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Fr. Innocent Smith, O.P., serves as an Assistant Professor of Theology at the University of Notre Dame. He studied music and philosophy at Notre Dame before being ordained a Dominican priest in 2015.

We often describe AI as becoming “smarter.” Is intelligence alone enough to make something wise, or does wisdom require something fundamentally human?

Thomas Aquinas helps us understand intelligence in “Summa Contra Gentiles,” where he describes different degrees of intelligence and how some people recognize subtleties that others do not. … AI does not understand in the same way a human does, but instead makes connections between different ideas through probabilities rather than human intelligence. Pope Leo captures the distinction between intelligence and wisdom when he writes, “It’s imperative to cultivate hearts that love the truth, prefer what is right … and pursue wisdom rather than immediate results.” While intelligence can allow someone to move between ideas more quickly, wisdom develops through experience and comparison over time. Wisdom, therefore, requires a broader cultivation than pure intelligence alone.

Could learning to work alongside AI actually make students better thinkers, or does AI risk weakening the habits that education is supposed to cultivate?

I think AI is similar to any other technology because every technology has advantages as well as deficits, and every era of technological development has faced similar challenges. … Yet over time, and with a great deal of reflection and regulation, these technologies could often be integrated into a healthier balance between humans and machines. I think there is a similar possibility with AI, where we can find ways to use it that assist human intelligence and development. However, we have to consider the amount of time this process will take … . It will take time for the human race to develop a sense of what constitutes good and bad uses of AI, but individuals may also encounter moments in their lives when particular tools are not safe or beneficial for them. Most of humanity has accepted that the automobile is a fairly good thing despite the problems it has created for the environment and human societies, yet we do not allow two- or three-year-olds to drive cars because the technology is not appropriate for them at that stage of life. In the same way, even if society develops mature and responsible ways of using AI to help us learn and understand more deeply, we may still need to make distinctions about when and how it is appropriate for individuals to use it.

What would it mean for humanity if we became better at creating intelligence than understanding our own?

Understanding our own intelligence and our own insights can take a lifetime, which is why the ancient Greeks often spoke of “know yourself” as an invitation to wisdom. … The more we know ourselves and confront our own weaknesses, the more capable we become of speaking on behalf of others with generosity. This means that wisdom is not simply about pure intelligence, but about the experience and self-knowledge that allow us to reason with an awareness of both reason and love. … Intelligence alone is not enough to be fully human. While artificial intelligence might help us know certain things, it can never replace our need to know and love God above all things and our neighbor as ourselves.