On the 135th anniversary of the publication of Rerum Novarum by his namesake Pope Leo XIII, Pope Leo XIV signed Magnifica Humanitas. Literally translating as ‘Magnificent Humanity’, the comprehensive text presents a beautiful defence of human dignity in the face of great and growing threats of dehumanisation, not least in the shape of ever-more-powerful and ever-more-pervasive forms of artificial intelligence (AI)
The coincidence of the release of Magnifica Humanitas with the 135th anniversary of Rerum Novarum is not unintentional. Rerum Novarum (literally, ‘Of New Things’) is commonly considered the birth certificate of the social doctrine of the Church. Although Christian theology had long reflected on the life of the community, the breadth and depth of the coverage of social, economic and political matters in Rerum Novarum gave rise to a new tradition of principled and practical reflection on contemporary issues in the light of the Gospel. While Pope Leo acknowledges that the ‘new things’ of our time present different challenges and opportunities to the industrialisation of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, his document now joins that same ‘living corpus of truth that safeguards and interprets humanity’s vocation to a full and just life’ (MH, 3).
Magnifica Humanitas appears in an age of anxiety. The emergence and embrace of digitalisation, AI and robotics is rapidly and profoundly transforming our world, touching almost all aspects of our personal and professional lives. Seismic shifts across the tectonic plates of our post-Cold War geopolitical order have disrupted our politics and economy, leaving an uncertain future for diplomacy and multilateral institutions. The effects – and perceived effects – of mass migration, multiculturalism and globalisation on our societies and cultures have contributed to a new era of social unrest and political uncertainty. Echoing his predecessor Pope Francis, Pope Leo notes that we are ‘living through a rapid phase of transition, a “change of era”’ (MH, 6). An old order seems to be ending, and we are experiencing the painful emergence of a new world in all of its beauty and brokenness.
In the face of such transformation, Pope Leo suggests that we face a critical choice. This is not a choice to accept or reject new technologies but a choice about our vision for the future of our human history. Indeed, ‘the primary choice is not between a “yes” or “no” to technology, but rather between constructing Babel or rebuilding Jerusalem; between a power that claims to dominate the heavens and a people who work together in the presence of God to rebuild the walls of fraternal coexistence’ (MH, 9).
Safeguarding the Human Person in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
As the subtitle of Magnifica Humanitas suggests, a primary concern of the new pope is the protection and preservation of human dignity amid technological developments that might tempt us towards treating others and ourselves in less than human ways.
Pope Leo is keen to emphasise the open-hearted and open-minded approach of the Catholic Church to technological development, which has ‘significantly improved the living conditions of humanity’ (MH, 4). However, there is a recognition that such tools can become forces for evil as well as for good unless they are shaped, from design to use, by a clear vision of human dignity and the common good.
To that end, it is worth highlighting five aspects of the new encyclical that are intended to inform our ‘shared discernment process’ for reading and responding to these signs of the times:
- Human dignity is the measure of true progress. Repeating the words of Saint John Paul II, Pope Leo stresses that the main question we must answer is ‘does AI “make human life on earth ‘more human’ in every aspect of that life? Does it make it more worthy of man’?”’ (MH, 129).
- AI is a valuable and powerful tool in need of vigilance. Pope Leo reminds us that ‘we cannot consider AI to be morally neutral […] every technical tool embodies choices and priorities through what it measures, ignores and optimises, and how it classifies people and situations’ (MH, 104). To enrich rather than impoverish our humanity, AI systems must be designed, deployed and used in ways which uphold human dignity and promote human flourishing.
- A clear vision of human dignity and the common good must shape all stages of AI development and use. Pope Leo urges us to consider that ‘as technological development rapidly transforms languages, relationships, institutions and forms of power, we believers must and can choose which projects to work on and in what manner, so as to safeguard and value the grandeur of humanity that has been given to us as a gift’ (MH, 90). We are each called to be builders of a better future and must choose whether to use the equipment of new technologies to dominate and dehumanise or to heal and grow.
- The upholding of truth, protection of the dignity of work and preservation of human freedom are concrete areas of practical concern for the impact of AI on society. Each of these areas of our shared human life ‘reflect a common underlying issue […] if technology becomes the ultimate criterion, the human person risks being reduced to data, a cog in a machine, or a commodity’ (MH, 180). The use of AI can both enhance and undermine our search for truth, experience of work and exercise of human agency, but there is a pressing need for wisdom and responsibility to be at the heart of the integration of AI in our daily lives.
- Major economic and technological organisations, rather than the state, now represent the highest form of authority in relation to AI and the digital revolution. Pope Leo notes that ‘this level, which monopolises expertise, data and decision-making authority, involves companies and platforms that define conditions for access, rules of visibility, forms of interaction, and even economic opportunities’ (MH, 71). Given the tremendous power of such organisations, there is an equal need for responsibility, transparency and accountability in the direction of their activities towards the common good rather than solely the pursuit of private interests.
Magnifica Humanitas is much more than just a Catholic commentary on AI and ethics. While building on the insights already provided by the Vatican on AI through documents such as Antiqua et Nova, the new encyclical sets these considerations within the wider context of an ambitious project of Christian humanism for our modern times. As Pope Leo remarks, ‘Christian humanism does not reject science or technology, but embraces them with gratitude and realism, and grounds them with a higher vocation […] it must remain ordered toward the common good, justice, the care of the vulnerable and creation’ (MH, 129).
In this context, and in true Augustinian fashion, Pope Leo invites us to reflect on whether our actions in relation to these new technologies will build the earthly city or a heavenly city. We build the earthly city when we pursue ‘the love of self even to the contempt of God’, while we build the heavenly city when we pursue ‘the love of God even to the contempt of self’ (MH, 130). Pope Leo warns of a ‘paradox of material progress and anthropological regression’ that may be made worse if our design and use of AI lack stable ethical foundations.
Although long and detailed, Magnifica Humanitas leaves several questions open for future discernment and engagement. How could or should we integrate AI systems in the life and mission of the Church, in ways which enrich our faith, fellowship and formation? How should we understand the connection between personal actions and structures of sin in relation to AI and social justice? What would ‘unjust’ inequality look like in relation to the development of an AI economy? Should we treat immaterial, intellectual and cultural property differently from private physical property? These questions, and many more, are worthy of serious theological and ethical engagement as the so-called ‘AI revolution’ continues to turn.
Faced with such potentially seismic social, economic and cultural change, there exist equal and opposite temptations in paralysing fear or naive enthusiasm. Indeed, both hope and fear are appropriate responses to the advent of any new technology. As Pope Leo emphasises, technological change is often deeply ambiguous, providing both promises and omens. However, Magnifica Humanitas asks that we move beyond static postures of hope or fear and take responsibility for fruitfully and humanely engaging with the world as it changes around us.
In an approving quotation from JRR Tolkien’s masterpiece The Lord of the Rings, Pope Leo reminds us of our duty: ‘It is not our part to master all the tides of the world, but to do what is in us for the succour of those years wherein we are set, uprooting the evil in the fields that we know, so that those who live after may have clean earth to till’ (MH, 213).
