The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has created a “pressing duty to remain profoundly human,” says Pope Leo XIV.
The leader of the Catholic Church released his first papal encyclical, titled Magnifica Humanitas, on May 25.
The pastoral letter, which the Pope addressed to all Christians and “men and women of goodwill” described numerous dangers of AI, including increased warfare, environmental destruction and the devaluing of human life.
“When [technology] becomes the standard by which everything is judged, it begins to dictate what matters and what can be discarded, reducing creation to an object of exploitation and human beings to mere cogs in a system driven toward ever greater efficiency.”
Yet, the Pope does not see humans as being solely at the mercy of technological overlords.
“If, however, technology is integrated with a wise perspective, it can become an instrument of growth, justice and fraternity,” he wrote.
Governments, civil society organizations, families and individuals can work together to ensure humans flourish and preserve truth in a technological age, he wrote.
The wide-ranging uses and impacts of AI means the Pope’s letter has importance for Catholics and non-Catholics alike, says Darren Dias, executive director of the Toronto School of Theology at the University of Toronto.
“[AI] is a pretty serious issue that faces global humanity,” he said. “We need to have multiple perspectives on it.”
State of work
Papal encyclicals are letters the Pope writes to give pastoral counsel on a timely subject.
“Encyclicals are usually issued because they teach about something that’s current,” said Dias.
Encyclicals are important teaching, he says, but they do not have the same authority as statements that define what the Church believes about God.
Pope Leo XIV, who became Pope last May, signed his encyclical on May 15. That is the anniversary of the 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum, written by Pope Leo XIII.
The 1891 encyclical, which is seen as a major development in the Church’s social teachings, dealt with the changing nature of work during the Industrial Revolution. It emphasized the dignity of work and the importance of fair wages, unions and private property.
Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical continues in that tradition, says Renze Nauta, director of the work program at Cardus, a Christian think tank.
“Economic questions and the issues of labour have always been central to the interests of the popes and Catholic social teaching,” said Nauta.
“Work is one of the primary ways that we take our time and our talents and we put those things at the service of others,” said Nauta. “How we do that is of crucial importance for ethics and morality.”
‘A silent virus’
In his encyclical, the Pope described the threats that AI poses to individuals and families, particularly through job losses.
“While technological successes are celebrated, the social fabric is progressively eroded, as if by a silent virus,” the Pope wrote.
AI can provide benefits by removing repetitive or dangerous jobs, he wrote. But those benefits come with costs.
Using technology to replace human work “exposes many to forced inactivity [and] a lack of responsibility” which “undermines the foundations of a just and stable social peace,” he wrote.
He also raised concerns about worker exploitation. Many tasks associated with AI — including data labelling, model training and content moderation — are done by young workers, mostly women, who are not paid fairly, he said.
Many of these jobs expose workers to disturbing content, he wrote.
Beyond that, AI can be used to facilitate organized crime and human trafficking and create and distribute deepfake pornographic images.
“The growing power of digital technologies could lead us toward new atrocities,” he wrote.
He also warned about AI’s role in war. Without ethical guidance, AI could “render decisions about life and death more rapid and impersonal, and will present the use of force as an immediate and viable option.”
Social media restrictions
Yet the Pope offered few prescriptions for what government regulation of AI should include.
He supported government regulation of digital platforms and endorsed the creation of age-based restrictions for youth and protections from sexual violence.
He also stressed the importance of journalism as a way to protect truth, and the role of schools and families in teaching children truth.
Nauta, at Cardus, says he hopes governments take the encyclical to heart and make regulations for AI.
“One potential problem with AI is that we just hand control of the world over to it,” he said.
“I think what the Pope is calling our attention to is [that] we don’t want to do that, we don’t want to give power to any one person. We want to ensure that the voices of many disciplines are heard.”
‘Wound’ of slavery
In his encyclical, the Pope also apologized for the Church’s past support and defence of slavery.
Slavery, he wrote, always violated the Church’s teaching that all humans have God-given dignity. But the Church was slow to understand how that truth applied to slavery, the Pope wrote.
“It is impossible not to feel deep sorrow when contemplating the immense suffering and humiliation endured by so many in stark contrast to their immeasurable dignity as persons infinitely loved by the Lord.
“For this, in the name of the Church, I sincerely ask for pardon.”
This apology is particularly striking given that Pope Leo XIV is American, says Dias, of the University of Toronto.
“[Slavery is] a wound for the Church,” he said, referencing how the Pope described slavery in the encyclical. “But I think it’s one of the things that is just a permanent wound in the U.S.”
“I see a very humble Church for Leo,” said Dias.
“It’s not a triumphant Church. It’s the Church that grows and develops and learns throughout history, and that’s why he’s able to make that apology.”
