Our Editorial Director reflects on Pope Leo
Written by Andrea Tornielli
In the age of artificial intelligence, when human dignity is at risk of being obscured by the concentration of vast uncontrollable technological power and new forms of dehumanization, Pope Leo XIV reminds us of the “urgent obligation” to remain deeply human.
Peter’s successors call on us to advance technology “without retreating in spirit” even in the midst of an era of polarization and violence that sees the expansion of a “culture of power” and the resurgence of war as a tool of international politics.
Like technocratic ideologues, he urges us to accept humanity’s limitations and vulnerabilities and not see them as wrongs to be corrected. The Pope invites us to see the world not from the perspective of those in power, but from below, through the eyes of those who suffer, starting with the least.
We must look at humanity, he says, through the eyes of God, who took upon himself our weakness and turned it into a place of salvation. Because “even if machines are more efficient, the human face, which demands to be looked at, remains central to our history.”
Magnifica Humanitas—Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical was not primarily an analytical document on artificial intelligence and did not go into the details of the constantly evolving process.
Rather, it is “”total” applies the principles of the Church’s social doctrine to the age of AI, integrating and updating key points of the Papal Magisterium.
This is a document that puts an end to the misconceptions of those who believe in the absolute freedom of markets and new technologies and tend to ignore the teachings of the Pope on AI, integral ecology, economic structures that are “structures of sin,” and the need for shared governance of humanity against the rejection of war.
Pope Leo XIV took his name from his author, Pope Leo XIII. Realm Novaruminvites each of us to play an active role in this era of digital revolution. Building a “civilization of love,” he says, is achieved through small, persistent, and faithful acts that can halt dehumanization. This challenge deeply concerns us all, he says.
Pope Leo reminds us that “inequity arises not only from the wrong choices of individuals, but also from the structures, mechanisms, economic and cultural systems that create inequality” and that “development is not truly human if it increases the consumption of some people while passing on costs and burdens to others, or if it relegates whole communities to a subordinate role.”
Unfortunately, this is already happening today in the field of new technology and the resources it requires.
The encyclical states that the principle of private property has an “essential social role” and is upheld by the Church. “Nowadays, new forms of property such as patents, algorithms, digital platforms, technological infrastructure and data need to be included among the goods universally provided to everyone, and we need 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 determine what is important and what can be discarded,” reducing “human beings to mere cogs in a system that strives to be ever more efficient.”
Currently, control of platforms, infrastructure, data and computing power “lies with major economic and technological actors, not with states,” he points out. These companies set the conditions of access, the rules of visibility, and the very possibility of participation, he says.
“When such power is concentrated in the hands of a few, it becomes opaque and tends to escape public scrutiny, increasing the risk of perverse forms of development that create new dependencies, exclusions, manipulations and inequalities,” the Pope said.
Pope Leo reaffirmed the need to move beyond the theory of “just war” and called for the strictest ethical constraints to be imposed on the use of artificial intelligence in war, since “no algorithm can make war morally acceptable.”
Artificial intelligence has become a decisive factor in shaping public opinion through the manipulation of images and content, making it increasingly difficult to distinguish between truth and falsehood.
There are also many unknowns regarding the labor market. In this regard, the encyclical reminds us that it is no longer possible to rely solely on the “invisible hand” of the market.
Political institutions have a mission to channel economic and technological dynamics toward the common good, promoting dignified work, social inclusion, and a fair distribution of the benefits of innovation.
Remain human, govern the process, and avoid monopolies that increase the power of the few at the expense of the lives of the many. This is the path the Pope has laid out, neither erecting barricades nor completely rejecting the use of AI.
On the contrary, Pope Leo points out many positive aspects and many useful applications of AI. At the same time, he explains, it is not enough to ask ethical questions about whether the purposes for which AI is being used are good or bad.
He says it’s important to intervene earlier and ask how systems are designed, and what personal and societal ideas are imprinted in the data and models that guide them.
For this reason, he calls for a proper legal framework, independent oversight, user education and, above all, “a political system that does not abandon its mandate.”
Otherwise, said Pope Leo
Therefore, Pope Leo said, AI needs to be “disarmed”, that is, we must distrust “the assumption that technological power automatically confers sovereignty.”
We need to do this, he says, not to abandon technology, but to prevent it from dominating humanity and give it room for debate.
Rather than abandoning our humanity, we must “bear witness to the greatness of the humanity in which God has placed us.”
