About two months ago, Pope Leo XIV released his first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas: On safeguarding the human person in the age of artificial intelligence. A papal encyclical is a letter from the pope to bishops and people of good will, which represents the highest form of teaching, often on current events. Only about 9 have been written by popes since 2000. It’s kind of a big deal that Pope Leo XIV chose artificial intelligence as the topic for his first encyclical.
The phrases “artificial intelligence” and “AI” appear in Magnifica Humanitas a total of 67 times across the document’s 240 paragraphs. The word “dignity” appears 105 times. So, even though this has artificial intelligence in the subtitle, this is really about applying the theology of the dignity of all human persons to the world of artificial intelligence.
And in a world where incredibly successful companies are firing 30,000 people during their best financial quarter ever, in order to fund building out data centers, perhaps it’s a real message to us all that we need to think more about the dignity of work and the dignity of workers in this age of artificial intelligence.
The teaching of the Catholic Church is that all human beings have dignity, because all human beings are created in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26-27). This theology has always been true, but it has particularly matured in the 135 years since Pope Leo XIII wrote Rerum Novarum (May 15, 1891). That encyclical was written during the Industrial Revolution by the man who inspired Pope Leo XIV to take this name. Leo XIII was trying to chart a path between unrestricted capitalism and socialism. In it, he lays out a series of rights:
- Right to private property
- Right to a just wage
- Right to form associations and trade unions
- Right to humane working conditions
- Right to rest, especially religious rest
- Rights of workers to fulfill religious and family duties
I don’t have enough room here to summarize all of this important document, so I’ll encourage you to read it, or much of the great commentary that has been written since. I can assure you it’s very well footnoted, if you’re looking for the scriptural references behind it.
And so, here we are 135 years later, with another Pope Leo leading the Church during a time of what many are calling the next industrial revolution. It’s no surprise that an encyclical on AI mentions dignity so much more than artificial intelligence.
The Theological Challenge
Pope Leo XIV opens with a challenge, asking us which kind of world we are building, by referencing two examples from scripture. The first is the Tower of Babel, when the people decided to build “an impressive feat: a single language, a single technology, a single direction” (¶7) but the project was conceived without reference to God. It was supported by a uniformity that eliminated diversity. The lesson is that building with pride, and without God, leads to confusion and people not understanding each other.
In contrast, in the book of Nehemiah, we hear of the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile. In this example, each family was assigned a section to build, Nehemiah listened to the concerns of the families, and he coordinated their efforts and addressed opposition. Nehemiah leads the rebuilding, but takes into account the unique contributions of each person, and brings the community together in prayer. Together, with the contributions of a diverse group of people, consensus is built on how to rebuild.
In the context of AI, Pope Leo XIV is asking whether we are building a Tower of Babel where we strike out all diversity, or the walls of Jerusalem, where everyone’s talents are appreciated and respected to build this collectively.
In making this comparison, he emphasizes a quote from St. Paul VI:
“The most extraordinary scientific progress, the most astounding technical feats and the most amazing economic growth, unless accompanied by authentic moral and social progress, will in the long run go against man.”
– St. Paul VI
Dignity in an Age of Artificial Intelligence
And so, there are a number of questions of dignity outlined in the encyclical, which we do need to think about on a daily basis. In this next section, I’ll explore some of the key themes. And make no mistake, many of these are issues in society whether we have AI or not, but AI does introduce the opportunity to exacerbate them.
What is Dignity?
Before I get into the specific concerns around dignity, I think it’s helpful to ground ourselves in what dignity is and what it is not. Dignity is a worth, a value, that every human being has, just because they are created in the image and likeness of God. It does not depend on abilities, wealth, social position, religion, or even the choices we make in life.
This is a really important point. Every single human life has dignity. This is the core of the Catholic Church’s beliefs on everything from abortion to immigration to the death penalty.
But what are the attacks on human dignity in an age of AI?
- Reducing a person to data or output – Machines cannot make decisions on the value of humans. Pope Leo warns us that reducing a person’s value to the work they produce, and replacing them by computation, is an attack on their dignity.
