Chaminade University of Honolulu

Marianist

AI Cannot Replace Human Values, Panelists Advise at the 2026 Marianist Lecture

Humanity can cope with the rise of artificial intelligence technology, as it has with other technological revolutions, without losing what makes us human. But we must first fully understand what AI is and how it should be used.

That was the greatest takeaway from this semester’s Marianist Lecture, held this past Sunday at Chaminade University and featuring two experts on AI and the Catholic Church’s position on this technology. The 2026 Marianist Lecture was titled “Timely Technology, Timeless Questions: AI and the Human Person.”

Kyle Ballarta is a venture capitalist and entrepreneur who has written extensively on the intersection of faith and technology. Louis Kim is an executive, technology advisor, and theologian with the Duke Divinity School. Both were this year’s guest lecturers, drawing hundreds to the Mystical Rose Oratory for a Sunday afternoon discussion on AI and human dignity.

Ballarta and Kim had earlier spoken to students and faculty last Friday to discuss AI as part of the University’s Wellness Week enrichment event. Sunday’s Marianist Lecture involved more formal presentations followed by a brief question-and-answer session with audience members.

Back in May, His Holiness Pope Leo XIV released his landmark encyclical letter, Magnifica Humanitas. In it, Pope Leo discusses AI technology at length, rejecting arguments that it represents some new form of consciousness similar to human self-awareness while accepting that AI is a powerful tool that must be managed responsibly.

“We cannot consider AI to be morally neutral,” the Pope’s encyclical states.

Ballarta imparted the same words of wisdom during his Marianist Lecture presentation. “We choose values, and those values choose technologies,” he said.

In other words, how this technology is used depends on the values of the people both building it and applying AI. Ballarta reminded the audience that new technologies have always drawn concern throughout human history–from Gutenberg’s printing press to the telephone–yet humanity has always found a way through these changes, incorporating new groundbreaking technologies into everyday life without losing ourselves.

“This has always been about how machines impact humanity,” Ballarta said.

Kim echoed Ballarta’s reflections, acknowledging the anxiety many are feeling about AI, particularly over its potential impact on jobs and human connections.

“What is precious about being human?” he asked the audience. “When AI gets so powerful, what are we going to hold on to?”

AI technologies, in particular the most popular large language models (LLMs) or chatbots, are based on computer processing architectures that empower computers to recognize and replicate common patterns and relationships between data points. Whereas computers could once only process text word-by-word, modern LLMs can read entire paragraphs and even books and recognize how the words and phrases contained within them relate to one another, enabling these machines to generate their own human-like responses to queries.

As impressive as this technology is, we should not mistake this processing power for actual human thought or consciousness, Ballarta cautioned during his talk, echoing one of the main points delivered in Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical. “We are more than numbers and data,” he said.

Meanwhile, Kim offered words of encouragement to people feeling overwhelmed by the rapid progression of AI technology and its intrusion into our daily lives. He argued that faith very much still has a seat at the table for this broader discussion, and that the Catholic Church in particular has a role to play.

The Church “has the power of cultural change,” Kim reminded everyone.

Ballarta agreed. Catholicism “can be a serious instrument in addressing these questions,” he said.

A powerful tool to be managed

On Sunday, Father Michael Thomas Tupou Castori, the sixth and presiding Bishop of the Diocese of Honolulu, returned to the Chaminade campus to hear Ballarta and Kim discuss AI and the Church’s position on its rise.

Questions from the audience reflected both general confusion over what AI technology is and genuine concern about how it may negatively impact society. Audience members reminded Kim and Ballarta that the people in Silicon Valley and beyond developing AI technologies do not necessarily have the best intentions in mind.

Kim said he has encountered both good and bad actors in his interactions with Silicon Valley technology company executives. Yet he acknowledged that this concern is legitimate. He said the only response is thoughtful and appropriate regulation of AI technology.

