Wednesday, May 27, 2026
Those who give us hope: Pope Leo
Pope Leo, the first American to become the head of the Catholic Church, chose artificial intelligence as the topic of his first encyclical, which is a pastoral letter advising on Catholic doctrine. Like some before him, Leo aimed this at a world that includes Catholics rather than simply to Catholics.
His message was nuanced and complex. He did not dismiss A.I. as a kind of evil. He was clear-eyed about the moral challenges A.I. presents to all of us. Fundamentally, Leo (like his predecessors) is in the pursuit of recognizing human dignity, and he sees the ways this is now threatened.
One prominent point he made regards the use of A.I. in warfare-- that is, the de-humanization of killing people. He argues that A.I. must be "disarmed."
He also argues that A.I. must serve humanity in whole, rather that to serve as an agent that concentrates wealth and power in fewer hands. He is right on about this, of course-- and I don't see how, in our economic system and political state, the proliferation of A.I. can do anything other that concentrate wealth and power, as the value of labor withers.
It saddens me that so many Catholic institutions (including the one where I work) seem to have bought completely into the vision of A.I. promoted by corporations. Faith organizations have the ability and duty not to take on the mantle of the wealthy to the disadvantage of the poor, and we are failing at that. Perhaps Pope Leo is pointing to a better way.
