The Pope's AI Warning, and Why Women Need to Reclaim Their Agency | Julianne Hickey

<p>The Pope just signed his first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, and it's about AI. His warning to the world: protect the human person before artificial intelligence erodes our work, our relationships, and our agency</p><p></p><p>While tech companies race to build agents and automate everything, the Vatican did something unexpected. It created a commission on AI, not to celebrate the technology, but to protect human dignity. And when Pope Leo XIV presented the document, he did it standing beside a co-founder of the AI company Anthropic. What an unexpected twist.</p><p></p><p>So what does this actually mean for women navigating AI at work right now?<br /></p><p>In this episode of AI Ready Women, Georgie and Lou sit down with Julianne Hickey, a social justice leader, AI governance expert, and former director of Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand.</p><p>Julianne has met Pope Francis twice, worked in Gaza and Palestine responding to humanitarian disasters, and now leads AI strategy for a major government organisation in New Zealand.</p><p></p><p>This is a conversation about what happens when we stop asking what AI can do, and start asking what it should do. And why the future of AI isn't just a technical question. It's a spiritual one.</p><p></p><p>Recorded just before the encyclical's public release on 25 May 2026.)<br /></p><p>Connect with Georgie:<br />🔵 LinkedIn: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgiehubbard/" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgiehubbard/</a><br />🟪 Instagram: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://instagram.com/georgielhubbard" target="_blank">http://instagram.com/georgielhubbard</a><br />♦️ Website: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.georgiehubbard.com" target="_blank">https://www.georgiehubbard.com</a><br />____________</p><p>Connect with Lou Compagnone:<br />🔵 LinkedIn: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/loucompagnone/" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/loucompagnone/</a><br />____________</p><p>Connect with Julianne Hickey:<br />🔵 LinkedIn: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliannehickey/" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliannehickey/</a><br />____________</p><p>CHAPTERS</p><p><br />2:40 Julianne's journey: Zimbabwe, Ubuntu, and "I am who I am because of who we all are"<br />4:15 From London consulting to humanitarian work in Gaza and Palestine: powe