Some Quotes from Pope Leo
Irina Raicu is the director of the Internet Ethics program (@IEthics) at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics. Views are her own.
Last July, the Vatican published the “Message of Pope Leo XIV to Participants in the Second Annual Conference on Artificial Intelligence, Ethics, and Corporate Governance.” In it, Pope Leo noted that
the Church wishes to contribute to a serene and informed discussion of these pressing questions by stressing above all the need to weigh the ramifications of AI in light of the ‘integral development of the human person and society’… This entails taking into account the well-being of the human person not only materially, but also intellectually and spiritually; it means safeguarding the inviolable dignity of each human person and respecting the cultural and spiritual riches and diversity of the world’s peoples.
“Ultimately,” he added, “the benefits or risks of AI must be evaluated precisely according to this superior ethical criterion.”
In the same message, the Pope also focused specifically on AI’s impact on young people: “All of us, I am sure,” he wrote, “are concerned for children and young people, and the possible consequences of the use of AI on their intellectual and neurological development. Our youth must be helped, and not hindered, in their journey towards maturity and true responsibility.”
Then, in December, Pope Leo addressed participants in a conference titled “Artificial Intelligence and Care for Our Common Home.” The Vatican News covered that address:
‘The ability to access vast amounts of data and information should not be confused with the ability to derive meaning and value from it,’ the Pope explained, adding that ‘The latter requires a willingness to confront the mystery and core questions of our existence, even when these realities are often marginalized or ridiculed by the prevailing cultural and economic models.’
The call to confront “the mystery and core questions of our existence” reminds us of all the knowledge we still don't have, at least not in a quantifiable, data-based format. It is also a reminder of the limitations of the role of technology, even very powerful technology, in the search for meaning and in the "integral development of human beings and society." Discussing those limitations, pushing back against some of the claims by even the best-intentioned technologists, is an important part of placing AI at the service of human beings, rather than the other way around.
Image: Kathryn Conrad / Datafication – cropped / https://betterimagesofai.org / https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/