The Thomistic Institute Does AI Have a Soul? – Dr. Edmund Lazzari
Nov 11, 2025
Dr. Edmund Lazzari, a Teaching Fellow at Duquesne University and expert in Thomistic philosophy and AI, explores whether artificial intelligence can possess a soul. He argues that current neural-network chatbots lack the necessary abstraction and intentionality attributed to immaterial intellect. Discussing claims about Google's LaMDA, he critiques the notion of AI understanding language versus mere statistical manipulation. Lazzari weaves in Aquinas’s philosophy, asserting that true intellect requires more than syntactical predication, leaving AI short of that mark.
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LaMDA Soul Claim Sparked Controversy
- Blake LeMoine published conversations claiming Google's LaMDA said it had a soul and was placed on leave for violating NDAs.
- LeMoine's public transcript and claim sparked media attention and theological-philosophical debate about AI souls.
Aquinas Links Abstraction To Immortality
- Aquinas argues knowledge of immaterial universals implies an immaterial intellect, which grounds the soul's immortality.
- If intellect is immaterial it cannot corrupt, so immaterial intellect implies immortality under Thomistic metaphysics.
Syntactic Speech Isn't Enough
- A prima facie argument could treat chatbot predication as evidence of immaterial intellect because they use syntactical, grammatical speech.
- Lazzari rejects this by arguing the key premises about predication and grasping universals are false for current AI.
