Research in the Service of Integral Human Development: An Educational Challenge in the Emerging World

• Vanessa Zegarra Asturizaga

  Universidad Salesiana de Bolivia

  Author

The rapid advancement of emerging technologies—and artificial intelligence in particular—has confronted higher education with challenges that do not allow for improvised responses. This editorial reflects on the educational responsibility assumed by Catholic universities in this context, viewing research as the institutional channel through which the Church engages in dialogue with the culture of its time. It argues that the challenge is not merely instrumental but deeply anthropological: preserving the sense of truth, the centrality of the person, and the vocation of service that define the identity of the Catholic university. Drawing on the pillars and purposes of research outlined in *Ex Corde Ecclesiae*, the Apostolic Constitution *Veritatis Gaudium*, and the recent Vatican note Antiqua et Nova (2025), the article contends that the training of competent professionals only reaches its full potential when integrated with integral human development. The article concludes that the Catholic university is called to exercise ethical leadership regarding artificial intelligence—not by abstaining from it, but by guiding its use through discernment, interdisciplinary dialogue, and a renewed pedagogy of reflective critical thinking.

1. Vanessa Zegarra Asturizaga, Universidad Salesiana de Bolivia

   Profesional en psicología. Filiación institucional en Universidad Salesiana de Bolivia y Centro Psicopedagógico de Investigación y Educación Superior de la Universidad Mayor de San Andrés. Doctora en Ciencias de la Educación con formación de postrado en Educación Superior. Diplomada en Educación Superior por Competencias y Tecnologías para el Aprendizaje, Investigación y Producción Científica asistida con Inteligencia Artificial, Metodología de la Investigación y Comunicación Académica, Formación y Producción Científicas, Aprendizaje Significativo, Educación Especial, Organización y Administración Pedagógica del Aula, Gestión y Edición de Revistas Científicas. Estudios superiores en Comunicación Social con mención en Comunicación Educativa. Orcid: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6498-8885

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