- Concentration of digital power – Control of and access to these models is concentrated in entities that are not the State. This concentration historically leads to inequity, limited public oversight, and a lack of accountability.
- The “attention economy” that treats people as means – Pope Leo XIV says it best: “The subtler forms of addiction linked to the ‘digital attention economy’ should not be underestimated, since platforms and services are often designed to capture users’ time and attention, exploiting their vulnerabilities and weakening their inner freedom. When business models thrive on human weakness, the person is treated as a means rather than as an end; those who design or finance such systems bear a moral responsibility that cannot be ignored.” (¶170)
- Transhumanism and posthumanism – There’s a growing, troubling philosophy that says illness, aging, and suffering are all defects in humanity to be engineered away. “If the human being is treated as something to be perfected or surpassed, it becomes easier to accept that some lives are less useful, less desirable or less worthy.” (¶117) Often it is precisely in these moments of struggle and challenge that humans become more human, whether in caring for others going through the struggle, or in enduring life’s challenges themselves.
- Dignity of work – “In reality, however, the ’new ways’ of working are not necessarily better, for ‘while AI promises to boost productivity by taking over mundane tasks, it frequently forces workers to adapt to the speed and demands of machines, rather than machines being designed to support those who work. As a result, contrary to the advertised benefits of AI, current approaches to technology can paradoxically de-skill workers, subject them to automated surveillance and relegate them to rigid and repetitive tasks. The need to keep up with the pace of technology can erode workers’ sense of agency and stifle the innovative abilities they are expected to bring to their work.’” (¶150)
What Does This Mean for Me?
As an Enterprise Architect, I can see huge potential impacts that artificial intelligence will have on a wide variety of work. As a faithful Catholic and a member of the clergy, Magnifica Humanitas is a reminder that this technology, with all its potential and promise, should be approached with caution, and that every effort should be made to minimize attacks on human dignity.
In the abstract, that’s pretty easy to agree on – we shouldn’t attack human dignity. But there are some concrete implications I’m considering:
- Empower people, don’t eliminate them – The goal for AI projects should be to empower people, not replace them. It would be morally challenging for me to work on a project that aimed to completely replace workers with AI.
- Learn more about the environmental costs – “Current AI systems require enormous amounts of energy and water, significantly influencing carbon dioxide emissions, and place heavy demands on natural resources.” (¶101) The people who live near many of these AI data centers are having to live with dirty water coming out of their faucets. Similarly, rapid increases in energy prices affect the ability of many to heat or cool their homes. Access to clean water, heating, and cooling is necessary to support the dignity of human life.
- Token efficiency supports human dignity – When we use fewer tokens, we demand less from the data centers, meaning less energy is used and less water polluted.
- Experiment more with local and open models – Many of the concerns in Magnifica Humanitas are about the centralization of power in the hands of a few. I think it’s worth exploring whether the models that run on our own desks can help us more than we think they can. It would be a good experiment to find out if local models use less power and fewer resources than the frontier models.
- Ask “does this need AI?” more often – This is probably the hardest one for me. AI has genuinely made me better at my work. My presentations are more effective, the analysis is better, and it’s given me a chance to code again, which has reinvigorated a passion for my profession. These are all good things with good outcomes. At the same time, it’s important not to waste tokens on things that don’t need AI at all.
Pope Leo XIII wrote Rerum Novarum in 1891, at the height of the Industrial Revolution. New technology was changing the very nature of work and society, and he wanted to make sure that people weren’t left behind. Magnifica Humanitas is a well-written sequel, coming to us at the height of a period of time which I think history will find no less revolutionary. In this age, Leo XIV encourages those of good will to continue to work for the common good.
“The spirituality I wish to commend is that of the ‘wise architect’ who, driven by hope for the Kingdom of God, is committed to building the world for the common good.” – Pope Leo XIV (Magnifica Humanitas, ¶236)
The views expressed here are my own and do not represent the views of my employer.