Artificial intelligence is advancing at a breakneck pace, as governments and industries commit resources to its development at a scale not seen since the Space Race. These technologies have the potential to disrupt every aspect of life, including education, the economy, labor and human relationships.

“As a leading global Catholic research university, Notre Dame is uniquely positioned to help the world confront and understand AI’s benefits and risks to human flourishing,” said John T. McGreevy, the Charles and Jill Fischer Provost. “Technology ethics is a key priority for Notre Dame, and we are fully committed to bringing the wisdom of the global Church to bear on this critical theme.”

In support of this work, the Institute for Ethics and the Common Good and the Notre Dame Ethics Initiative will host the Notre Dame Summit on AI, Faith and Human Flourishing on the University’s campus from Monday, Sept. 22 through Thursday, Sept. 25. This event will draw together a dynamic, ecumenical group of educators, faith leaders, technologists, journalists, policymakers and young people who believe in the enduring relevance of Christian ethical thought in a world of powerful AI.

“As artificial intelligence becomes more powerful, the ‘ethical floor’ of safety, privacy and transparency is simply not enough,” said Meghan Sullivan, the Wilsey Family College Professor of Philosophy and the director of the Institute for Ethics and the Common Good and the Notre Dame Ethics Initiative. “This moment in time demands a response rooted in the Christian tradition — a richer, more holistic perspective that recognizes the nature of the human person as a spiritual, emotional, moral and physical being.”

Sullivan noted that a unified, faith-based response to AI is a priority of newly elected Pope Leo XIV, who has spoken publicly about the new challenges to human dignity, justice and labor posed by these technologies.

The summit will begin at 5:15 p.m. Monday with an opening Mass at the University’s Basilica of the Sacred Heart. His Eminence Cardinal Christophe Pierre, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, will serve as primary celebrant and homilist with University President Rev. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C., as concelebrant. All members of the campus community are invited to attend this opening Mass.

Summit speakers include Andy Crouch, Praxis; Alex Hartemink, Duke University; Molly Kinder, Brookings Institution; Andrew Schuman, Veritas Forum; Anne Snyder, Comment Magazine and Elizabeth Dias, The New York Times. Over the course of the summit, attendees will take part in use case workshops, panels and community of practice sessions focused on public engagement, ministry and education. Executives from Google, Microsoft, Apple and many other organizations are among the 200 invited guests who will attend.

At the summit, Notre Dame will launch DELTA, a new framework for guiding conversations about AI. DELTA — an acronym that stands for Dignity, Embodiment, Love, Transcendence and Agency — will serve as a practical resource across sectors that are experiencing disruption from AI, including homes, schools, churches and workplaces, while also providing a platform for credible, principled voices to promote moral clarity and human dignity in the face of advancing technology.

“Our goal is for DELTA to become a common lens through which to engage AI — a language that reflects the depth of the Christian tradition while remaining accessible to people of all faiths,” Sullivan said. “By bringing together this remarkable group of leaders here at Notre Dame, we’re launching a community that will work passionately to create — as the Vatican puts it — ‘a growth in human responsibility, values and conscience that is proportionate to the advances posed by technology.’”

Although the summit sessions are by invitation only, Sullivan’s keynote on DELTA will be livestreamed. Those interested are invited to view the livestream and learn more about DELTA at https://ethics.nd.edu/summit-livestream at 8:30 a.m. EST on Tuesday, Sept. 23.

The Notre Dame Summit on AI, Faith and Human Flourishing is supported with a grant provided by Lilly Endowment Inc.

Lilly Endowment Inc. is a private foundation created in 1937 by J.K. Lilly Sr. and his sons Eli and J.K. Jr. through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly and Company. While those gifts remain the financial bedrock of the Endowment, it is a separate entity from the company, with a distinct governing board, staff and location. In keeping with the founders’ wishes, the Endowment supports the causes of community development, education and religion and maintains a special commitment to its hometown, Indianapolis, and home state, Indiana. A principal aim of the Endowment’s religion grantmaking is to deepen and enrich the lives of Christians in the United States, primarily by seeking out and supporting efforts that enhance the vitality of congregations and strengthen the pastoral and lay leadership of Christian communities. The Endowment also seeks to improve public understanding of religious traditions in the United States and across the globe.

Contact: Carrie Gates, associate director of media relations, 574-993-9220, c.gates@nd.edu

Global report from Contentful and Atlantic Insights finds nearly half of marketers rank data analysis and interpretation as a top skill; marketers must now demonstrate breakthrough creativity and validate with data

DENVER & BERLIN–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Contentful, a leading digital experience platform, in collaboration with Atlantic Insights, the marketing research division of The Atlantic, today released a new study, ‘When Machines Make Marketers More Human’ challenging the notion that AI will replace many marketing functions and instead demonstrates how AI can amplify marketers’ effectiveness, creativity, and impact.

The report, based on surveys and interviews with hundreds of senior marketing leaders around the world, finds that “evidence-based creativity” is emerging as the defining capability of modern marketers. Whether on skills – 46% of respondents cited data analysis and interpretation as the top skill needed in the profession today – or on measuring efficacy – 34% of successful marketers define success according to strong performance metrics or ROI – it’s clear that data-driven marketing is only accelerating in the age of AI. The ability to combine human creativity with AI-driven insights is becoming essential to producing, testing, and scaling ideas with measurable impact.

