Every human activity, individual or organized in society, state or group of states is subject to moral judgment. The Church and the Vatican have a special obligation to be a voice of conscience and wisdom, not only to Catholics, but to all people in the entire world. Many rulers, presidents, prime ministers, and kings wanted and still want to impose a limit on the Catholic Church to deal with matters strictly connected to faith alone. However, Christ gave the Church not only a mandate but also an obligation to be salt and light of the world. The Church is called to tell the truth in the world and not to please individuals, nations or rulers. With such an understanding of the role of the Church, we should read the first encyclical of Pope Leo XIV: “Magnifica Humanitas: On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence,” published May 25. Magnifica Humanitas means “Magnificent Humanity” in Latin. The term “Artificial Intelligence” (AI), which even a few years ago seemed to be something completely abstract and in the realm of science-fiction films, entered the life of ordinary people and societies. The most visible examples of this are when the search engine in our cell phones first show answers generated by AI, or when there is a reduction of this or another company workforce because it is replaced by AI.
Pope Leo’s encyclical has been long awaited by policymakers, business leaders, and different faith groups who see the Catholic Church as a source of ethical guidance on tech policy.
The Pope’s document warned that artificial intelligence “threatens to normalize an anti-human vision” and said that the concentration of immense digital power in the hands of a few private actors must be countered. On the day of the presentation of the new document, Pope Leo XIV clearly stated: “Artificial intelligence needs to be disarmed, freed from the logic that turned it into an instrument of domination, exclusion and death” and “it must be at the service of all, and of the common good.”
Uncontrolled usage of AI in the military is especially dangerous as AI-driven weapons systems risk lowering the moral threshold for the use of force and make “war more ‘feasible’ and less subject to human control. No algorithm can make war morally acceptable,” the Pope claims, and explains: “AI does not remove the intrinsic inhumanity of conflict; indeed it can only bring about conflict more quickly and render it more impersonal, lowering the threshold for resorting to violence, transforming defense into threat prediction and thus reducing victims to data.”
To prevent this horrific scenario, Pope Leo calls for the regulation of AI: “It is not enough to invoke ethics in the abstract; robust legal frameworks, independent oversight, informed users and a political system that does not abdicate its responsibility are required.”
One must hope that this powerful voice from the Vatican will resonate in concrete actions of companies in the world, legislators, and rulers to safeguard against the dangers of AI. At the same time, the new encyclical will hopefully encourage a deeper understanding by the general public of both the positive and negative aspects of AI.
Fr. Mark Jurzyk