Ballarta agreed, saying governance will matter a great deal in determining how AI technologies ultimately impact humanity. “Does the technology serve us, or are we serving the technology?” he asked, asserting that AI must, of course, serve humanity and not undermine it.

Other audience members expressed anxiety that, given enough time, generative AI technology will become so powerful that it will be difficult, if not impossible, to know when an image, video, or audio recording is real or not.

On this point, Kim offered optimism, recalling his own experiences allowing AI to generate writing on his behalf; no matter how good it is, he said, the AI cannot quite imitate his voice and writing style, suggesting that people will be able to recognize when something is off in encountering AI-generated content.

Humans are keen enough to recognize when something doesn’t quite fit the world we know.

The next Marianist Lecture will feature Msgr Robert Samo and a local panel on “The Saints of Hawaiʻi” and will take place on Sunday, February 21, 2027, at 4 pm. 

Hogan Entrepreneurial Leadership Program Kicks Off 24th Year

The Hogan Entrepreneurial Leadership Program is now celebrating its 24th year mentoring students seeking independent business opportunities or leadership skills to help organizations succeed, both for-profit and nonprofit. On Wednesday evening, past and current Hogan participants, alumni, and business leaders gathered to launch another year of Hogan with an inspiring keynote address and opportunities to connect, network, share inspiring stories, and celebrate one of Chaminade’s most successful institutions.

Chaminade University President Lynn Babington, Ph.D., welcomed attendees to the celebration and thanked them for supporting the Hogan initiative over the years.

“It’s such a pleasure to be here with you this evening and again kick off the 24th year of the Hogan program,” Babington said.

“We are very proud of the Hogan program,” she said. “Linking students with community members enriches new ideas and opportunities here in Hawai‘i.”

This year’s Hogan Kick-Off Celebration, held at the Sullivan Family Library Lawn, featured music, good food, drinks, and time for attendees to mingle and socialize. The featured speaker for the evening was Melissa Crounse Kaufman, a renowned entrepreneur and Founding Executive Director of The Garage, a startup incubator at Northwestern University.

“Previous speakers have been terrific, but I think this is one of the best ones we’ve had that I can remember in my time,” said Roy Panzarella, Ph.D., Director of the Hogan Entrepreneurial Leadership Program.

Kaufman, who now lives in Maui and works as a school teacher, shared a story with the audience of how she once tested the entrepreneurial instincts of her students against artificial intelligence (AI) technology.

She split the class into two groups and asked each to develop an innovative idea for a new snack product. One group had unlimited access to AI tools; the other had to use their wits.

Upon conclusion of this exercise, the class determined that the best idea came from the “brain team” that was denied the use of any AI advantage. The winning team proposed selling hibiscus-flavored popcorn that comes in resealable bags.

Kaufman told the audience to take this lesson to heart.

“AI is a pattern matching machine,” she said. “It draws from what already exists, and it optimizes for what has worked before, in the past.

“The winning idea in my class didn’t come from a prompt. It came from a teenage girl’s lived experience.”

Kaufman said she owes her success not to building successful companies, but to building up people and helping them make personal connections they can translate into winning enterprises.

“Students cannot build judgment or persuasive speaking or interpret body language or build connections alone in their dorm rooms talking to Claude,” she stressed. “Students need to interact with real businesses and real business problems in real time.”

Panzarella said Kaufman’s message is poignant for the times as the rise of AI technology leaves everyone nervous for the future.

Kaufman pleaded with business leaders in the audience to deepen their engagement with Hogan students. The program’s long success lies not with technologies like AI, she said, but with the personal connections the program fosters.

“You have to help in this mission because we can’t do it alone,” she said. “You need to share your time, your expertise, and your network with the students by serving as a mentor or a guest speaker.”

In addition to raffle prizes, the event presented two awards recognizing present and future entrepreneurial success.

