Wilmington – October 29, 2026 -- Brand Engagement Network (NASDAQ: BNAI) Co-Founder and Chief Scientist Dr. Patrick Nunally, who holds more than 160 patents, will speak at a Vatican City discussion on artificial intelligence on Friday, Nov. 20, 2026, at 2:30 p.m.
Three-speaker panel responds to Pope Leo XIV's first encyclical
The session, titled "Artificial Intelligence & the Human Spirit," will address faith, technology and the reflections on AI in Pope Leo XIV's first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas. Nunally will appear alongside Jonathan Pageau, an Orthodox thinker, artist and commentator, and Dr. Hank Wuh, a surgeon, inventor, investor and World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer.
Robert Moynihan, founder and editor-in-chief of Inside the Vatican magazine, extended the invitation. The panel closes three days of gatherings in Rome, Nov. 18 to 20, of AI pioneers, entrepreneurs and thinkers. International media are expected to attend.
BEN's patent portfolio targets human accountability in AI interactions
Nunally co-founded BEN in 2018. The company's patents cover speech and audio processing, computer vision, intent and sentiment analysis, AI avatars, security and privacy, and the orchestration that links these functions. They also cover technology that brings a credentialed professional, such as a clinician or counselor, into an AI conversation when a person is needed. That capability maps to a central question in the Rome discussion: how to keep a qualified human accountable when AI is involved.
Nunally said the question is no longer what machines can learn but what humanity must never forget, adding that AI "must never diminish who we are."
CEO Tyler Luck cites research depth as investor differentiator
Luck, BEN's Co-Founder and CEO, said investors often ask what separates BEN from companies that build on someone else's model. He pointed to Nunally and to more than four decades of research underlying the patent portfolio.
Nunally has worked on AI, neural networks and signal processing for more than 45 years. In the early 1990s he pioneered technology that became the foundation of Arbitron and Nielsen radio ratings systems. He is available for interviews in Rome during Nov. 18-20 and by video.
BEN acquired Cataneo GmbH in June 2026. Cataneo's enterprise advertising software supports more than 1,000 media brands and 200+ channels globally.