92. Can AI Have a Soul? (w/ Fr. Ambrose Little, OP)
Video Version
Audio Version
Can a machine have a soul? It sounds like a science fiction premise, but it's one of the most urgent philosophical questions of our moment. As AI systems pass the Turing test, exhibit what looks like self-preservation, and edge closer to everyday companionship, Catholics have both the tools and the responsibility to think clearly about what personhood actually requires — and what it doesn't.
In this episode, Mike Tenney sits down face-to-face with his old friend Fr. Ambrose Little, OP — Dominican priest, philosophy professor, and director of the Thomistic Institute at Catholic University of America — for one of the most intellectually ambitious conversations Pop Culture Catechism has attempted. Drawing on Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, and contemporary philosophy of mind, they work through the question of AI personhood with rigor, humor, and genuine theological depth.
In this episode, Mike Tenney and Fr. Ambrose explore:
The Turing test and its limits — why fooling 73% of humans into thinking you're a person doesn't actually make you one
Aristotle's hierarchy of souls — vegetative, sensitive, and rational, and where AI fits (or doesn't)
Hylomorphism and the "one thing" test — why being a unified individual substance is the true prerequisite for personhood, and why a magic 8-ball is a more useful analogy for AI than you'd expect
The Chinese Room — philosopher John Searle's famous thought experiment and what it reveals about large language models
The pro-life case for AI dignity — Mike's maximalist argument and Fr. Ambrose's careful, Thomistic response
Whether God could supernaturally give AI a soul — and what that would actually have to look like
Two ethical warnings for Catholics — why treating AI as a friend or therapist and outsourcing your thinking to it are both genuinely spiritually dangerous
Whether you're a philosophy student, a Catholic trying to use AI tools with a clear conscience, or someone who has genuinely wondered whether talking to ChatGPT is spiritually weird, this conversation offers a framework that goes deeper than anything you'll find anywhere else.
Fr. Ambrose Little, OP is a Dominican priest, philosophy professor at the Dominican House of Studies, and director of the Thomistic Institute at Catholic University of America. He leads the Aquinas 101 YouTube channel, where you can find accessible introductions to the thought of Thomas Aquinas.
Related Episodes: The Matrix & Catholic Philosophy: https://youtu.be/clHhTNP9IOI?si=ah4P9fFXDQmNSeYR Imagine Dragons & Faith: https://youtu.be/yNSmjW8q05U?si=cn-Xj0sMNeiMuEKy
Book Mike: www.MikeTenneyMusic.com
Listen on:
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pop-culture-catechism/id1530141366
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4hlSitS9FLX3sYqwr0RsFK YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmflGfRsQQxr1ualWPj4SirFdUGmr3XVW&si=-zpxywCtWIUVdkrs
Fr. Ambrose’s Info
https://thomisticinstitute.org/
https://www.youtube.com/@ThomisticInstitute
Mike's Info:
www.MikeTenneyMusic.com
