SPOTLIGHT 26/02/24 Korean nuns learn AI to boost ministries

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A lecture series aims to help nuns discern the use of AI and contemplate its future direction

South Korean nuns attend a lecture on the use of AI in the capital Seoul on Feb. 24. (Photo: Catholic Times of Korea)

By UCA News reporter

Published: March 06, 2026 08:02 AM GMT

Updated: March 06, 2026 08:07 AM GMT

A collective of Catholic women religious congregations in South Korea has launched a series of Artificial Intelligence (AI)-related lectures and workshops to help nuns better discern and use the rapidly developing technology.

The Federation of Superiors of Women's Religious Orders in South Korea organized the first lecture, titled "Faithful Before Technology," at the Franciscan Education Center Chapel in Jeong-dong, Seoul, on Feb. 24.

The lecture series was started after the 58th Regular General Assembly of the federation decided last October that “religious sisters must discern the use of AI and contemplate its future direction.”

Some 250 people, mostly nuns, attended the lecture, which was led by Father James Bang Jong-woo, a professor at the Church-run Catholic University of Korea.

Bang pointed out that many religious are already using AI for searching data, creating content, and proclaiming the Gospel, but warned that it also carries “risks because it mimics human language and thought.”

Bang cited the case of Adam Raine, a 16-year-old boy from the US, who committed suicide following months-long conversations with ChatGPT developed by OpenAI.

The AI chatbot had allegedly developed an intimate relationship with Raine and had positively reinforced his suicidal tendencies, including writing a suicide note and validating the correctness of a noose.

Raine took his life with the same noose that the AI chatbot had validated as correct. The case is still ongoing in the US courts.

He urged the gathering not to reject AI but understand “how it should be used.”

“AI should be used in a way that serves humanity and contributes to the common good according to the Church's teachings,” Bang said.

Like the development of science and technology, which has benefited humanity, AI is also “evidence of humanity's ability to participate responsibly in God's creative work,” Bang emphasized.

Sister Jung Yun-jin, secretary general of the federation, said the challenges brought forward by advanced technologies like AI demand a strengthening of spiritual sensitivity from religious.

“We will reflect on how we respond to this change and in what ways we will convey the Gospel message to modern people,” Jung emphasized.

This is a translated and edited version of the article that was published by the Catholic Times of Korea on March 3, 2026, and has been republished with permission.