The Synod of Bishops and the Digital Mission: A Reflection by Marcelle Momha
As the Synod of Bishops approaches in October 2024, one of the pressing issues listed in the Instrumentum Laboris is the need to evangelize digital spaces intentionally as a dimension of the Church’s mission. Marcelle Momha, a young Cameroonian woman living in the United States, is a technology policy and research analyst specializing in Artificial Intelligence, Emerging Technologies, and Cyber Security. She firmly believes that the digital sphere is a crucial dimension of the Church’s witness in contemporary culture.
For Marcelle, understanding digital culture as part of evangelization and engaging the younger generations of the Church in carrying out this mission is crucial. While she recognizes the immense advantages and benefits of technology, she also acknowledges the ethical implications that remain a subject of intense debate.
Through her research and work, Marcelle emphasizes the significance of Artificial Intelligence Literacy in the perspective of the Synodal Church, highlighting its role in fostering communion, participation, and mission. She is actively involved in a community dedicated to harnessing the transformative power of AI for the benefit of humanity while minimizing its potential negative impact.
One of the key aspects of Marcelle’s work is the development of a Responsible AI Toolkit, which focuses on incorporating transparency, equity, accountability, privacy, sustainability, safety, and security into AI projects and operations. She sees this effort as integral to embedding values in technology and aligning with the Synod’s call to engage with the digital space as an essential part of the Church’s mission.
Embracing Inclusion and Addressing Inequalities
Marcelle also reflects on the need for the Church to be involved in making the online world a safe space, highlighting the dangers of intimidation, misinformation, exclusion, and exploitation. She underscores the importance of ensuring that AI and other technologies are inclusive and reflect the diversity of people, cultures, and opinions worldwide.
Addressing inequalities, Marcelle points out the digital divide as a new face of inequality, with AI potentially exacerbating this trend. She emphasizes the need for impoverished nations and marginalized communities to have access to resources and education in AI to prevent exploitation and discrimination.
As discussions around AI’s threats to global peace and human development continue, Marcelle advocates for a dual approach that combines top-down governance strategies with bottom-up education and literacy efforts. She believes that by ensuring responsible AI usage and promoting AI literacy, we can mitigate potential negative impacts and harness the positive aspects of technological advancements.
Fostering AI Literacy for Spiritual Growth
Marcelle envisions AI literacy as a way to empower individuals to make informed decisions about technology and enhance public discourse. She believes that initiatives addressing algorithmic bias and discrimination through education are essential to promoting responsible citizenship and narrowing digital divides.
In conclusion, Marcelle emphasizes the need for comprehensive programs and training that align with the technological revolution, enabling individuals to embrace new advancements responsibly. She echoes Pope Francis’s call for technology to be “rich in humanity” and sees the digital sphere as a space where faith can be witnessed and shared collaboratively as a Synodal Church.