Kai Cowell was honored with the Hogan program’s “In the Arena” award for her success with Ka‘iulani Spices, a healthy foods and flavoring company selling products at major retail outlets. The $1,500 student award went to Liliyah-Joy Quel-Kaina, a Hogan junior juggling two majors and minors who recently landed a coveted internship opportunity. 

The latest Hogan kick-off celebration comes at the midpoint of the semester and also lands in the middle of Chaminade’s first Wellness Week, a series of events aimed at helping students pause and reset.

Panzarella said the timing for the 24th Hogan Kick-Off is deliberate. He finds participants are more engaged and primed for action at this point in the academic year compared to the beginning of the semester or in the summer.

“We wanted to take time to let the semester sort of breathe a little bit,” he said. “We found that people are much more amenable to celebrating, to community building.”

He said the 24th year of the Hogan program won’t be delivering any major new surprises, but the year will still feature plenty of exciting gatherings and inspiring speakers. He said the team is planning new leadership initiatives, including one that may happen at Pearl Harbor.

Much of this year will be spent planning for the Hogan Entrepreneurial Leadership Program’s 25th anniversary year, coming up in 2027. Panzarella promised great things to come as the Hogan program rings in 25 years of incubating new business ideas and preparing young entrepreneurs for success.

“25 is going to be big,” he said.

Chaminade’s First-Ever Wellness Week Begins

A full week at Chaminade University is set aside to help students rest, reflect, and recharge, priming them to finish the semester strong.

Wellness Week, which lasts through Friday, features a series of events focused on instilling better physical, mental, spiritual, and academic well-being within students. Chaminade’s leadership was inspired to organize and launch the university’s first Wellness Week to give students an opportunity to pause and consider where things stand in their lives and studies at this point in the semester.

To help students rest and rejuvenate, the university has set aside quiet spaces for silent reflection, meditation, and prayer. The Mystical Rose Oratory’s doors are open, with students invited to use the space for quiet contemplation, introspection, and seeking inner peace.

The week will feature guided meditation and yoga, along with fitness and nutrition demonstrations. Meanwhile, the Vi and Paul Loo Theatre in Clarence T.C. Ching Hall has been transformed into a “sound bath” for students to enjoy.

Each class is holding only one session this week, with faculty using the time to guide students through tailored Wellness Week activities they’ve arranged.

Chaminade University Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Lance Askildson, Ph.D., said he initially conceived of Wellness Week after noticing how students could begin feeling a bit overwhelmed by early October.

“The idea was to intervene intentionally before relatively manageable challenges become much harder to reverse,” he said.

Planning for Wellness Week began back in February. The Office of the Provost, Academic Affairs, Student Success, Campus Ministry, and all four Colleges collaborated on planning and preparations. The concept was accepted unanimously by both the Academic Council and Senior Leadership Council.

Askildson said Wellness Week is organized with students’ academic wellness first and foremost in mind. “The overarching goal is to give students a chance to reset and reengage.”

“The week has been intentionally designed to focus on academic support, first and foremost, and alongside broader wellness activities and opportunities for reflection,” he added. “Basically, we want to give everyone a chance to catch their breath and take stock of where they are at in the semester.”

The Mystical Rose Oratory is serving as an open meditation, reflection, and prayer space during Wellness Week.

The week’s schedule is filled with activities organized to appeal to all tastes and desires.

Wellness Week kicked off with guided meditation at the Mystical Rose Oratory and on Zuberano Lawn. Aramark Dining Services hosted a demonstration on the art of crafting the perfect onigiri, or Japanese rice balls. Not to be outshone, the Marianist Center and College of Nursing & Health Professions invited students to its “Nacho Normal Taco Tuesday” event, where participants can learn how to master dorm cooking.

The Carlson Fitness Center will show students how to design a safe and satisfying workout routine through demonstrations happening there Wednesday and Thursday mornings.

Therapy dogs are even returning to campus for Wellness Week. Students are invited to unwind with the pups and perhaps enjoy some rock painting with the Student Affairs office and Campus Ministry.

