Most of us never stopped to ask what our education system was actually designed to do.

Rows of desks. Bells. Standardized outputs.

In this episode of Catholic Futurist, Benjamin Crockett speaks with Fr. Ambrose Criste, O.Praem., about the origins of modern schooling—and why many of its structures reflect efficiency and production more than human formation.

As artificial intelligence enters the classroom, that question becomes unavoidable:

Is education about forming a person—or producing a result?

Drawing on the Catholic intellectual tradition, Fr. Ambrose offers a different vision—one that places the formation of the human person at the center, and evaluates every tool, including AI, in light of that purpose.

Together, they explore:

– how industrial models shaped modern education
– why AI may accelerate existing problems rather than solve them
– what makes human teachers irreplaceable
– and how a renewed vision of education could change how we use technology in the classroom

Timestamps:
0:00 Intro -The True Purpose of Education
1:03 Meet Father Ambrose
1:34 How the Church is Actually Using AI
4:08 The Problem with "Factory" Schools
8:18 Why AI Will Never Have True Intelligence
9:32 The Hidden Dangers of Tech Algorithms
13:17 Why AI Can't Replace Human Teachers
15:36 Using AI as a Teaching Tool
17:23 Finding Hope in Screen-Free Schools