Benedictine student explores AI, human dignity through campus Turing Test

A campus event with local consequences

A Benedictine College student left a campus Turing Test event with more than a classroom memory. Maria Draves said the exercise was a lot of fun, but the lesson went far beyond a one-time activity, especially because it will shape her future life as a teacher.

That matters in Atchison because Benedictine is not just talking about artificial intelligence in the abstract. The college is putting students into the middle of the question that local schools, employers and families are already facing: how do you use AI without losing judgment, ethics or human connection? In a county with an estimated population of 16,172 and a college town built around a campus where 80 percent of students live on site, those conversations do not stay confined to one classroom.

What Benedictine is trying to teach

The event, titled *Putting the Turing Test to the Test*, gave students a concrete way to think about how humans distinguish themselves from machines and where technology should stop short of replacing human judgment. Draves’ response shows why the format works. The experience was not just theoretical; it connected a big idea about ethics to a personal vocation, and in her case that vocation is teaching.

Benedictine College says its Center for Technology and Human Dignity was created to apply the Catholic Church’s Magisterium to emerging digital and biomedical technologies in light of the dignity and vocation of the human person. The center launched in September 2025, and the school said it was created under the patronage of St. Carlo Acutis on the day of his canonization. That timing is telling: Benedictine is trying to present a model of student formation that is rooted in faith but ready for an age defined by algorithms, automation and rapid technological change.

Mariele Courtois, an assistant professor of theology and the center’s director, leads that effort. Benedictine says the center will host talks, discussions and resources to help people navigate AI from a Catholic perspective, and the school has already tied the new center to broader lecture programming through a partnership with the Center for Constitutional Liberty. In other words, this is not a one-off campus event. It is becoming a continuing line of work.

Why the issue reaches beyond campus

Benedictine has framed AI as urgent because it is already affecting classrooms, business and medical communities. That is the part Atchison readers can take seriously right away. A future teacher like Draves will enter a profession where lesson planning, grading support, research tools and student behavior policies all intersect with AI. The key question is no longer whether students can use these tools, but whether they can do so in a way that still protects learning, honesty and trust.

The same is true for employers in a small community. In offices, clinics and small businesses, AI can speed up drafting, sorting and scheduling, but it cannot replace the local knowledge that comes from talking to people face to face or the responsibility that comes with signing off on a decision. Benedictine’s approach suggests that the best workers will not be the ones who use AI the most, but the ones who know when to rely on it and when to step back.

That is especially relevant in Atchison, a Catholic, Benedictine, residential liberal arts college town on the west bank of the Missouri River about 45 miles north of Kansas City. In a place this size, campus programming often becomes part of the town’s intellectual life. A center focused on digital and biomedical ethics can influence not only students but also local conversations about schools, care, hiring and leadership.

What students, teachers and employers can take from it

The practical lesson from Benedictine’s Turing Test event is not to fear AI, but to use it with discipline. Draves’ reaction points to a simple standard: if a tool helps a person think better, it can be useful; if it weakens judgment or erodes the dignity of the person in front of you, it has gone too far.

For students, that means treating AI as an aid, not a substitute for learning. It should support writing, research and brainstorming, but not replace reading, thinking or taking responsibility for the final answer. For teachers, it means setting expectations clearly so students understand what counts as original work and where help crosses into dishonesty. For employers, it means using AI to reduce routine work while keeping human review in place for decisions that affect people’s lives.

A few habits stand out:

• Use AI to organize information, then verify the facts yourself.

• Keep human review on anything that affects grades, pay, health or discipline.

• Be honest about when a tool was used, especially in school or professional settings.

• Remember that speed is not the same as wisdom.

Those habits fit Benedictine’s broader mission because the college is trying to train graduates who can think critically about media literacy, emerging technology and the dignity of the person. That makes the center relevant well beyond theology majors. It also helps explain why a student preparing to teach would see the Turing Test event as more than entertainment.

A small county, a bigger idea

Atchison County does not need a giant metropolitan media market to feel the impact of this kind of programming. In a community of 16,172 people, ideas move quickly through classrooms, churches, offices and civic life. When a student at Benedictine starts talking about AI and human dignity, that conversation can carry into a local school, a workplace or a family kitchen table.

That is the real significance of the campus event. Benedictine is not simply preserving tradition while the world changes around it. It is trying to shape how the next generation responds to one of the fastest-moving forces in modern life, and it is doing so in a way that connects faith, scholarship and daily practice. In Atchison, that kind of formation matters because the people learning it now are the ones who will soon be teaching, hiring, treating and leading here.