Wellness Week closes with a mid-day live concert featuring The Racket Brothers & The Rackettes. Friday also features a crochet workshop and a special discussion on the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies on society, led by guest speakers Kyle Ballarta and Louis Kim.

Askildson said now is the perfect time to offer some space for students to unwind, rest, and have fun.

“We see this as a targeted and useful pause at the midpoint of the semester and an intentional time for academic and personal reflection,” he explained, adding that he hopes the very first Chaminade University Wellness Week will leave students “ready to be successful for the second half of the term.”

Wellness Week may be repeated next year, creating a new annual Chaminade tradition, based on receptions from students, faculty, and staff.

New Honolulu Bishop Gathers With Young Faithful at Chaminade

A new Bishop is in town.

Last spring, Pope Leo XIV appointed Father Michael Thomas Tupou Castori as the sixth Bishop of the Diocese of Honolulu. As a way of introduction, Bishop Castori visited Chaminade University to mentor–and and learn from–young Catholics in Hawai‘i.

Bishop Castori succeeds former Bishop Clarence Richard “Larry” Silva, who retired after more than two decades as head of the Honolulu Diocese.

Accepting an invitation to the Chaminade campus, Castori dropped by on the evening of October 3 for a “meet-n-greet” with young adults.

More than 100 participants turned out to meet the new Bishop and hear his thoughts, an impressive turnout for a Saturday night in Honolulu. Organizers said they were pleased with the interest and enthusiasm of the crowd.

During his talk, Bishop Castori shared that he almost never became the new leader of the Honolulu Diocese, which oversees church affairs throughout the state of Hawai‘i.

Castori said it seemed that a higher power had other plans.

He initially asked to be taken off the list of candidates for Bishop of Honolulu given that he recently started work at Seattle University. That request didn’t go well for him, he said.

“The way God works with me is, when I’m acting contrary to his will, I can’t sleep,” he explained.

After fussing all night, he recalled how he prayed on the matter and ultimately decided to keep his hat in the ring. Following that, he managed to get one hour of sleep, and then rescinded his request that morning.

“Once the appointment was confirmed, I felt a lot of peace and salvation and joy,” he said.

The Pope’s selection of Castori may stem from his long experience in Oceania.

Ordained in 1996, Castori ministered in Tonga, Fiji, Guam, and the Marshall Islands. His appointment as the newest Bishop of Honolulu marks his return to the Pacific region.

While at Chaminade, Bishop Castori was interviewed by the EPIC Ministry Podcast host Malcolm Zara.

In the interview, Castori confided that he originally sought to become a lawyer. That changed after he attended a retreat with his college campus ministry during his senior year. There, he had a profound and life-changing experience.

At the retreat, he recited a prayer from Psalm 131, “and I felt God was right there with me,” he recalled.

Later, he found himself alone walking down the stairs in front of a Jesuit high school in Boston wearing a long black coat when he experienced the calling again.

“Suddenly, I found myself looking around, and I felt like a priest.”

An exchange with young Catholics

Young adults from O‘ahu, Kaua‘i, Maui, and Hawai‘i Island traveled to the Chaminade campus to meet the new Bishop. After a lively exchange with Zara, the audience had a chance to pose questions to him.

Asked about the difficulties younger Church members are having breaking into leadership roles as they face resistance from older members, Castori advised patience and presence, and perhaps gentle reminders to established authorities that they were once young Catholics seeking a place in the Church hierarchy. “Don’t give up, don’t run away,” he said. “I think presence is important.”

Some in the audience asked how they should approach friends and family members who have fallen away from the Church. Castori said the best approach to take is to be a “loving presence” as “that can be the most powerful way of evangelizing.”

Keeping youth engaged in the Church may be becoming less difficult with time.

