At a time when artificial intelligence (AI) is shaking up our benchmarks, a question arises: what place does humans have in this technological revolution? Society is wavering, economic models are being questioned, politics is fumbling. In this tumult, a singular voice is raised: that of the Pope. Women and men who look at the world, believers or not, this voice speaks to us.
For almost ten years, I have participated in the “Minerva dialogues”, meetings which bring together, at the Vatican, theologians, experts and builders of AI. Discussions focus on the future of work, inequalities and inclusion, transhumanist currents of thought, algorithmic bias, the role of science, “deadbots” and their role in the grieving process, and the impact on the climate. I saw in-depth reflection developing there, far from binary postures.
By the choice of his name during his election last May, Pope Leo
The new pope sees a clear parallel with the contemporary challenges posed by AI, calling for an ethical and structuring response. 135 years to the day, he signed a new encyclical, Magnifica humanitas, on the protection of the human person in the era of artificial intelligence.
Defense of an approach of discernment
At a time when industrialization was condemning many workers to poverty and unworthy working conditions, the encyclical Rerum Novarum, which can be translated as New Things or Innovation, had drawn an original line between communism and capitalism.
On the one hand, by recognizing the right to private property and rejecting the class struggle. On the other hand, by condemning the concentration of wealth in the hands of a few players in industry and commerce, by encouraging workers to form unions, and by recognizing the role of States in social protection.
Today, AI raises comparable questions, on the meaning of work and the extreme concentration of technological power in particular, and new questions, on the role of education, on the environmental impact and the relationship with the truth.
A mathematician by training, Leo XIV is able to grasp the statistical and non-deterministic dimension of AI. He defends an approach of discernment: understanding before judging, humanizing the debate before polarizing it. He calls for not absolutizing intelligence, not reducing people to cognitive abilities that machines can automate or augment. Like his predecessor Leo XIII, he intends to act to ensure that this technological revolution remains at the service of the common good.
Learning without artificial intelligence
This long text is a reflection on the principles, but also offers guidelines. Two chapters address the subjects of truth and democracy, education, work and the economy, and military uses of AI, with clear directions and recommendations.
First of all, the subjects of truth and democracy are key. Disinformation did not wait for its latest developments to exist and spread, but AI facilitates the generation of misleading content and fake news, it can facilitate their distribution. The encyclical points to the power and responsibility of digital platforms.
The subject of artificial intelligence and education is central. We all ask ourselves this question: how to teach, how to learn in the age of AI? The role of the school is highlighted, with a dual mission: learning to understand and use AI and learning without – there is this beautiful idea of “AI fasts” –, by reinforcing the importance of time for reading, silence, in-depth study, and confrontation with the ideas of others.
The encyclical also calls for an age limit for minors, which many countries, including France, are implementing; and not to place the responsibility solely on parents, but also to engage that of the developers of the technology.
Positioning on the subject of work is important, at a time when actors in Silicon Valley are predicting that many jobs will be destroyed and are proposing a universal income for all in response. The encyclical recalls the importance of work for the feeling of usefulness and the dignity it brings, and on the contrary recommends measures to protect employment and training for new professions and new ways of working.
This is in line with the recommendations of economists who predict the transformation rather than the destruction of jobs. On this same subject, the text forcefully reiterates that humans are more important than capital or profit.
Unexpected and welcome references
There is, finally, a clear call to “disarm” AI and to ensure, particularly in the military field and the use of weapons, that the decision is ultimately always human. Two references used by the pope illustrate the strength and originality of the text. Unexpected and welcome references.
Hannah Arendt is cited in the section on truth and democracy when she explains that totalitarianism relies on “people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction and the distinction between true and false no longer exist.” And Gandalf, a very beautiful character by JRR Tolkien, is invoked on the responsibility that we all have: “To do what is in us for the relief of the years in which we are placed, uprooting evil in the fields that we know, so that those who will live after us can have clean land to cultivate. »
The legitimacy of the Vatican may seem unexpected in the AI debate. But it is very real. Thanks to its networks in health, education and development, particularly in countries in the South, it can play a role in ensuring that AI is a lever for inclusion.
Beyond that, through his words, he reminds us that technology must serve people and society, and not the other way around. Ethical responsibility cannot be left to governments or digital giants alone. It is by bringing diverse voices into dialogue that we will be able to build a fair, inclusive and sustainable AI. This text on “magnificent humanity” concerns each of us, whether we are believers or not.
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