René VelardeWrite to me

Research

What makes a human life flourish?

My research connects theological ethics, trauma, and artificial intelligence. I’m interested in how the worlds we inherit—and the tools we build—shape our capacity to live well.

René Velarde smiling, chin in hand, at a table with a laptop
René Velarde with the words “And now we are at the stage where we write a dissertation”
Reaching ABD (All But Dissertation), February 2026.

Theology, technology, and responsibility

What does it mean for technology to serve human flourishing? That question sits at the intersection of my scholarly interests and my hands-on work with AI tools and workflows. Theological ethics offers a way to examine the values carried by our tools and the kinds of relationships they encourage.

I’m interested in the human stakes of apparently technical choices: how people are represented, how judgment is exercised, and how responsibility is shared when organizations bring AI into their work.

Trauma, identity, and well-being

My 2025 HTI scholar profile describes my research into how racial experiences shape Latine Californians’ understandings of peace and well-being—often expressed in biblical language as shalom. This work attends to the spiritual and emotional dimensions of racial stress.

These questions begin with people’s lived experiences. They also matter for faith leaders and communities seeking to understand the injuries people carry and the conditions that make healing possible.

Research in conversation with practice

At Luminosa AI, I explore these questions through research, conversations, and software experiments. Building a workflow or an assistant makes questions of attention, care, and judgment concrete: what should the tool do, what should a person decide, and how will we know the difference? My portfolio shows some of these experiments; my writing explores related questions in a more personal register.

René Velarde speaking into a microphone during an onstage conversation, with participants at tables and others joining by video

What does AI amplify in us?

I’m researching how technology amplifies our capacities for deception and truth-seeking, and reshapes social influence and power. What changes with AI—when a tool can speak persuasively, shape attention, and act on someone’s behalf?

Questions I’m carrying

  • How does AI change the scale and character of deception, truth-seeking, influence, and power?
  • How can emerging technologies support human flourishing?
  • What do experiences of trauma reveal about the limits of our ideas of well-being?
  • How do faith and identity shape what people mean by peace?
  • What should remain a matter of human judgment as organizations adopt AI?

Research conversations

For a conversation about theological ethics, AI, trauma, or the relationship between scholarship and practice, write to me.

I’m also open to roles and contract projects this fall. See my experience.