Toward the end of the evening, the discussion turned to the apparent revival of interest in Catholicism among young adults, including those who have no familial history with the Church. Taking his turn to ask questions, Bishop Castori asked the audience of young Church-goers if they could provide an explanation for this sudden surge of interest in joining the Catholic Church, particularly among young adults and younger men.

Audience members shared that it likely stems from the isolation and loneliness many felt during the COVID-19 pandemic. They also explained that there is a great dissatisfaction with modern technologies that offer poor substitutes for genuine human interaction. Another audience member said youth are increasingly seeking authenticity, and the Church provides that.

Bishop Castori praised this development but also challenged the audience members to set positive examples for new Church members and their peers to follow.

“There are unlimited opportunities every day to do the good right in our midsts,” he said.

For the Future: Chaminade Students Join Province Assembly

Chaminade University students and recent alumni joined more than 170 members of the Marianist Family this past week in Dayton, Ohio, helping shape conversations about the future of the Marianist mission during the 2026 Province Assembly.

Focusing on “Embracing Our Roots, Forging Our Future,” the Assembly brought together members of the Society of Mary, Marianist Brothers, Sisters, Lay Marianists, and youth to pray, reflect and ask “How do we carry a rich legacy forward while responding to the needs of a new generation?”

“I feel so blessed to have gained a Marianist education and the chance to attend the Assembly,” said Victoria Zembik, a current Chaminade student. “I feel an obligation to serve others in big and small ways and to carry on the traditions that our founding fathers instilled.”

That focus on young people remained at the heart of the Assembly. Panels featuring young adults, Marianist family members, and Province leaders focused on the relevance of the Marianist charism, the future of the Marianist mission and preserving traditions for the next generation.

Among the Chaminade participants were Victoria Zembik, Easton DelaCruz ’25, Alex Hernandez ’24, Temika Hemmings ’25 and other recent alumni. Together they joined students from the University of Dayton and St. Mary’s University, the nation’s other Marianist universities.

“Being able to meet and chat with Brothers, more than we usually see on Kalaepohaku, gave me a better understanding of how the Marianists in the US are doing their best to reach out to the country,” DelaCruz said. “Each Brother had a unique story on how they found the Marianists, and how they are living their vocation.”

The aloha spirit was also present during the installation of new leadership for the Society of Mary. One of the Assembly’s most memorable moments came during the installation of Bro. Ed Violett, former vice president of the Marianist Center of Hawaiʻi, as the new Provincial of the Society of Mary. Draped in Hawaiian lei, Violett’s installation reflected the close ties between Hawaiʻi and the Marianist Province.

“Our founders taught us that faith grows when we are willing to respond creatively to the needs of our time,” Violett was quoted as saying in the Family Online newsletter. “The future of our Province will be shaped by our courage to listen, to collaborate, and to walk alongside young people who are searching for purpose and community. If we remain rooted in our Marianist Charism, the future before us is filled with possibility.”

The Assembly reflected many of the same characteristics that define a Marianist education at Chaminade—faith, family spirit, service, justice, and adaptation to a changing world.

Participants honored the Marianists who came before them, celebrated jubilarians, prayed at the Province cemetery in Dayton, reflected on their personal journeys, and looked honestly at the realities facing the Church and society today.

As students returned to Hawaiʻi, they brought home more than memories of Dayton. They returned with a deeper appreciation for the Marianist mission and a renewed commitment to live its values through leadership, service and community. As the Province begins a new chapter, Chaminade students will continue helping carry that mission into the future.

“As young adults, I think it’s important to really try and understand the charism and what it’s trying to do in our lives,” DelaCruz added. “The Marianist charism is really special and it was really nice to see how it impacts people from around the world. As young adults, we need to continue sharing the charism by spreading faith, serving others and building communities.”

