Pope Leo XIV published his first encyclical letter yesterday, May 25 entitled Magnifica humanitas: on safeguarding the human person in the time of Artificial Intelligence. An encyclical is the Pope’s official circular letter which serves as a guide for all Catholics. This timely reflection talks about one of the principal challenges of contemporary times: AI. Divided into 5 chapters, it outlines the Church’s social teaching for the digital age.
Here are 3 thoughts that struck me:
- Pivotal Choice: in its opening lines, Pope Leo rightly assessed our present condition today. “Humanity, created by God in all its grandeur, is facing a pivotal choice: either construct a new tower of Babel or to build the city in which God and humanity dwell together.” These lines already summarizes the letter’s reason and purpose.
- Premise: the letter gives us a balance & optimistic view of technology. It is not a force antagonistic of humanity or inherently evil. But Pope Leo, like a caring shepherd, cautions us that technology is never neutral because it takes on the characteristics of those who devise, finance, regulate and use it. Meaning, it is still dangerous. He proposes an ethical code for AI. Though it can imitate the person, but it can’t possess a moral conscience, empathy, affective, relational or spiritual capabilities. We need to ‘disarm’ it; not rejecting technology but preventing it from dominating humanity.
Pope Leo proposes practical things: we have to choose f2f engagement & physical presence like shared meals, community gathering or spend time with the lonely. He also invites us to evaluate our digital habits so as not to allow algorithms to subtly dictate our behavior. - Promote the truth: Pope Leo advocates that data should be a shared good; not to be controlled by a select tech-giant because the digital ecosystem must be managed to protect the impact it has on the future generation. He also invites all to actively fight disinformation.
My takeaway: This letter profoundly enlightened me that as a human person, I am more than my data & my performance. Amazingly, God chose to dwell in me. That makes me super special. And so are you!