Sister Helen Alford: Putting the economy at the service of people

A leading international figure in business ethics, Sister Helen Alford will deliver the keynote lecture at UCLy’s Opening Academic Ceremony on 15 October 2026

A Dominican Sister who worked in industry before earning a PhD in management engineering from the University of Cambridge… At first glance, there is nothing conventional about Sister Helen Alford’s career. Yet her journey also reflects the changes taking place within the Church today. In an increasingly materialistic world, she is helping to develop a living tradition of Christian social thought capable of addressing society’s challenges in practical ways.

Through her work on business ethics, Helen Alford is helping to redefine the Church’s relationship with the economic and social world. Drawing on her own professional experience, her research in management seeks to develop practical approaches to transformation. Central to her work is the protection of both people and the environment in the face of increasingly powerful technologies.

“I like to think that we are trying to push the boundaries of the common good, in opposition to a consumer-driven, throwaway society,” she explains. “We know that we can change our social systems and that we can work together to build a fairer world. To achieve this, we must also preach a Gospel that is embodied in the world and share our faith in practical ways.”

Through her academic contributions, Sister Helen Alford has become an influential voice in contemporary Catholic social thought. Her work has helped shape some of the major transformations initiated by Pope Francis and his successor, Pope Leo XIV.

Two encyclicals for rethinking the future

Appointed to the Angelicum by Pope Francis, Helen Alford notably contributed to a project that was particularly close to the late Pope’s heart: the creation of the Economy of Francesco. This global movement of young people aims to transform today’s economy and give a soul to the economy of tomorrow. It draws inspiration from the thought of Saint Francis of Assisi and his renewal of the Church’s institutions.

Based on the conviction that today’s economy is not designed to serve the dignity of every human person and the common good, these young leaders seek to make it a force for social justice and fraternity. As Pope Francis called for in his 2015 encyclical Laudato Si’, The Economy of Francesco places the connection between economics and ecology at the heart of its philosophy. By linking economic development with environmental responsibility, the initiative seeks to respond to the needs of both the Earth and the poorest.

“I would say that we are facing a dual crisis: social and environmental,” Helen Alford explains in an interview. “These crises require us to put the common good back at the heart of our actions. We need to remember that we are not simply individuals pursuing our own individual goals. At heart, society is something we build together.”

Laudato Si

Published by Pope Francis in 2015, Laudato Si’ is one of his most influential encyclicals. It is widely regarded as one of the most significant documents issued by the Catholic Church since the Second Vatican Council.

Focusing on the urgent need to tackle climate change, the encyclical calls for the protection of our “common home” while denouncing the excesses of consumerism. Addressed not only to Catholics but to “every person living on this planet”, the text had a profound influence on the major climate initiatives that followed, including the Paris Agreement.

More recently, a second papal encyclical has attracted considerable attention. Pope Leo XIV’s Magnifica Humanitas has placed the Catholic Church at the heart of the global debate on the rapid and largely unchecked development of artificial intelligence. As the Pope points out, AI has the potential to bring remarkable innovations to our daily lives, but it could also replace certain human activities and profoundly reshape our relationship with work.

Once again, by questioning the role and nature of technological development, Sister Helen Alford’s work sheds light on a vision of Christian social thought that is fully engaged with the modern world. Rather than viewing AI as an inevitable force, she calls on society to remain in control of it.

“Technology is not science,” she points out in an interview. “Science is something we discover; it is about the principles and laws of nature. Technology, like culture, is something we create — and something we can control!”

Magnifica Humanitas

Safeguarding human dignity in the age of artificial intelligence: a defining challenge, and the subject of an encyclical that marked the beginning of Pope Leo XIV’s pontificate.

In it, the Pope takes a firm stance on the role of artificial intelligence in society, warning in particular against the risk of human beings becoming subservient to technology, which he sees as a new form of enslavement. His call to “disarm” artificial intelligence has resonated far beyond the Church. He argues that the current development of new technologies is being driven by a culture of power and domination rather than by fraternity and our common humanity.

According to Helen Alford, the rise of artificial intelligence presents our societies with a crucial choice. The question is not whether we should “stop” AI — there is no turning back — but rather what purpose technological development should serve.

In her work, she contrasts two models of technological development. The first is “technocentric”: a world in which technology takes centre stage and society is forced to adapt to it. Instead, she advocates a human-centred model, in which technology is placed at the service of people, helping them to lead “richer, more fulfilling lives.”

By developing practical approaches to collaborative technological development that serves society, Sister Helen Alford’s work provides a valuable resource for all those seeking to shape a more human-centred future.