Local Catholic leaders and cybersecurity experts praised Pope Leo XIV\u2019s first major writing addressing artificial intelligence and humanity.<\/p>\n
Leo called Monday for a robust regulation of artificial intelligence and for its developers to work for the common good rather than profit, issuing a sweeping manifesto on safeguarding humankind as the technology impacts everything from work to war.<\/p>\n
\u201cMagnifica Humanitas\u201d (Magnificent Humanity), Leo\u2019s first encyclical, has been eagerly awaited ever since history\u2019s first U.S.-born pope announced days after his election that he considered AI to be the biggest challenge facing humanity today.<\/p>\n
In the text, Leo denounced the \u201cculture of power\u201d driving the AI race, especially in developing ever more sophisticated methods of remote warfare. He declared that it was \u201cnot permissible\u201d to entrust irreversible, lethal decisions to AI systems, setting up another flash point between the American pope and the Trump administration, which has worked aggressively to deregulate AI development.<\/p>\n
\u201cArtificial Intelligence now demands to be disarmed, freed from logics that turn it into an instrument of domination, exclusion and death,\u201d the pope told a special Vatican presentation of the encyclical, one of the most authoritative types of teaching documents a pope can issue.<\/p>\n
Leo has written \u201can exceptional lens through which to view artificial intelligence,\u201d Bishop of Gary Robert McClory said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe encyclical is not just addressed to Catholics, but to the world, in this pivotal moment where technology has the potential to shape so many aspects of the human experience. Pope Leo challenges us to engage the exponential growth and use of artificial intelligence with integrity and concern for all of humanity,\u201d McClory said.<\/p>\n
McClory said he looks forward to discussing the document with the parish because it \u201cwill be an important guide for our parishes, schools and ministries.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTechnological progress is a sign of human creativity,\u201d McClory said. \u201cWith the opportunities presented by AI, discernment is needed to ensure such technology serves humanity, not vice versa.\u201d<\/p>\n
Leo appealed to AI developers and political leaders responsible for regulating them to slow down and reflect on what they are doing. He urged them to use ethical and spiritual guidelines to make the choice to work not for their own profit or power, but the betterment of humanity.<\/p>\n
Anthropic co-founder Christopher Olah welcomed Leo\u2019s criticism and concern. He said such external checks were fundamental to the technology \u201cgoing well\u201d for humankind since there is so much at stake \u2014 \u201ca real possibility that AI will displace human labor at a very large scale.\u201d<\/p>\n
In its strongest chapters, Leo denounced how AI had helped accelerate the \u201cnormalization of war\u201d by desensitizing people to its cost. He didn\u2019t name specific conflicts, but cited \u201copposing imperialisms, between powers that wish to preserve their supremacy, and those that aspire to seize that supremacy.\u201d<\/p>\n
He demanded transparency and accountability by AI developers so that the chain of decision-making command in ordering strikes with AI weaponry is always known. He declared that the Catholic Church\u2019s \u201cjust war\u201d theory, which provides specific criteria for when force can be justified, was now \u201coutdated\u201d given the technological advances of warfare.<\/p>\n
Concern has grown over on whether AI will become a catalyst that enriches humanity or a technological toxin that dulls human intelligence while wiping out millions of high-paying jobs.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe pursuit of greater profits cannot justify choices that systematically sacrifice jobs, because the human person is an end, not a means, and the economic order must remain subordinate to human dignity and the common good,\u201d Leo wrote.<\/p>\n
Isak Asare, director of the cybersecurity and global policy program at Indiana University, said after reading the encyclical he felt the writing was \u201cright on\u201d the discussion around AI, specifically how AI has changed the way people interact with each other, think about one another and access information.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat it means to be human, what it means to be a moral actor, all of those things are being challenged and questioned. I think that it\u2019s really appropriate for spiritual leaders to way in on how we should be navigating all of these questions that are ultimately human questions,\u201d Asare said. \u201cIt was timely and captures a lot of the core questions that we\u2019re dealing with in this space.\u201d<\/p>\n
AI has become pervasive as it becomes more integrated in different industries, Asare said. In the Western part of the world, there are few elements of daily life that AI doesn\u2019t touch, he said.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a lot AI development could learn from theology and spiritual leaders, Asare said, because theology has spent centuries asking questions that technical fields don\u2019t consider, like what is human, dignity, freedom and others.<\/p>\n
\u201cAI is not just a technical tool. It\u2019s becoming a part of how institutions decide, teach, hire, police, persuade, diagnose, govern and ultimately distribute opportunity,\u201d Asare said. \u201cThis is really at the core of what it means to be human now and it\u2019s the right place for these questions to be coming from.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cecilia Cicone, digital media strategist for the Diocese of Gary, said the diocese parishes, schools and ministries have been looking for guidance on how to use AI.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s clear how the technology can be misused,\u201d Cicone said. \u201cWe have seen \u2018bad actors\u2019 use AI to imitate Church leaders to take advantage of the faithful. I hope Pope Leo\u2019s call for regulation of the technology will inspire getting more safeguards in place to aid in distinguishing truth from falsehood.\u201d<\/p>\n
President of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Archbishop Paul Coakley said in a statement that the U.S. church \u201cwelcomes\u201d Leo\u2019s encyclical \u201cwith gratitude and praise.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a powerful reminder that no technology can replace a child of God, and all technology should be placed at the service of helping humanity thrive,\u201d Coakley said.<\/p>\n
The Associated Press contributed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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