activities of the Salesian Provinces,

and how can they be managed to promote the Salesian charism?

d. What tools and methods can be employed to monitor and evaluate the impact of

the use of AI in Salesian Provinces, both in terms of educational outcomes and ad-

herence to ethical values?

e. It will be useful to read and share the Address with educators that the Holy Father

Pope Francis delivered on the occasion of the G7 on Artificial Intelligence held in

Borgo Egnazia (Apulia) on 14 June 2024, and then explore and share the main

points, in line with education and ethics: https://www.vatican.va/content/fran-

cesco/en/speeches/2024/june/documents/20240614-g7-intelligenza-artificiale.pdf

5. SPECIFIC PROPOSALS

METHODOLOGIES

• Gen AI for the generation of personalised content (text, audio, images, videos),

personalised feedback, automation of administrative tasks.

• VR and AR technologies are used to provide enhanced sensory experiences in

teaching and learning.

• Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) systems used to reduce the risk of “hal-

lucinations” and provide answers based on scientific and citable sources.

8 Page 8

▲back to top

A SALESIAN LOOK AT ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

PILOT PROJECTS

• Pontifical Salesian University, Rome – “Salesian AI” is an ecosystem of personalised

and interconnected GPT applications that focuses on the Salesian charism in its dif-

ferent aspects. It includes a RAG system that consults the fundamental Salesian

Sources for response and assistance criteria. “Salesian AI” provides and cites an ex-

tensive database of thousands of Salesian resources in different areas of interest: the

life of Don Bosco and other personalities, the history of the Salesians of Don Bosco

and the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians and the growth of the Salesian

Family, the Salesian educational system and pedagogy in its developments over the

centuries, Salesian spirituality inspired by Saint Francis de Sales and Saint John

Bosco, contemporary Salesian youth ministry, Salesian educative and pastoral plan-

ning in different cultural and linguistic contexts, etc.

• Salesian Polytechnic University, Ecuador – The “AI-EduResearch: Platform to sup-

port Research and Learning powered by Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Models”

project proposes an innovative way to integrate AI into education from a Salesian

perspective. This approach sees AI not only as a technological tool, but also as a

means to strengthen human development and promote values such as respect and

solidarity. The platform is designed to personalise learning and support educational

research, aligning with the principles of accompaniment in the formation process.

• Edebé publishing house: “Educational Artificial Intelligence”. The Edebé team focuses

on the concept of Educational Artificial Intelligence (EAI), a powerful tool in which

the “educational” objective prevails over the “artificial” one. The EAI platform per-

sonalises learning, optimises teaching time by allowing teachers to spend more time

with their students, promotes ethics and security by guaranteeing privacy, connects

with emotions by motivating meaningful learning.

• Pontifical Salesian University, Rome – “Vulgate - AI-powered library platform” has

been developed and customised for the needs of Salesian studies. The Library uses

several AI technologies such as Gen AI, Computer Vision and Natural Language

Processing, to provide the Salesian Library with the following features: neural sem-

antic search, multilingual search, search for keywords within books, AI text sum-

maries, machine translation, personal library with editing options.

9 Page 9

▲back to top

A SALESIAN LOOK AT ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

TRIALS:

• Salesian Polytechnic University, Ecuador – “Generative Artificial Intelligence in Soft-

ware Development Education”: It is proposed to conduct experiments with computer

science students from various universities, in order to explore the use of generative

Artificial Intelligence in education, in particular in software development, and its im-

pact on teaching, learning and evaluation processes from a constructivist perspec-

tive.

• Salesian Polytechnic University, Ecuador – “Integration of digital tools and AI in stu-

dent formation”: In this project AI is not used to replace the teacher, but to improve

teaching skills. The project emphasises the fact that AI can facilitate tasks such as

the generation of content and schemes. In addition, emerging technologies such as

augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) glasses have been introduced, which

allow students to live immersive experiences, such as exploring biological models,

or travelling to historical places in a virtual way.

VAROUS OPERATIONAL PROPOSALS

“Salesian Award for AI in Human-Centred Education”: The Award aims to recog-

nise and promote innovative practices by educators who incorporate AI into teach-

ing, research and pastoral care in order to enhance distinctly human characteristics

such as creativity, critical thinking, social interaction and spirituality. This initiative

aims to clarify the role of AI as a powerful imitator of human intelligence and to

emphasise that its development offers a unique opportunity for Salesian educators

to focus on the promotion of intrinsically human qualities.

“Artificial Intelligence training course”: Build a multilingual model for a basic Artificial

Intelligence course that can be adapted and replicated in different Salesian institutions.

“Financing AI research and development”: Establish a global invitation to select and fi-

nance teaching, research, technological development and dissemination projects by

emerging and established Salesian groups working in the field of AI applied to edu-

cation. Funding for the invitation may come from business partners interested in

advancing this sector, including large technology companies.

10 Page 10

▲back to top

A SALESIAN LOOK AT ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

"Tool for evaluating the use of AI”: Develop a tool to monitor the evolution of the de-

velopment and use of AI in Salesian institutions, with clear, diverse and complete

metrics that allow quantitative statistical analysis and qualitative analysis to help

decision-making at the global or regional level.