SEVILLE. – This morning, Thursday 3rd September, nearly 350 teaching staff from the faculties of the Claret schools in Don Benito, Las Palmas, and Seville gathered for a joint online training session organised by the Provincial Leadership Team (Equipo de Titularidad – ET). Under the theme “Educating in AI without ceasing to be human”, this session provided a framework for reflection on how to responsibly address the ethical, methodological, and anthropological challenges of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the classroom.
Boundaries, ethics, and the human purpose of technology
The keynote address was delivered by Jesús Manuel Gallardo Nieto, who focused his speech on Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical, “Magnificent Humanity”. Gallardo challenged educators on the need to safeguard pupils’ critical thinking and avoid “cognitive sedentary behavior” in the face of the fascination with new technologies.
During the session, through interaction with the participants, several key warnings and ethical criteria regarding the use of AI in education were outlined:
- AI does not “know”, it predicts: Similarly, it does not “lie”, since lying requires consciously knowing the truth—a strictly human quality.
- The trap of immediate results: A warning was raised against the comfort of easy achievement at the expense of true learning. The speaker recalled that, as stated in paragraph 100 of the encyclical—citing a famous idea from Plato—the deepest concepts require effort, time, and dialogue with others to “rub” experiences together like flint until the spark of true understanding is ignited.
- It is neither neutral nor free: AI always reflects the biases and ideologies of its programmers and, furthermore, carries a significant environmental cost due to its high energy consumption.
Drawing a historical parallel, it was recalled how Saint Anthony Mary Claret boldly utilised the best tools of his time (the printing press, the Religious Bookstore, etc.) to evangelise, urging teachers to use technology ethically, conditionally, and always in service of an educational and human purpose.
The Provincial Leadership Team: Roadmap and provincial challenges
The training session, which began with a prayer led by Antonio Venceslá, was attended by the Provincial Leadership Team. Following the introduction of the speaker by Luis Alfonso García Inurria, the Executive Headteacher greeted the three faculties on behalf of the team, welcoming new staff members and expressing gratitude for the careers of retired teachers.
In the second half of the morning, the Provincial Leadership Team outlined the institutional roadmap for the 2026/2027 academic year. The importance of consolidating the school network through leadership support and implementing tailored transformations for each school was highlighted. Furthermore, two strategic pillars were presented:
- Pastoral: Antonio Venceslá presented the guidelines for the Educational Pastoral Plan and the motto for this academic year, “Everything begins with a heartbeat: Know”.
- Pedagogy: Luis Alfonso García detailed the key elements of the Provincial Pedagogical-Pastoral Strategic Plan 2026-2029.
The day concluded with a message of gratitude and blessings from the Executive Leadership, encouraging the entire educational community to continue building the “Schools of Care” together.