Beyond creativity, the research highlights a broader evolution of the marketing skillset. A new generation of “full-stack marketers” is taking shape. They are fluent in creating AI-enabled workflows, writing effective prompts, navigating diverse technology stacks, and embedding AI tools into daily operations. Nearly half of marketers report using both AI copilots in productivity software (49%) and generative tools for content creation (48%), underscoring how quickly these tools are becoming part of the day-to-day workflow. Combined with growing expertise in digital experience design, personalization strategy, and governance, these capabilities signal a fundamental shift in what it takes to succeed in marketing today.

“There is a growing fear that AI will erase marketing jobs, but that concern is misplaced. The real risk is failing to use AI strategically,” said Elizabeth Maxson, Chief Marketing Officer, Contentful. “When marketers invest in the right tools that support their teams’ daily work and prioritize marketing talent that blends creativity with analytics, that’s when AI stops being hype and starts delivering meaningful results.”

“Marketing is a deeply creative industry, but there is an urgent need for marketers to start thinking more like engineers in order to keep pace with the rise in AI,” said Alice McKown, Publisher, The Atlantic. “Tomorrow’s most valuable marketing leaders won’t be defined as creative or analytical. They’ll be both.”

Key Findings from the Report

Evidence-based creativity is the new marketing superpower — and organizations are investing to get them there.

• The marketing skills that matter most today are data analysis and interpretation (46%) and digital experience design (40%), followed by personalization strategy (37%), and writing for AI tools (37%).
• 33% of marketers rank campaign testing and optimization as a top skill — reflecting a shift toward data-informed creative instincts.
• 45% of organizations are already offering AI training, a clear marker of organizational maturity.

The “Optimism-Execution Gap” reflects the chasm between AI’s potential and reality; ROI is still a work in progress.

• AI investment is a priority for marketers, with 74% investing in the technology and 34% allocating at least $500k toward AI marketing tools or initiatives over the next 12-36 months.
• Despite the investment, two-thirds of marketers say their current marketing technology stack isn’t helping them do more with fewer resources (yet).
• 89% of marketing teams are already using AI tools, but only 18% say it has reduced their reliance on developers or data teams

AI’s key opportunities and challenges differ by region, with Europeans prioritizing compliance and Americans focusing on rapid experimentation.

• EMEA marketers adopt a methodical, compliance-ready approach, with 58% selectively testing AI tools under a defined plan. Nearly a third (32%) emphasize governance skills such as brand voice, compliance and quality standards.
• U.S. marketers emphasize experimentation and rapid testing, with 37% focusing on campaign optimization (vs. 26% in EMEA). U.S. teams measure success by high content quality (45%) and flexibility (39%), while EMEA teams lean toward operational excellence and speed (43%).

To read the full report, visit: https://www.theatlantic.com/sponsored/contentful-2025/making-marketers-more-human/4024/

About the Report

Research from the report was conducted by Contentful in collaboration with Atlantic Insights, and included three primary components:

• Quantitative survey – 425 marketing decision-makers across industries, company sizes, and regions, executed by Cint.
• Diary studies – Ten-day live user testing with marketing professionals using AI tools in their real workflows, executed by Dscout. Participants completed eight activities, including content creation, campaign optimization, translation/localization, personalization, and A/B testing, while recording their screens and providing commentary.
• Subject matter expert (SME) interviews – In-depth interviews with Contentful executives, team leads, and partner organizations to contextualize quantitative findings and capture emerging best practices.

All survey data was collected and analyzed using advanced statistical methods to ensure reliability and significance of findings.

About Contentful

Contentful is a leading digital experience platform that helps modern businesses meet the growing demand for engaging, personalized content at scale. By blending composability with native AI capabilities, Contentful enables dynamic personalization, automated content delivery, and real-time experimentation, powering next-generation digital experiences across brands, regions, and channels for more than 4,200 organizations worldwide. For more information, visit www.contentful.com. Contentful, the Contentful logo, and other trademarks listed here are registered trademarks of Contentful Inc., Contentful GmbH and/or its affiliates in the United States and other countries. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

About Atlantic Insights

Atlantic Insights is the marketing research division of The Atlantic, with custom and co-branded research experience spanning industries and sectors ranging across finance, luxury, technology, healthcare, and small business.

Contacts

[email protected]

A new interdisciplinary study from Bielefeld University and other leading institutions explores why humans excel at adapting to new situations while AI systems often struggle. Researchers found humans generalise through abstraction and concepts, while AI relies on statistical or rule-based methods.

The study proposes a framework to align human and AI reasoning, defining generalisation, how it works, and how it can be assessed. Experts say differences in generalisation limit AI flexibility and stress the need for human-centred design in medicine, transport, and decision-making.

Researchers collaborated across more than 20 institutions, including Bielefeld, Bamberg, Amsterdam, and Oxford, under the SAIL project. The initiative aims to develop AI systems that are sustainable, transparent, and better able to support human values and decision-making.

Interdisciplinary insights may guide the responsible use of AI in human-AI teams, ensuring machines complement rather than disrupt human judgement.

The findings underline the importance of bridging cognitive science and AI research to foster more adaptable, trustworthy, and human-aligned AI systems capable of tackling complex, real-world challenges.

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