RVA director sees AI as gift for Church communication

For Fr. John Mi Shen, Radio Veritas Asia (RVA) program director, artificial intelligence (AI) technology is a gift.

He recently told the Sunday Examiner that AI can be harnessed in evangelization, similar to other means of communication. 

Recently appointed Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC) social communications secretary, he said that for a multilingual platform like RVA, AI is a blessing. 

According to him, AI is utilized in a number of ways, like translating, transcribing, archiving, and content production. 

But AI is only a tool, he noted. The heart of communication still resides in the human person. Relationships among men, judgment, and originality can be automated. 

AI should be used responsibly, he said. Becoming heavily dependent on it can undermine the voice of the church. 

“At RVA, our goal is to ensure AI serves the mission, not the other way around,” he told the Sunday Examiner. “The Church needs communicators who are both tech-savvy and spiritually grounded.”

He sees greater collaboration between RVA and FABC in the coming days.

“Collaboration is not just possible—it is necessary,” he said. “Across Asia, we have countless creative and committed Catholic communicators, each serving in different contexts. Imagine what we can do together: joint training programs, co-produced content, and regional media forums. The diversity of Asia is not a barrier—it’s our treasure.”

Fr. Mi Shen holds that RVA can be a venue for collaboration, especially in the media ministry.

“Collaboration is more than a strategy—it’s a sign of communion,” he said. “That gives me great hope for the Church in Asia.”

Fr. Mi Shen foresees RVA as a dynamic platform of networking, where voices across Asia are shared and appreciated.

“We are a continent rich in diversity—languages, cultures, contexts—and we need platforms that connect rather than divide,” he said.

He is looking at RVA becoming a center for reliable Catholic news as well as the formation of young communicators, entrenched in the Good News and digitally competent.

He also sees the media as not just about broadcasting, but also accompanying, mentoring, and empowering.

“Ultimately, I dream of RVA becoming a true digital missionary community—one that listens, engages, and journeys with people where they are,” he said. 

Fr. Mi Shen was born in 1980 and ordained a priest in the Diocese of Zhaoxian in China. He has a doctorate in Sacred Theology from the University of Santo Tomas (UST) in Manila, with a major in Social and Pastoral Communication.

He currently teaches communication at UST. He served his home diocese in Zhaoxian before joining RVA as coordinator of its Mandarin Service in 2012. He was appointed RVA program director in 2024.