Católica hosted the live recording of the podcast Puxar Pela Cabeça, an initiative by Amrop Portugal in partnership with Jornal Económico, bringing together various prominent figures to discuss the impacts of artificial intelligence and the urgent need to enhance human skills. Opening the session, the Rector of Católica, Isabel Capeloa Gil, emphasized that higher education's mission extends far beyond responding immediately to the job market or serving merely as a supplier of resources for industry. For the Rector, the academy's primary commitment is to combine professional training with the cultivation of critical citizens who can think independently and stand firm against misinformation. Acknowledging that attempting to stop technological progress is “like trying to stop the tide with one's bare hands,” she advocated for an ethical and deeply pedagogical integration of artificial intelligence. According to Isabel Capeloa Gil, it is vital that students understand how algorithms operate without giving up critical thinking, creativity, and, above all, empathy, stressing that the ability to read, comprehend, and foster literacy and numeracy remains the cornerstone of the human future.
The centrality of people in the face of technology was likewise echoed by the other participants in the panel, moderated by João Marcelino. Maria da Glória Ribeiro highlighted that qualities such as intuition and emotion belong exclusively to the human mind, arguing against allowing recruitment processes and hiring decisions to rely solely on algorithms without in-person interaction. From a business perspective, Rui Miguel Nabeiro stressed that technological efficiency cannot replace humanism, well-being, and close relationships with teams and clients, while Adolfo Mesquita Nunes warned of the dangers of relinquishing human oversight, urging younger generations to continuously question and challenge automated outcomes. The need to properly frame this evolution was also underscored by Assunção Cristas, who pointed to regulation as an essential driver for a sustainable transition that avoids societal divides, and by Mário Crespo, who cautioned against succumbing to easy technological fixes that erode rigor, eloquence, and collective memory.
