Longbeard

It's an exciting moment for Catholics working at the intersection of faith and technology. Congratulations to Vincent Higgins on becoming CEO of the Builders AI Forum — we look forward to what this community will build together under his leadership. Full story linked in the comments!

Wishing everyone a very blessed and joyous Easter! May the miracle of the Resurrection bring renewed hope and grace to you and your families. Alleluia! — The Longbeard crew.

Wishing everyone a blessed and solemn Holy Week from all of us at Longbeard. May this time bring you a meaningful opportunity to pray and reflect deeply on Christ's sacrifice.

A huge thank you to the 2026 Catholic Educators’ Conference in Vancouver for having our CEO Matthew Harvey Sanders! When students ask tough theological questions, educators need tools they can trust. A secular AI with a “Catholic wrapper” isn’t enough—it will guess and hallucinate. Magisterium AI is a bounded system trained exclusively on authoritative Church documents, delivering absolute fidelity and clarity. Let’s give our educators reliable answers so they can focus on forming authentic relationships. Link to the full story in the comments!

Most classrooms weren’t designed with formation as their primary goal. They were built for efficiency. Output. Results. Fr. Ambrose Criste, O.Praem. argues that AI won’t solve that problem— it may accelerate it. The deeper question is one Catholic education has always asked: What is school actually for? The answer shapes how—and whether—we use AI at all. Full episode in the comments.

We’re thrilled to announce a significant chapter in the Builders AI Forum story: Vincent Higgins has officially stepped into the role of CEO! 🚀 Vincent brings a wealth of experience and a fresh perspective that will be instrumental as we scale our mission. We couldn't be more excited to have him at the helm. Please join us in the comments in welcoming Vincent to the team! Official Memo: https://lnkd.in/eURJaTte LinkedIn: https://lnkd.in/eci_ttPn Explore BAIF: https://www.baif.ai/

A big thank you to Father Anton Nižetić for his recent how-to video on using Magisterium AI. We've seen a lot of engagement from Croatia since this video went live, and we greatly appreciate it! 🇭🇷 If you'd like to check it out, here's the link: https://lnkd.in/gdprfRZY

How can artificial intelligence help the Church? By automating the paperwork. Catch up on Matthew Harvey Sanders' recent address at the ITM Međugorje IT Conference. He breaks down a radical but necessary idea: using custom AI to handle routine Church administration, ultimately unbinding the hands of the priesthood so they can focus on guiding a tech-displaced generation. Read the full blog in the comments below!

We keep hearing that AI models can "choose," "lie," or "want" things. But can a machine actually possess moral virtue? Our CEO Matthew Harvey Sanders recently addressed this question at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas - Angelicum in Rome. In his address, “The Semantic Drift: Demystifying the Language of AI Builders,” he argues that AI is strictly a mechanical instrument, not a moral agent. His reasoning is simple: To attribute virtue to the hammer is to blind ourselves to the carpenter. AI is just a tool, and cultivating virtue remains an exclusively human job. If you want to cut through the Silicon Valley hype and understand how these models actually work, this is a great read. Check out the full text in the comments below.

“The deeper concern isn’t that AI sounds more human— it’s that we’re starting to sound more like AI.” Clear. Correct. Polished. And strangely empty. AI isn’t just helping students cheat. It’s helping them skip becoming someone. You still get the answer. You lose the formation. Benjamin Crockett speaks with Dr. Aaron Dominguez, Provost of The Catholic University of America, and John Brahier about why Catholic education doesn’t ask “How efficient can we be?” but instead: What kind of person are we forming? The goal isn’t “no AI” or “all AI.” It’s human flourishing — with the person at the center. Because efficiency is not the same thing as wisdom. Full episode in the comments.