Atma Jaya Rector: AI Must Respect Human Dignity, Not Replace Agency
Prof. Yuda Turana of Indonesia's Atma Jaya University warns that AI development must preserve human dignity and critical thinking to avoid dependency.
JAKARTA — Artificial intelligence is rapidly infiltrating human decision-making, prompting experts to call for strict safeguards. Prof. Dr. dr. Yuda Turana, Rector of Atma Jaya Catholic University of Indonesia, warned on Saturday, September 12, 2026, that the rapid evolution of technology must not come at the expense of human dignity.
For the academic community, this shift represents more than just technological advancement; it fundamentally alters how people acquire knowledge, communicate, work, and make life choices. The concern is that AI, if left unchecked, could shift control from human agency to opaque, automated systems.
"The impact of technology must return to one core: human dignity. AI must make us more capable, not more dependent. Media must make us more enlightened, not more easily manipulated," said Yuda in a statement released in Jakarta.
AI Must Not Supplant Critical Thinking
Yuda emphasized that AI deployment should run parallel to the cultivation of critical thinking. If humans surrender decision-making power to the algorithms working behind the scenes, society risks losing its intellectual autonomy.
The integration of AI into the workplace and social interactions has created a new, often invisible logic that dictates how people respond to their environment. It is subtle, yet profound.
Prof. Rosdiana Sijabat, Vice Rector for Innovation, Research, Cooperation and Alumni at Atma Jaya, noted that AI has surpassed its initial role as a simple tool. It has now embedded itself into the very fabric of social logic, reshaping how people interact and operate in professional settings.
Human Dignity as a Boundary
The core concern for Atma Jaya is not the speed of AI growth, but its ethical direction. Dignity serves as the ultimate line in the sand. This perspective aligns with broader global calls for regulation, such as those found in Pope Leo XIV’s recent encyclical, "Magnifica Humanitas," which calls for protecting individual rights, the dignity of labor, and social justice in the age of automation.
The debate surrounding AI is no longer confined to technical specifications or processing power. It has become a matter of who retains control over the human experience. As Yuda underscored, the ultimate test for any technological advancement is whether it empowers the individual or creates a state of subservience to the machine.
AI is already integrated into daily life. The challenge for society now is ensuring that the human element remains at the helm of the technological shift.
