Catholic Media Association releases new AI guidelines to keep 'human dignity' central

(OSV News) -- As the use of artificial intelligence accelerates, the Catholic Media Association is calling for its members to adopt a holistic, moral approach -- one rooted in Catholic teaching -- regarding AI.

"One of the values at the heart of Catholic media is a concern for human dignity, and so Catholic journalists should be at the forefront of thinking about how we integrate AI technology, which has the potential to undermine that dignity, whether through replacing human work or feeding false narratives," Kerry Weber, president of the CMA, told OSV News in an Oct. 27 email.

OSV News is a member of the CMA, with the outlet's editor in chief, Gretchen Crowe, recently completing a term as the association's president. Crowe remains on the CMA Board of Directors. Founded in 1911 as the Catholic Press Association, the CMA serves Catholic communications professionals and platforms throughout the U.S. and Canada.

Weber noted that Pope Leo XIV "has expressed concern about the potential for AI to take away meaningful jobs from humans," adding that "Catholic media is not exempt from this threat."

She said that the CMA's AI committee "has worked really hard to collect concerns from our members, to offer some cautions, but also to be encouraging in its recommendations, which are now published in a new section of the CMA Fair Publishing Practices Code."

That effort comes as more media outlets clarify their protocols for the use of AI.

The New York Times, for example, states that it does not use AI to write articles or to manipulate photos or videos, but does rely on the technology to analyze data; to assist with writing headlines, summaries and translations; and to recommend articles to online readers.

The Washington Post, which has similar policies, also features an "Ask the Post AI" chatbot, which responds to queries drawing on the outlet's content. The feature contains the caveat that "AI can make mistakes," and directs users to "verify information by referencing provided sources for each answer."

The CMA's AI guidelines acknowledge that AI stands to "increase efficiencies" in news gathering, translations, transcriptions, data analysis and audience engagement.

But, Weber stressed, "the core of our use must be based in transparency and critical thinking.

"Publications should let readers or viewers know how they will and won't use AI, and as journalists we should not trust that everything AI produces is infallible," she said.

The CMA's guidelines note the presence of AI in the media environment raises concerns regarding possible misinformation, privacy in data collection, the rights of minors and vulnerable adults, and threats to intellectual property rights and copyright.

And, the CMA notes, the automation made possible by AI could lead "to significant cuts in newsroom and media jobs," while at the same time standing to introduce "content-generation biases" that can be "driven at times by economic and not humanistic motivations."

"AI can limit contextualization of the data and lacks human intuition, judgment, empathy and ethical responsibility as well as journalistic commitments to accuracy and fulsome reporting," said the CMA in its guidelines.

The organization pointed to "Antiqua et Nova" ("Old and New"), the Vatican's January 2025 doctrinal note on the relationship between AI and human intelligence.

Drawing on Catholic social teaching -- which articulates the mission of building a just society and living out holiness in modern society -- the note stated that ethical AI practices should be grounded in human dignity, the common good, solidarity and interdependence, and the church's preferential option for the poor.

"Most importantly, moral agency must be considered as primary, with responsibility and accountability for AI's design, deployment and usage at every stage resting solely with humans and not automated systems," said the CMA in its AI guidelines.

Along with publishing its general AI usage guidelines, the CMA specifically called for Catholic communicators to "clearly disclose when AI is used in generating editorial or creative content," whether in text or multimedia format, with "humans, not computer algorithms," supervising and fact-checking before release of such content to the public.

The organization also stressed the need for Catholic communicators to systematically review AI content, and to "remain aware of the danger of inherent bias, stereotyping or data manipulation" in Large Language Models (LLMs), advanced AI systems that generate human language through exposure to vast amounts of existing data.

AI-generated content that infringes on copyright or plagiarizes original work should be shunned, as should distribution of "any AI-generated image or audio suspected or proven to be false or misleading depictions of reality," with vetting undertaken through "robust chains of custody," said the CMA.

The CMA cautioned Catholic communicators to "protect the sensitive or identifying information or data about users -- especially minors and vulnerable adults -- when entering data into any public generative AI tools."

Data centers that power AI require significant amounts of fossil fuels for energy and water for cooling -- so "organizations may want to consider using energy-efficient hardware, and seeking carbon-efficient data centers, when possible," said the CMA.

"Approaching the usage of AI thoughtfully and deliberately is a good thing," said Weber. "Thinking carefully about how we integrate its usage and where it can help or hurt us -- in terms of both our work and our humanity -- is going to be crucial as we move forward."

And, she added, "It does not mean we are scared or even dislike AI technology, but rather that we can hopefully be in control of how it becomes a part of our lives."