In past commentaries, I’ve expressed my concerns about the emergence of AI as a civilizational game changer. While acknowledging its potential for constructive purposes, I’ve been most concerned about its potential misuses, abuses, and adverse social, political, and military consequences. So, I took note when Pope Leo XIV issued "Magnifica Humanitas," his reflections on safeguarding human dignity in the age of artificial intelligence.
When popes issue major perspectives on technological change, they are generally responding to pivotal moments in human development, such as when a new technology begins to alter how societies understand work, power, authority, and ultimately, what it means to be human. I wondered whether prior popes had addressed such shifts and discovered that this is actually a rich tradition in Catholic Social Teaching. In fact, Leo XIV placed himself squarely within this tradition, deliberately signing his encyclical on May 15, the 135th anniversary of Rerum Novarum, Leo XIII’s landmark response to the Industrial Revolution.
"Magnifica Humanitas" is a moral statement aimed at the people building, deploying, and governing one of the most consequential technological developments in human history.
Read the entire commentary on Substack In The Center Lane With Herb Paine →
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