Artificial intelligence promises efficiency and connection, but many people feel more lonely than ever. Why?

In this episode of Catholic Futurist, host Benjamin Crockett is joined by Fr. John Paul Mary Zeller, EWTN chaplain, to reflect on why technology, including AI, cannot replace real human presence, confession, or healing.

Drawing on pastoral experience, personal vulnerability, and Catholic spiritual wisdom, this conversation explores the rise of anxiety and isolation, the temptation to retreat into screens, and why authentic relationships, silence, and prayer remain essential for human flourishing.

Technology can help us. It cannot replace us.

Timestamps:

• 0:00 - Building vs. Tearing Down
• 1:08 - The "Wake" of AI 
• 10:10 - The Iceberg of Secrets
• 14:14 - Can AI Simulate Healing?
• 24:38 - Reclaiming Silence