World Radio Day: “AI is a tool, not a voice”

To mark World Radio Day, Vatican Radio presents a special podcast reflecting on this year’s theme: “AI is a tool, not a voice.”

The programme is inspired by Pope Leo XIV’s Message for the 60th World Day of Social Communications, in which he calls on communicators to preserve “human faces and voices” and urges them never to renounce their ability to think. While acknowledging the benefits of artificial intelligence, the Pope stresses that it must remain a tool at the service of the human person and never undermine human dignity.

The podcast brings together voices from three continents to explore how radio continues to serve communities in very different contexts, and how the rapid development of AI is reshaping the communications landscape.

Fr Felmar Fiel, General Manager of Radio Veritas Asia, reflects on the historic role radio played during the 1986 People Power Revolution in the Philippines and shares his perspective on the opportunities and limitations of AI in Catholic broadcasting.

From South Sudan, Chuol Jany, Chief Editor of the Catholic Radio Network, speaks about radio as a lifeline for rural communities and highlights the importance of critical thinking and media literacy in contexts where misinformation can have serious consequences.

Dominican Fr Toby Lees, Director of Radio Maria England, offers a European perspective on radio’s continued relevance in a digital environment and on the responsibility of Catholic communicators to ensure that technology serves truth and authentic human encounter.

Pope Leo XIV’s words frame the discussion, including his reminder that artificial intelligence possesses a “static memory,” while human memory is creative, dynamic and oriented toward meaning.

As Vatican Radio celebrates 95 years of broadcasting, the special highlights radio’s enduring mission: to give voice to the Gospel through real human presence.

Vatican Radio
Source: vaticannews.va/en