Chaminade Hosted L.E.A.D. With Mary Immersion Experience

With mud between their fingers and toes, students stood at the loʻi patch taking in the fresh air, lush scenery, water, history of the loʻi and the warmth of aloha. They were part of the L.E.A.D with Mary cultural immersion experience which brought students from across the country and Hawaiʻi together in the spirit of the Marianist founders to learn more about Hawaiian culture. 

“We learned a lot about what it means to honor the land,” said one student from San Antonio, Texas as she stood in the loʻi or taro patch. “If we take care of the land, it will take care of us.”

Chaminade University hosted the week-long L.E.A.D. with Mary for the  first time this summer. Now in its third year, the program was previously hosted by St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas and the University of Dayton in Dayton, Ohio. These institutions, along with Chaminade, are the nation’s three Marianist universities.

Each university selected four students through an application process to participate in the program. The immersion experience is designed to help students learn more about the Marianist tradition through the culture of the host school’s location. 

The Hawaiʻi experience was planned by Scarlett Ford, Campus Minister, and her team at Chaminade. The team included individuals born and raised in Hawaiʻi, to ensure that each activity and location was culturally appropriate and respectful of the islands’ sacred places and natural environment.

Each activity was tailored to Hawaii’s unique environment and the Marianist values. L.E.A.D. with Mary offered students the opportunity to deepen their faith while learning more about both Hawaiian and Catholic spirituality.

After the out-of-state students arrived on Wednesday afternoon, the program began early Thursday morning with a sunrise hike and morning prayer at Makapuʻu. The group also stopped at Halona Blowhole Lookout before making their way to Iolani Palace for a docent-led tour. The evening concluded with dinner at Kahala Hotel & Resort, a dolphin show and an evening prayer.

Friday’s main experiences were Hanauma Bay snorkeling in the morning after prayer and a guided tour in the afternoon of Hawaiian Hall at Bishop Museum, home to the world’s largest display of Polynesian cultural artifacts.

“Yes, it’s fun but there’s also a deeper purpose of growing an understanding of God’s creation and why it’s important to take care of it,” Ford said.

That focus on faith, reflection, and stewardship continued throughout the weekend. It was filled with prayer, Bible study and optional group activities from shopping to hiking Mānoa Falls and visiting Ala Moana beach park. On Saturday, the group took a trip to a loʻi patch, where they tended to the taro patch in knee-deep mud. On Sunday, there was Mass and the group prepared for one of the most anticipated experiences of the week.

At 7 a.m. on Memorial Day, the group left campus and headed for the airport to begin their journey to Kalaupapa on the island of Molokaʻi.

“We’re going on small, nine passenger planes,” Ford told the students to prepare them for the flight and landing on the short runway.

Kalaupapa is a significant place in Hawaiʻi’s history. People with Hansen’s disease (leprosy) were forcibly isolated there. More than 8,000 people, primarily Native Hawaiians, have passed away on Kalaupapa since 1866. 

Kalaupapa was also home to the two Catholic saints who helped those affected by Hansen’s disease. One was St. Damien de Veuster, a Belgian priest who arrived in Kalaupapa in 1873. He passed away from Hansen’s disease in 1889. St. Marianne Cope, a German-born Franciscan nun, moved to Kalaupapa in 1888 to assist Father Damien in caring for those affected by Hansen’s disease. She died of natural causes in 1918.

Today, Kalaupapa is home to a small number of cured patient-residents and visitation is only offered by guided tours. The L.E.A.D. with Mary group was able to include Mass on Kalaupapa in their tour before returning to Oʻahu later that evening.

Tuesday was their last full day, and they used it to help the community. They prepared care packages and lunch for people experiencing homelessness.

“It’s an opportunity to learn more about the Marianist charisms through acts of service,” Ford said. “We’re going to a homeless shelter to help out.”

They ended the day by participating in Mass with a final prayer.

As the week came to a close, students gained a deeper understanding of Marianist values and Hawaiian culture. Through prayer, reflection, service and immersion in local history, students experienced firsthand the values that unite the nation’s three Marianist universities.