This week Pope Leo XIV issued his treatise on Artificial Intelligence (AI). Magnifica Humanitas is a theological and philosophical teaching concerning the hopes and fears of this technology as it impacts our individual lives and its ethical demands for all humanity. I did not know I would spend part of Memorial Day reading the 82-page document. Each paragraph is numbered for easy reference. The Pope begins with the imagery of The Tower of Babel from Genesis. Will this become an ultimate Tower of human pride and god-like power that leads to global chaos, or can it be harnessed with a moral framework for the common good? The Pope compares this generation to those of the Industrial Age of the 19th century, and the Technological Age of the last century. What happens within a person when society begins treating intelligence as something that can be manufactured, built to scale, outsourced and manipulated by the economically powerful?
Here are some key quotes from this document that have been highlighted by others in my readings this week: Technology takes on the characteristics of those who devise, finance, regulate and use it. (#9) The world once again will come to recognize the human heart as the place where God desires to dwell. (#16) It is not possible to provide a single, comprehensive definition of AI. What can be stated, however, is that we must avoid the misconception of equating this type of “intelligence” with that of human beings. (#99) Our relationship with life seems to be in crisis today. Everything that appears as a “limit”– incapacity, illness, old age, suffering, vulnerability—tends to be seen primarily as a defect to be corrected, rather than as a reality through which our humanity matures and opens itself to relationship. (#118)
In His conclusion, the Pope summarizes with these clear points: Let us remain faithful to the truth! Let us invest in education, beginning with ourselves! Let us cultivate relationships! Let us love justice and peace!
As your pastor, let me encourage you to use all technology with caution and discernment. At the beginning of the common use of the computer, programmers echoed the truism—”Garbage in, Garbage out.” It still applies to all of us. Use your God-given actual intelligence.
Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Honor Truth. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.
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