In the time of Artificial Intelligence, humanity is faced with a choice. Whether to let itself be guided by technology and progress as the only principles on which to build our civilization, or should it put at the center the dignity of the person, reducing technical progress to an instrument. To explain this, Pope Leo uses two biblical images, one the construction of the Tower of Babel and the other the reconstruction of Jerusalem.

Choosing the “right” road requires a  DYNAMIC APPROACH (chapter 1), which looks to the Social Doctrine of the Church following the teachings of the Second Vatican Council: listening to, discerning, and interpreting our times in light of the Gospel, in order to be able to return to humanity the revealed truth, while using the terms of the present.

To better read the res novae of our time in function of the dignity of the person, the FOUNDATIONS AND PRINCIPLES OF THE SOCIAL DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH come to help us (chapter 2). The foundations regard the human being, the image of the Triune God, and, as such, the bearer of inviolable rights and an intrinsic dignity, without distinctions. The principles are those of the common good, the universal destination of goods, subsidiarity and solidarity, as well as social justice, which, when placed at the cornerstone of social relations, lead to what Paul VI was the first to summarize in the concept of integral human development.

And so we arrive at the fulcrum of the theme, that is, the relationship between technology, power, and the human person (chapter 3). While Pope Leo recognizes the value of technological development as an expression of human creativity, he warns of the risk of it becoming the absolute criterion of judgment. Artificial intelligence, lacking experiences, values, and feelings, cannot and should not assume a role of responsibility and supremacy over human intelligence.

To escape this danger, SAFEGUARDING HUMANITY IN THE TRANSFORMATION is therefore necessary (chapter 4). The first area to attend to is that of truth: in an era in which everything can be manipulated, it is necessary to preserve a critical education that permits distinguishing what is true from what is false. The second is work: when the dominant criterion becomes efficiency, work risks losing its human and relational value. The third area is that of freedom: menaced by digital dependence that collects massive amounts of data, the defense of liberty requires just rules, shared responsibility, and education. To preserve the conditions of an authentically human life, capable of truth, dignified work, and true liberty, a choral effort is necessary.

At this point in the Encyclical Letter, Pope Leo recalls that Artificial Intelligence has effects, often dramatic, also on war. The technological innovations are not limited to making means of defense more efficient, but risk automating and impersonalizing choices that involve life and death, which ought to require ethics and moral responsibility. This is THE CULTURE OF POWER, which is opposed to THE CIVILIZATION OF LOVE (chapter 5). Faced with a tendency to prioritize the effectiveness of means over moral judgment and military outcomes over the protection of human life, the only prospect of salvation is a civilization founded on justice, brotherhood, and dialogue. In the civilization of love, we can all do our part, beginning with the disarming of our words, practicing justice, assuming the perspective of victims, cultivating dialogue, without taking refuge in idealism, but trusting in a healthy realism. All these good practices find their vital force in prayer.

The concluding chapter lingers on the spiritual and theological dimension. Throughout history, the mercy of God has put at the center the mystery of the Incarnation. God became human and taught us true humanity, and a preferential attention for the least. It is in this that the greatness of the human being resides, not in technical power, but rather in freedom, love, and grace. In an epoch that generates exclusion, we are called, as brothers and sisters united in “one body in Christ,” to safeguard links, in particular through solidarity and the care of the weakest.

Safeguarding the human in the time of Artificial Intelligence is, therefore, a common and shared responsibility. The initial image returns of the opposition between the Tower of Babel and the Holy City: which do we want to contribute to building? If we become “wise architects” and builders faithful to the truth, who safeguard relationships and invest in education, lovers of justice and peace, humanity will not lose its proper magnificence. It is important, therefore, not to remain resigned spectators, but rather weavers of hope, with the same faith of Mary, who, in her humility, under foreign domination and with a humiliated and divided people, was able to see the invisible and salvific work of God.

To read the extended summary of the Encyclical, click here.