Key takeaways
- Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical on AI warns that unregulated technology threatens work, subsequently demanding new social rules.
- The Catholic Church rejects the use of AI solely for profit and then urges markets to prioritize a human-centered goal.
- Pope Leo XIV then urges global regulators to abandon GDP and turn to a new measure of general well-being.
Pope Leo XIV publishes AI’s first encyclical letter: humanity must remain “profoundly human”
Artificial intelligence (AI) technology and recent developments affecting human work and its importance have caused today’s religions to examine these circumstances and adapt their dogma to these new times.
On Monday, Pope Leo XIV, the first American and Peruvian pope, released his first encyclical letter addressing this issue, titled MAGNIFICENT HUMANITAS. THE This document seeks to make recommendations to magnify the human person in the era of artificial intelligence, considering that this technology should not be classified as a force antagonistic to humanity, but that it “can cause harm if not directed toward good.”“
In the document, Leo “deeply human” as “Human dignity is threatened by new forms of dehumanization. »
The head of the Catholic Church warns against the rise of a technocratic paradigm, cemented in the tendency to “let the logic of efficiency, control and profit alone shape personal, social and economic decisions” and warns of the effects of some wielding AI. “When such power is concentrated in the hands of a few, it tends to become opaque and escape public control, thereby increasing the risk of distorted forms of development that give rise to new dependencies, exclusions, manipulation and inequalities. » he expressed.
The value of work and the new role of the human being in the world of work are also part of Leo XIV’s analysis. His Holiness claims that “Labor is not simply an instrument; it expresses and enhances the dignity of our lives” labeling it as “a requirement of the human condition, a normal path towards maturity, development and personal fulfillment. »
In light of how some leading figures in the AI industry claim that AI could lead to a wave of unemployment, Leo XIV asserted this, in the eyes of the Church:
“The search for greater profits cannot justify choices which systematically sacrifice employment, because the human person is an end and not a means, and the economic order must remain subordinate to human dignity and the common good. »
To this end, the pope warns that we must move away from current economic measures, notably gross domestic product (GDP), toward new definitions that take into account the general well-being of people and the environment.
“In the age of AI and robotics, it is no longer possible to rely solely on the “invisible hand” of the market. » he concluded, affirming that policy and regulations, as well as international collaboration, must be designed to promote social inclusion, the common good and dignified work.
