Remaining human in the age of algorithms

In the age of artificial intelligence, with human dignity in danger of being obscured by enormous concentrations of technological power beyond all control, and by new forms of dehumanization, Pope Leo XIV recalls us to the “urgent duty” to remain deeply human. The Successor of Peter invites us to let technology to advance “without allowing the heart to regress,” even amid our times filled with polarization and violence, which see the expansion of a “culture of power” and war rehabilitated as an instrument of international politics. He invites us to accept the limits and fragility of humanity and not to consider them an error to be corrected, as technocratic ideology does. The Pope urges us to look at the world not from the viewpoint of the powerful, but from below, through the eyes of those who suffer, beginning with the least. We must gaze upon humanity, he says, through the eyes of God, who took our weakness upon Himself and transformed it into a place of salvation, because “even when machines excel in efficiency, a human face that asks to be gazed upon remains the center of our history.”

Magnifica humanitas—Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical—is not primarily an analytical text on artificial intelligence, nor does it enter into the details of processes that are constantly evolving. Rather, it is a “summa” that applies the principles of the Social Doctrine of the Church to our time of AI, consolidating and updating the key points of the papal magisterium. It is a text that puts an end to the misunderstanding of those who, trusting in the absolute freedom of markets and new technologies, tend to dismiss the teaching of the Popes on the need for shared human governance of AI, integral ecology, economic structures that become “structures of sin,” and the rejection of war.

Pope Leo XIV, who took his name from Pope Leo XIII, who authored Rerum novarum, invites each of us in this time of digital revolution to take on an active role. The building of the “civilization of love,” he says, is achieved through small and tenacious acts of fidelity capable of stemming dehumanization. This task concerns us all intimately, he says. Pope Leo reminds us that “injustices do not arise solely from the wrong choices of individuals, but also from structures, mechanisms and economic and cultural systems that produce inequality,” and that “development is not truly human if it increases consumption for some while shifting costs and burdens onto others, or relegates entire regions to subordinate roles.” Unfortunately, this is already happening today in the field of new technologies and the resources they require. The encyclical states that the principle of private property bears “an indispensable societal role” and is upheld by the Church. “Today, among the goods that are universally intended for everyone, we must also include new forms of property, such as patents, algorithms, digital platforms, technological infrastructure and data,” in order to prevent new forms of exclusion and deprivation of freedom from arising or becoming entrenched. Technology, he says, is not a simple tool; when it becomes the standard by which everything is judged, “it begins to dictate what matters and what can be discarded,” reducing “human beings to mere cogs in a system driven toward ever greater efficiency.”

Today, he notes, control over platforms, infrastructure, data, and computing power “does not rest with States, but with major economic and technological actors.” These companies, he says, set the conditions for access, the rules of visibility, and the very possibility of participation. “When such power is concentrated in the hands of a few,” says the Pope, “it tends to become opaque and evade public oversight, increasing the risk of distorted forms of development that give rise to new dependencies, exclusions, manipulations, and inequalities.”

Reaffirming the need to move beyond the “just war” theory, Pope Leo calls for the use of artificial intelligence in warfare be subjected to the strictest ethical constraints, because “no algorithm can make war morally acceptable.” Artificial intelligence has become a decisive element in shaping public opinion through the manipulation of images and content, making it increasingly difficult to distinguish truth from falsehood. There are also many unknowns regarding the labor market. In this regard, the encyclical recalls that it is no longer possible to rely solely on the “invisible hand” of the market. Political systems have the task of guiding economic and technological dynamics toward the common good, promoting dignified work, social inclusion, and a fair distribution of the benefits of innovation.

Remaining human, governing processes, and avoiding monopolies that end up increasing the power of a few at the expense of the lives of many: this is the path indicated by the Pope which does not raise barricades, nor does it reject the use of AI outright. On the contrary, Pope Leo points out the many positive aspects and many useful applications of AI. At the same time, he explains, it is not enough to ask an ethical question about the good or bad purpose for which AI is used. It is essential, he says, to intervene earlier, and to ask how a system is designed and what idea of the person and of society is inscribed in the data and models that guide it. For this reason, he calls for adequate legal frameworks, independent oversight, user education, and above all, “a political system that does not abdicate its task.” Otherwise, says Pope Leo XIV, change will be governed only by technocratic logic and will be presented as “necessary and inevitable,” ultimately imposing rules “dictated” by those who possess the data, infrastructures, and computing power.

Pope Leo therefore says we must “disarm” AI—that is, discredit “the assumption that technical power automatically confers the right to govern.” We must do so, he says, not in order to renounce technology, but to prevent it from dominating humanity and open it up for discussion. Rather than abdicate our humanity, we must “bear witness to the grandeur of humanity, in which God has made His dwelling.”